After three weeks of action, Travis Kelce is fantasy's overall TE2, Juwan Johnson is the TE3, and Colston Loveland is the TE48 behind studs like Blake Whiteheart and Matthew Hibner. So yeah, just like we all expected!
I'll break down my weekly TE rankings and tiers each and every week *with* some bigger-picture questions sprinkled in along the way. This week's additional topics feature:
- Who have been the NFL's most efficient real-life tight ends?
- Which tight ends are most due for a TD?
- Bye week doctor: Who should you stash on the bench now instead of later?
As always: It's a great day to be great.
Tier 1: The Fab Five
- TE1: Brock Bowers (vs. KC). 10-116-1 on 13 targets with a route tree covering nearly the entire field. Bowers suddenly looks a LOT like this year's JSN.
- TE2: Trey McBride (at NYG). Has 11 games with double-digit targets since the beginning of last season. No other tight end has more than three!
- TE3: George Kittle (vs. DEN). Kittle turns 33 in a few weeks. Tore his Achilles this calendar year. And it doesn't matter! Three touchdowns in the last two weeks while looking like his usual baller self.
- TE4: Dalton Kincaid (vs. NE). Has posted 69, 68 and 68 percent route rates to start this season after posting a 51 percent mark last season. The only PLAYERS with more yards per route run than Kincaid (3.81) this season (min. 30 routes): Jaxon Smith-Njigba (4.35) and Drake London (3.86). Up next is a Patriots defense he hung 6-108-0 and 3-34-0 receiving lines against last season.
- TE5: Travis Kelce (at LV). 2-59-1 receiving line in Week 3 came on just two targets … which took place on Patrick Mahomes' first and last dropback of the game. Kelce leads the NFL in yards after the catch with 155. Bijan Robinson (149) is in second place. Madness. The Raiders are one of just four defenses allowing 20-plus PPR points per game to tight ends this season.
Key question: Who have been the NFL's most efficient real-life tight ends?
The below chart denotes every tight end with 25-plus routes and eight-plus targets (I had to dwindle it down somehow and include some slander that you'll notice in the bottom left corner):
Not great, Mr. Loveland! In fact, bad! Very bad!
That said: Shoutout to Brock Bowers, George Kittle, Trey McBride and Dalton Kincaid for largely functioning as the class of the position this season. Additional kudos to Kenyon Sadiq and Travis Kelce, who are simultaneously giving the middle finger to Father Time from two entirely different standpoints. Last point: David Njoku had a fun 41 snaps before hitting IR.
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Tier 2: The Rest of the TE1s
- TE6: Sam LaPorta (at CAR on SNF). Continues to play an every-down role while working as the offense's 2A, 2B or 2C option during any given week. Not a bad deal in an offense that trails only the Bills and 49ers in points this season. Up next is a banged-up Panthers secondary fresh off allowing a 7-51-2 receiving line to Harold Fannin.
- TE7: Juwan Johnson (vs. ATL on MNF). The TE3 in PPR points through three weeks, Johnson is the 2A/2B option alongside Devaughn Vele inside this Chris Olave-led attack. The Saints have enough passing volume and move at a quick enough pace to likely keep all three of their top receivers sitting pretty in the weekly fantasy ranks — especially against a pass funnel Falcons defense that has allowed the fourth-most total passing yards this season.
- TE8: Kenyon Sadiq (at CHI). Welcome to the NFL, rookie! Sadiq's 7-105-1 breakout featured a sweet diving TD catch, 43-yard catch-and-run and more goodness that proves the 21-year-old 16th overall pick is ready to contribute NOW. Of course, the big game did come with Adonai Mitchell (finger) and Mason Taylor (thumb) banged up, and again a bad/injured Lions secondary … but all of those things also look to be holding true again ahead of Sunday's matchup with the Bears!
