One of the trickier positions in fantasy football is tight end because there are so many different ways to attack it. We’re here to break down who the options are depending on your plan in drafts this year!
Are you willing to take a tight end early? Do you sometimes hate the way your running back or wide receiver corps turns out if you do? These are just some of the questions you have to answer when you’re deciding how to draft tight end this year in Fantasy Football. Having one of the top tight ends can provide a massive positional advantage over other teams in your league. In .5 PPR settings last year, the difference between the number one tight end to the number 12 tight end was 97 total points. For the wide receiver position it was about 72 points. That’s a big swing over the course of the season and even though the great tight ends go early in drafts, they can really pay off. One man is in a tier of his own this year and it should come as no surprise.
Fantasy Football Tight End Tier 1
Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots – I’ll be honest here – I’m really starting to change my mind on Gronk for the upcoming season. I’ve long held the belief that Gronk was not always worth it so high in the draft when he’s historically hung around the second round depending on how he finished the previous season. His ADP right now is sitting at the 2.10 slot and I’m starting to love that spot for him. The Pats receiving corps is beat up right now. They might start the season with Phillip Dorsett as the number two option alongside Chris Hogan until Julian Edelman comes back. That’s a little less than ideal but it means Gronk could be a monster this upcoming season, even more than normal.
Is he a little risky since he talked about retirement and his injuries have piled up through the years? Sure but the reward could be titanic. Last season he put up a score of 192.9 in .5 PPR settings through 14 games and with only eight touchdowns. That’s the only time he’s ever played in double-digit games and scored single digits in touchdowns, so it’s reasonable to assume he will score more provided on the field. The 192.9 would have been 204.9 with two more touchdowns. That 204.9 would have equated to the RB9 and the WR7 last season. Gronk could miss games but if you take him early, grab a decent tight end later and inherit the risk for the massive reward.
Fantasy Football Tight End Tier 2
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs – Kelce would have likely been in Tier 1 for me had the Chiefs not added receiver Sammy Watkins to this offense this off-season. Granted, the early returns during the preseason for Watkins have been pretty poor.
I don’t think the results are going to be this poor through the entire season and Watkins is going to command a certain target share unless this signing turns into a complete disaster. Watkins did see 11 red-zone targets in the Rams offense last season and there’s a reasonable chance to assume he’ll dip into the 21 red-zone targets that Kelce saw last year. Still, it’s not like Kelce is going to be a nothing in this offense. Receiver Tyreek Hill isn’t going to be a major red-zone threat and Kelce should still see over 100 targets. Only six tight ends saw 100 or more targets last season so I’m still taking my chances with Kelce this year.
Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles – It’s getting a little harder to project what exactly the start of the season will look like for Ertz. It broke yesterday that receiver Alshon Jeffery will likely miss the first couple of games of the season which hurts the offense overall. Philly could shift to more two tight end sets with rookie Dallas Goedert and that could bite into Ertz a little bit. Quarterback Carson Wentz also seems like he might miss the start of the season and playing with Nick Foles dropped Ertz two full points in PPR settings. He also saw his touchdown rate drop by half in that split. He’s still a pretty clear option in this tier and it might actually pay off if his draft stock slips with the uncertainty of Wentz. Tiers are generally similar but I would make an exception and put Kelce as the favorite of the two.
Fantasy Football Tight End Tier 3
Trey Burton, Chicago Bears – Burton is a popular breakout candidate this season and he should be deployed out of the slot quite often for second year quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Folks around the industry have made the “Travis Kelce light” argument all off-season and it’s been an easy comparison to make since new coach Matt Nagy was the offensive coordinator with the Kansas City Chiefs last year. That comparison might wind up being pretty accurate if the preseason has told us anything.
Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers – I don’t have many shares of Olsen this year because he was reportedly one step away from being an analyst this year and the Panthers offense suddenly has some options. They drafted rookie wide receiver D.J. Moore, Devin Funchess had a career season last year and running back Christian McCaffrey is going to see a boatload of targets. This is likely the highest amount of risk Olsen has carried in recent years since the offense has some legitimate options.
Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings – I don’t have an issue with Rudolph per se, but I do wonder if the Minnesota offense is going to support two top 15-20 wide receivers in Adam Thielen and Stefan Diggs, a top 10 running back in Dalvin Cook and Rudolph as a top end tight end option. Is it possible with Kir Cousins as the quarterback? Sure but it may not be the likeliest outcome. I think that Rudolph might be the least talented of the bunch and we’ll see if Cousins liking his tight end was a product of the Washington scheme or a Cousins trait.
