NFL Player Power Rankings Week 4: Tight ends

November 18, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham (80) tries to break free from Oakland Raiders cornerback Mike Mitchell (34) after making a catch in the fourth quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Saints defeated the Raiders 38-17. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /

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Welcome to FanSided’s weekly NFL Player Power Rankings. Every Tuesday throughout the season you can check out rankings for a different key position, including quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, and even the defensive star players. These power rankings will consist of the top twenty-five players at that given position. With 32 teams and only 25 spots that means that not every team’s players will make the cut. So make sure you check in every Tuesday to see if your favorite players made the list.

These rankings are NOT a list of the players with the most established and proven careers. That would favor the older players. They are also NOT a list of the players you would most want to build around going forward. That list would favor the younger players. No, this is a ranking of the best players at that position right now, today. The NFL is a “what have you done for me lately” kind of a league. So while early in the season the list will be influenced by previous performances, if later in the year Niles Paul is clearly outproducing Rob Gronkowski then their rankings will reflect that regardless of what their general perception or reputation is.

This week it’s time to rank the tight ends. No position in the NFL has seen more growth over the past 15 years than the tight end position. What once was basically an undersized offensive lineman that occasionally caught a few passes has evolved into more and more of a pass catching weapon with every year that goes by. For that reason, you won’t find any blocking specialists on this list. It’s not that I don’t value a good blocking TE, but if you want to make the list of the top 25 in the NFL, you need to be a factor in the passing game.

I also made the decision to exclude several talented but injured players. Jordan Reed isn’t on the list. Dennis Pitta would have likely cracked the top ten if his season wasn’t ended by an injury on Sunday. Also, Marcedes Lewis and Kyle Rudolph would have at least made the list if they weren’t looking at missing a month or two with injuries of their own.

So who did make the list? Let’s start with number 25……….

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