The tight end landscape could be more accurately described as a desert. Since the position requires the player not only to catch passes, but to block as well, the job requirement list demands only the most athletic players. While being a good tight end is a tough and thankless job, being a good fantasy tight end is almost impossible. Due to the top-heavy nature of the position, the tight end rankings will be done a little differently. Players will be sorted into tiers to better reflect the value they bring to the table. Without further adieu, here the 2021 fantasy football PPR tight end rankings. (Note: these rankings are best used for PPR leagues and will be updated up until the season starts).
Standard scoring tight end rankings can be found here
S Tier: League-winners
This tier is reserved for the ‘big three’ of the tight end pool. These guys are routinely the number one option on their offenses, and all three will likely be off the board by the end of the third round of the draft.
1-3
1. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Fantasy darling Travis Kelce is an elite wide receiver disguised as a tight end. He’s the number one target on the best offense in the league, and last year averaged 20.9 fantasy points per game with a staggering 145 targets. Kelce is the only tight end worthy of a late first round pick, and fantasy managers who draft him will be at peace knowing they’ll never have to scour the waiver wire outside of his bye week
2. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ersÂ
While he was injured last year, George Kittle produced when he was on the field and thrived despite San Francisco’s horrific injury-ridden season. While the plague reached the QB position, Kittle still managed to play well despite some bad QB play and was a fantastic player for C.J Beathard and Nick Mullens to lean on. With Jimmy Garoppolo’s job on the line and a new shiny rookie waiting in the wings, Kittle will be a monster this year as long as he stays healthy.
3. Darren Waller, Las Vegas Raiders
Not only is Darren Waller a very talented player, he’s also on an offense with a lack of pass catchers. After his breakout 2020 campaign finishing as the TE2 on the year, there’s no reason his production should slow down
A Tier: Solid players who provide position security
While they won’t be putting up mind-boggling numbers every week, these players do their job well and will likely be staying in the starting lineup the whole season. They likely won’t be wide receivers in disguise like the tier above, but their talent and/or their team’s offensive circumstances will allow them to shine.
4-6Â
4. T.J Hockenson, Detroit LionsÂ
The most obvious argument for T.J Hockenson is that the Lions have absolutely no proven pass-catchers, but is there anything else to add to Hockenson’s value besides being a benefactor of circumstance? Well, what is less talked about is the change at the QB position. While Matt Stafford loves to make flashy plays and air out the ball, Jared Goff’s playstyle is almost the opposite. Goff likes to make the safe pass, as was one of the reasons for his fallout with Sean McVay. The Detroit offensive line is also surprisingly very well put together, so a lot of the blocking work will be taken off of Hockenson. With his arrival in Detroit, the Lions offensive style may change to better suit Goff, and Hockenson will be the biggest benefactor.
5. Mark Andrews, Baltimore RavensÂ
While he took a step back in 2020, things are looking up this year for Mark Andrews as the Ravens look to re-vamp their passing game. Andrews should be the number one receiving option For Lamar Jackson this year as Andrews will be his most reliable and trusted option.
6. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta FalconsÂ
The shiny new prospect has been garnering a lot of attention after being drafted 4th overall to the Atlanta Falcons. His landing spot could not have been better for his pre-season hype, as Atlanta loves to pass, has a horrible defense that forces Matt Ryan to pass, and the departure of Julio Jones has left a big hole that needs filling. His insane hype says a lot about the lack of options at the tight end position, as he’s routinely the second rookie off the board after Najee Harris in mock drafts, and usually goes in the 5th or 6th round.
While his name carries a lot of weight already, he’s still a rookie who has never played a down in the NFL, and historically there aren’t a lot of rookie tight ends who come in and produce relative to Pitt’s ADP. For reference, other players going around Pitt’s ADP are Amari Cooper, Mike Evans, Kenny Golladay, and Tyler Lockett. While Pitts is a historical prospect, it would be naive to ignore the risk that comes with drafting him as early as he’s going.
B Tier: Slightly risky options with some breakout opportunity
Fantasy managers probably won’t be feeling as safe with their tight end options with these players, but they have the potential to turn into superstars, and most weeks will be the best option to roll with come Sunday morning.
7-10
7. Noah Fant, Denver Broncos
Noah Fant could be a cautionary tale for those eyeing Kyle Pitts early in the draft. Fant had a lot of hype last year after he was selected 20th overall in the 2020 draft by the Broncos and looked to be the fantasy tight end savior managers were looking for. Instead, he suffered from a nagging ankle injury that lasted throughout the season and was the victim of some downright atrocious QB play. With some more tempered expectations and Teddy Bridgewater coming in to stabilize the offense, Fant could see a bounceback year.
8. Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia EaglesÂ
With Zack Ertz out of the picture, Goedert is set up to have a nice, productive season on a team that’s full of inexperienced pass-catchers. He’s shown that he can put up some TE1 numbers and had some flash-in-the-pan performances in 2020, so with the starting role all to himself, he should stabilize this year.
9. Mike Gesicki, Miami DolphinsÂ
Mike Gesicki is an extremely fun and talented player to watch, but Miami will have a lot of mouths to feed on that offense between Fuller, Parker and Waddle. Like those receivers, Gesicki may have to rely on a significant step forward in Tagovailoa’s play to reach his ceiling, but his talent should land him in the top 10 tight ends of 2021.