- TE9: Tyler Warren (at WSH in London). Has 18 catches for just 89 yards and two touchdowns. Less than five yards per reception! Warren and Colston Loveland are the only two tight ends averaging less than five yards per target with at least eight targets this season. Not great! I don't think Warren is this limited of a player, but clearly the Colts need to figure out better ways to get their 2025 first-round TE going. Good news: The Commanders' secondary, 1) is really bad, and 2) has allowed the third-most PPR points per game to tight ends this season.
- TE10: Darren Waller (vs. DET on SNF). And I'm tempted to move Waller even higher. I could certainly see myself flipping Waller and Saidq if Jalen Coker (quad) is sidelined and the Jets get some good news with Mitchell or Taylor. The Lions have already allowed six touchdowns to tight ends this season! Week 4 hasn't started yet! The only thing holding me back (for now) is Waller's still sub-par route rate: He's gone from 42 to 56 to 57 percent to start the season —but if there was ever a week to bump those numbers up, it's this one.
- TE11: Tucker Kraft (at TB). Sometimes tight ends come back from injury and immediately get back to balling out. Like George Kittle. Other times … we get a Tucker Kraft. The role has been there: Kraft has posted 84 and 73 percent route rates the last two weeks. In Week 3 he got eight targets! That's good for the fourth-highest single-game mark of his career! Throw in Jayden Reed (neck, IR) being done for the season and MarShawn Lloyd being a complete afterthought, and nobody else is threatening Kraft for this offense's underneath targets … but he has to do something with them. Kraft's two drops in Week 3 were just one shy of his total from last season. He's also only been credited with one tackle avoided. Improved health and personal performance should be on the way for someone who didn't forget how to play football overnight, but for now there are simply too many other top-performing options with full-time roles to get Kraft any higher than this.
- TE12: Harold Fannin (vs. PIT on TNF). Caught two goal-line touchdowns on plays that featured the Panthers losing Fannin in coverage. It's good to see the talented second-year TE on the same page with Deshaun Watson, but my worries persist that KC Concepcion is taking up too much of Fannin's designed work. Last season Fannin had 13 screen targets (tied for 4th). This season he has one … while KC has six.
Key question: What tight ends are most due for a TD?
Nine tight ends have double-digit targets and *zero* receiving touchdowns to their name this season:
- Dalton Schultz (25)
- Mark Andrews (18)
- Tucker Kraft (17)
- Cade Otton (17)
- AJ Barner (12)
- Greg Dulcich (12)
- Gunnar Helm (11)
- Tommy Tremble (11)
- Hunter Henry (10)
Now, all except Barner (2) and Helm (1) have zero end-zone targets, so it's not like they've had oodles of opportunities. That said: C'mon Schultz, Andrews and Kraft! You got fantasy nerds relying on you!
Tier 3: Not-So-Exciting Whites and Friends
- TE13: Jake Ferguson (at HOU). Has scored three touchdowns in the last two games simply by being a full-time player of this ever high-scoring Cowboys offense. Is Ferguson even that good? Doesn't seem like it; his efficiency is rough and he has a fumbling problem. Does it really matter as long as the Cowboys continue to hand him a near full-time role? Also doesn't seem like it.
- TE14: Tyler Higbee (at PHI). Was tempted to move even higher with Colby Parkinson (shoulder) and Terrance Ferguson (ankle) both potentially out, but Puka Nacua (groin, hip) is suddenly expected to return. This makes it tougher to expect the 33-year-old veteran to replicate last week's 8-62-1 performance, especially against an Eagles defense that ranks top 5 in pretty much any tight end stat out there.
- TE15: Brenton Strange (at CIN). Gets the Bengals bump against a defense that has made most of their opponent's tight ends produce like Trey McBride over the last calendar year. Hell, even last week featured a TD to honorary TE Ben Skowronek, and Pat Freiermuth was also overthrown on what could have been a huge gain. Betting on Strange is betting on a touchdown — something that seems likely in a matchup featuring the week's highest game total.