Jimmy Graham, Green Bay Packers – In the running back tiers(shameless plug), I mentioned that being low on Joe Mixon of the Bengals was a scary limb to be on. Well, being low on Jimmy Graham isn’t exactly comforting. I kind of think Graham might be close to done as the tight end we knew. However, if his athletic profile starts to let him down, does it matter if Aaron Rodgers hits him for a dozen touchdowns? I do believe Graham will be a disappointment for your squad when he doesn’t hit pay dirt because he’s not as good as he used to be as a player. Those non-touchdown games could be pretty infrequent with Rodgers throwing the pigskin this year.
David Njoku, Cleveland Browns – Even as a Steeler fan, I kind of have a man crush on Njoku. The sky might be the limit for this young man, who just turned 22 years old. He’s a mountain of a man at 6’4″ and 246 pounds and he can fly with a 4.6 40-yard dash and his comparison on playerprofiler.com is none other than Travis Kelce. I think his ascension starts this year and he’s another player whose usage through the pre-season is speaking to a massive role in the Cleveland offense. The Browns aren’t really wasting him on blocking all that often and he’s playing with the ones. Count me all the way in.
He should be a red-zone machine at his size and speed even with Josh Gordon being active. If Gordon happens to miss time(I hope not), Njoku has unreal potential.
Fantasy Football Tight End Tier 4
Evan Engram, New York Giants – Engram is a talented player but I think some are being blinded by his rookie campaign. He finished in the top five at the position last year but that was on the back of 115 targets. Not only did he post the lowest catch rate of the top 24 tight ends at a paltry 55.7 percent, where are those targets coming from this year? New York added Saquon Barkley at the running back position. Receivers Sterling Shepard and Odell Beckham Jr. are healthy now. Engram will have to get a lot more efficient in a hurry to pay off his draft spot of the sixth tight end off the board.
Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans – The lowest Walker has finished since 2013 was the tight end 11 and his resume is dotted with top 5-8 finishes. He’s starting to get up there in age but provided he’s healthy for the first week, there is no reason to think he’s not top 10 once again this year. Nobody is going to be jealous that you got Walker but he’s as safe as they come in this range.
George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers – One of the injuries that bummed me out the most was Kittle and his shoulder injury. He’d be one of my favorite Tier 3 tight ends had he not had a shoulder injury derail his preseason. He did return to practice yesterday but didn’t run routes so it’s something to track this next week. He saw 16 red-zone targets in 2017, the highest number of any rookie tight end. He’s set up for success in the Kyle Shanahan offense this year if his shoulder is healed up.
Ricky Seals-Jones, Arizona Cardinals – I’m not sure why everyone is sleeping on Seals-Jones, but he could be in line for a monster season was the third target in the Arizona offense this year.
When there’s a large target share available and a player is playing with the first team offense, you need to pay attention. He was certainly a work in progress last season but don’t get too hooked into that. He was still transitioning from a wide receiver to a tight end. This could be the season that he’s leaned upon because there are very limited options in the passing game behind Larry Fitzgerald and David Johnson. Seals-Jones could be a great late draft pick that turns into a top 8-12 tight end this year.
Fantasy Football Tight End – Tier 5, Streamers
Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins – I just can’t buy fully into a player who has suited up for 52 of a possible 96 career games. Reed is ultra talented but he’s also extremely injury prone. If you must take him, look at Vernon Davis very late so you already have his backup.
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Jack Doyle/Eric Ebron, Indianapolis Colts – I’m not completely convinced we’ve seen the plan with these two players yet. Ebron caught a touchdown in the last preseason game but Doyle also played just three snaps. It’s a dicey proposition to buy into right now but there’s upside if one of these two runs away with the job.
Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati Bengals – If he’s healthy, this could be the cheapest 10 touchdowns you can draft. The only issue is Eifert has been so injury prone, he’s very difficult to trust this season. You’ll be holding your breath every play, wondering if Eifert got hurt yet again.
O.J. Howard/Cameron Brate, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – This is another situation where the plot might be hard to define. Brate clearly was the lead dog last year in targets and production but the Bucs invested a high pick in Howard. One would think they want to continue to get him involved as he grows as a player.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Jacksonville Jaguars – His season long value might be a question but the first week he draws the New York Giants. These are the same Giants that gave up 15.8 points to the tight end position last year and may not have fixed the issue. He’s a great Week 1 streamer and an unreal DFS option as well.
Mike Gesickt, Miami Dolphins – Last but not least on my radar, the rookie from Penn State posted workout metrics within the 95th percentile almost across the board. There is no questioning that he has all the physical gifts a tight end needs in the NFL. Miami deployed him all over the formation in the pre-season and we can only hope the targets follow. He’s the type of player that can swing a team since he goes so late if he hits his considerable ceiling this year.
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