10. Robert Tonyan, Green Bay PackersÂ
Under the assumption of Rodgers’ return, Robert Tonyan should be a fringe top 10 fantasy tight end this year. While his numbers last year look a little inconsistent, he actually scored a touchdown in his last 6 of 7 games and averaged 9.8 fantasy points a game, which is some pretty nice consistency to have in the tight end position.
C Tier:Â matchup-dependent week-to-week starters
These tight ends will probably require some research week-to-week to feel comfortable sliding them into the lineup. They have the potential to ball out, but this tier is where the weekly matchup will start to have more influence over whether or not its time to start scouring the waiver wire.
11-16
11. Logan Thomas, Washington Football TeamÂ
Logan Thomas had a breakout season in 2020, but Washington’s QB room in 2020 had one interest in common: checking down. With the addition of gunslinger Ryan Fitzpatrick, a new wideout in Curtis Samuel, and Antonio Gibson establishing himself as a great pass-catching back, Thomas is going to have a lot more work to do if he wants to perform at the level he did last year.
12. Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams
While Tyler Higbee was a bit of a letdown last year, he still managed to produce at an acceptable level despite the Rams’ offense having their share of struggles in 2020. With an upgrade at QB and the Rams’ solid offensive line relieving Higbee of some blocking work, he should have a pretty decent year.
13. Evan Engram, New York GiantsÂ
While Evan Engrams is a talented player who saw the most targets on his team last year, his inconsistency dropped him lower in the years-end rankings than he probably could have finished. It seems he may have missed his chance to do something huge, as New York’s revamped offense means that he probably won’t be seeing the same amount of targets that he did last year. He can only hope that the benefits of an on-paper improved offense will get him open to score.
14. Rob Gronkowski, Tampa Bay BuccaneersÂ
While he’s past his hey-day as a premiere fantasy tight end, Gronk has shown last year that he can still be productive with his old partner Tom Brady. But, on an offense that has no shortage of hungry receivers and with O.J Howard back in the mix, Gronk will probably struggle to be consistent week-to-week.
15. Hunter Henry, New England PatriotsÂ
The excitement of Hunter Henry’s free agency came to a swift end when it was revealed that he joined the Patriots. The giant question marks surrounding their QB situation and Jonnu Smith accompanying him to New England means there’s some more risk to having Henry start in the lineup than year’s past.
16. Irv Smith Jr., Minnesota VikingsÂ
While Irv Smith Jr. had a great year last year despite playing behind Kyle Rudolph who has since left the team, Minnesota already has mouths to feed and an elite running back at their disposal. While he has the potential to have some great weeks, but with head coach Mike Zimmer saying that he likely won’t have an expanded role in the offense, and the Vikings’ abundance of offensive weapons already at their disposal, Smith will probably be struggling for a significant workload.
D Tier: Frequent Waiver Wire Guests
When someone opens up their fantasy app of choice to check on league activity, these names will be on the add/drop list almost every week. Sure, there will be some potential weeks when a teammate is injured or the opposing defense sucks, but in the end they don’t have the value to stay on a roster for an extended period of time.
17-20
17. Austin Hooper, Cleveland BrownsÂ
Thanks to Odell Beckham Jr.’s season-ending injury last year, Austin Hooper’s target share rose dramatically and became a nice waiver wire add in the middle of the 2020 season. With OBJ back in the mix and the Browns finding their identity as a run-first offense on top of Harrison Bryant competing for snaps, Hooper will struggle to stay relevant.
18. Jonnu Smith, New England PatriotsÂ
There was one glorious day in the offseason where everyone thought that Jonnu Smith was going to be the starting tight end for the Patriots, then one day later, Hunter Henry signs with New England as well. While he was a good tight end on the Titans, sharing time on the Patriots offense spells bad news for fantasy football.
19. Jared Cook, Los Angeles ChargersÂ
He’s old, on a new offense and his tenure with New Orleans did not exactly go as planned. The only redemption for Jared Cook is if the Justin Herbert effect will touch him as well.
20. Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles
Coming off of an extremely disappointing 2020 season, Zach Ertz has been on the trade block for a while now with no destination in sight as of yet. It would probably take a dream situation for him to become fantasy relevant once again, but his talent and resume keeps afloat in the rankings for now.
F Tier: Lottery Tickets
Will these guys come out of nowhere, surprise everyone and absolutely ball out this season? Maybe. Will these guys average 0.4 fantasy points a game and sit on the waiver wire the entire season? Probably. These tight ends don’t have a lot going for them, but might make some managers look super smart and football-savvy if they pick them up and happen to have a great week.
21-30
21. Cole Kmet, Chicago BearsÂ
22. Gerald Everett, Seattle SeahawksÂ
23. Adam Trautman, New Orleans SaintsÂ
24. O.J Howard, Tampa Bay BuccaneersÂ
25. Blake Jarwin, Dallas CowboysÂ
26. Dawson Knox, Buffalo BillsÂ
27. Eric Ebron, Pittsburgh SteelersÂ
28. Jack Doyle, Indianapolis Colts
29. Chris Herndon, New York JetsÂ
30. Hayden Hurst, Atlanta FalconsÂ