- TE16: Mike Gesicki (vs. JAX). The Bengals are down Andrei Iosivas and Colbie Young. Something named Dohnte Meyers was the No. 3 WR last week. They just brought back Mitchell Tinsley! Maybe the answer is to just finally give Gesicki a full-time role? To be fair, Gesicki has posted stellar 56 and 57 percent route rates during the last two weeks. This ranking is a bit of a leap of faith in, 1) Gesicki's role continuing to increase given the injuries elsewhere, and 2) the Bengals putting up a bunch of points.
- TE17: Dalton Schultz (vs. DAL). Revenge game! But Nico Collins (hamstring) is back. But it's a revenge game! And against the Cowboys' sad excuse for a professional defense!
- TE18: Isaiah Likely (vs. ARI). Has the full-time role fantasy nerds and virgins always wanted for him, but no longer has a QB. Cold world.
- TE19: Colston Loveland (vs. NYJ). Was mere inches away from scoring a touchdown … that still would've helped him rank as just the TE12 in Week 3.
- TE20: Mark Andrews (vs. TEN). Hand injury limited him in Week 3. The bigger problem has been the Ravens' peculiar target tree near the end zone: Six Ravens have a target inside the 10-yard line this season, and Mark Andrews is not one of them.
- TE21: Oronde Gadsden II (at SEA). Ran a route on 74 percent of Justin Herbert's dropbacks last week (great!), but had one drop and didn't record a catch (not great!). I'm holding in leagues where possible, but certainly not starting against one of the best secondaries in the game.
- TE22: AJ Barner (vs. LAC). Went 2-13-0 and 1-8-0 (with a one-yard rushing TD) in two games the Seahawks played with a neutral or leading game-script. Then Barner went for 5-69-0 on nine targets when Sam Darnold and company were forced to stage a comeback. I'm picturing the former scenarios likely playing out against the Chargers this week.
Key question: Bye week doctor: Who should you stash on the bench now instead of later?
This is mostly pertinent for fantasy managers of Travis Kelce (Week 5 bye) and Sam LaPorta (Week 6 bye).
- Jets TE Kenyon Sadiq (35% rostered on Yahoo). Gets the Browns and Patriots in Weeks 5-6. Sadiq seemingly has a decent chance to still be the No. 2 pass-game option in this banged-up offense, and hey, maybe another big game or two will keep things that way even as guys get healthy.
- Commanders TE Chig Okonkwo (19%). Got back to a limited practice Wednesday, seemingly putting him on track to be back in action in Weeks 5-6 against the Giants and 49ers.
- Dolphins TE Greg Dulcich (7%). Bengals in Week 5. Enough said.
Tier 4: The Other Guys
- TE23: Kyle Pitts (at NO on MNF). Two catches for 20 yards in three games.
- TE24: Hunter Henry (at BUF). 1-5-0 on two targets last week even with Eli Raridon sidelined.
- TE25: Greg Dulcich (at MIN). I would not be surprised if Malik Willis throws for 55 yards this week.
- TE26: Noah Fant (vs. ATL on MNF). 4-33-1 in Week 1. 0-0-0 in Week 2. 4-33-2 in Week 3. Unfortunately, a goose egg is coming in Week 4, but get ready for a three-TD performance in Week 5, people!
- TE27: Michael Mayer (vs. KC). Of course scores a touchdown once Brock Bowers is back. The most fantasy football thing ever.
- TE28: T.J. Hockenson (vs. MIA). Maybe the oldest 29-year-old TE in league history.
- TE29: Cade Otton (vs. GB). Definitely the oldest 27-year-old TE in league history.
- TE30: Zach Ertz (vs. LAR). 42 percent route rate in his first game back in Philly.
- TE31: Pat Freiermuth (at CLE on TNF). Muth and Washington combined for 107 yards against the Bengals last week. Hell, WR/FB/TE Ben Skowronek added a 23-yard TD catch. Does this help in fantasy? No, it does not.
- TE32: Darnell Washington (at CLE on TNF).
