TE Rankings

Kelce has been the epitome of consistency, topping 1,000 receiving yards each of the last six seasons. He’s also found the end zone at least nine times in three of the four years since Patrick Mahomes became the starting quarterback in Kansas City while averaging 1,277 receiving yards in those four seasons. Every passing year brings increased fears Kelce will experience some age-related decline — he turns 33 in October — but those fears have been unfounded to this point. Kelce could see more attention than ever from Mahomes this season. The Chiefs traded No. 1 wide receiver Tyreek Hill to Miami this offseason, leaving Kelce as the likely top weapon over wide receiver free-agent acquisitions JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling and second-round draft pick Skyy Moore. The only tight end to reach 1,400 receiving yards in a season (1,416 in 2020) in NFL history could challenge his own record if things break right, but Kelce’s advanced age and extra wear and tear from Kansas City’s numerous forays deep into the postseason pose some concerns that aren’t shared by the other couple tight ends who operate in his stratosphere.

Andrews made the leap from good to elite in his fourth NFL season, blowing away his career highs with 153 targets, 107 catches and 1,361 receiving yards, each of which led tight ends. He also tied for the league lead at the position with nine touchdowns, giving him 26 scores the last three years. More impressive, his outstanding production came during a season in which Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson missed five full games and most of a sixth. The Baltimore offense remains run-first, but that was less true last season, and Andrews is now the unquestioned top option in the passing game after wide receiver Marquise Brown was traded to Arizona on draft day. Andrews is a proven contributor in the red zone, where he has a league- high 20 scores since 2019 and led all TEs with 22 targets last year. When the Ravens fall behind, Andrews usually sees a steady diet of passes thrown his way, and if they’re ahead there’s a good chance he scored to put them there. No tight end has had consecutive seasons of 1,300-plus receiving yards, so it might be a bit much to ask for a repeat from Andrews after he posted the third-most yards by a tight end in league history. But he could see a slight drop in production and still wind up as the top tight end in fantasy, or at least close to it.

Kittle is extremely effective on a per-game basis, but injuries have taken off some of the shine. After averaging 86.5 catches for 1,215 yards and five touchdowns between the 2018 and 2019 seasons, Kittle was limited to just 22 of a possible 33 appearances the last two seasons, bothered mostly by knee, foot and calf injuries. The last two required stints on injured reserve, though Kittle wound up sitting out only three games last season after missing half the 2020 campaign. Considering he got off to a slow start and attempted to play hurt a couple times last season, Kittle’s top-6 numbers among tight ends in catches (71) and receiving yards (910) don’t look too bad at all. He also did not lose any of his signature ability to elude defenders after the catch, finishing third behind Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews among tight ends and 17th among all players with 465 yards after the catch. The star tight end rarely comes off the field, and his toughness and blocking are just as important for San Francisco’s smash-mouth style as his pass-catching and YAC abilities. Kittle has thrived despite lackluster quarterback play, so San Francisco’s uncertainty under center this season is unlikely to impact his performance much. It is worth noting, however, he was targeted only twice in Trey Lance’s lone start for which Kittle was available last season.

After a strong sophomore season in which Hockenson caught 67 of 101 targets for 723 yards and six touchdowns, the eighth overall selection in the 2019 Draft took a step back in an injury- riddled 2021 campaign. Hockenson played through a knee injury before his season ended early due to thumb surgery. Despite Hockenson’s decline in counting stats, there are still plenty of positives to take from his third season. He caught 73 percent of targets after hauling in 66 percent in 2020, showing chemistry with new Lions quarterback Jared Goff, and Hockenson actually saw a modest bump in per-game yardage from 45.2 to 48.6. Rookie wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown experienced a late-season breakout after Hockenson was shut down, but the tight end had a comfortable 84-64 edge in targets while both were healthy. Even with free- agent addition DJ Chark and rookie Jameson Williams joining St. Brown in the Lions’ wide receiver corps, there should be plenty of looks left for Hockenson, who entered Detroit’s offseason program fully healthy ahead of his age-25 season. The Lions picked up his fifth-year option in April, which will keep him in Detroit two more seasons with an extension likely to come.

For all the talk of Goedert emerging as the Eagles’ top tight end last season, he finished just 17th in targets at the position (with 76 in 15 games). He had five fewer targets all year than Zach Ertz saw in 11 games with Arizona after being jettisoned by the Eagles midseason. In fairness to Goedert, he made the most of the limited volume, finishing outside the top 10 in catches (56) and touchdowns (four) but fifth among tight ends with 830 yards. He also saw a notable uptick in use after Ertz was traded; Goedert had at least six targets in six of 10 games after the move after no such games in the first six weeks while Ertz was around. Goedert became quarterback Jalen Hurts' second-favorite option after rookie wide receiver DeVonta Smith, though the tight end presumably drops to No. 3 this season with A.J. Brown acquired by the Eagles in a draft-day trade. The good news is that Philadelphia's offense, and especially the passing game, should improve from last year, potentially giving Goedert more opportunities in the red zone — an area where he oddly saw just six targets each of the last two seasons. The bigger question is whether Goedert gets enough targets overall to take another step forward following last year's modest progress.