You love fantasy rankings, but you really love tiers. We get it: Tiers give rankings texture and can be a big help when you’re actually drafting. Here are my tight end tiers, rankings and player notes for 2022.
Tier 1
These are the elites. They’re the top pass catchers for their respective teams and true difference makers at the position, and they have second-round ADPs.
Travis Kelce has been the leading fantasy scorer (0.5 PPR) in four of the last six years. He finished second to Mark Andrews last year and second to Rob Gronkowski in 2017. Kelce has topped 1,000 yards for six straight seasons. With Tyreek Hill gone, Kelce will be more important than ever to the Kansas City offense.
You love fantasy rankings, but you really love tiers. We get it: Tiers give rankings texture and can be a big help when you’re actually drafting. Here are my tight end tiers, rankings and player notes for 2022.
Tier 1
These are the elites. They’re the top pass catchers for their respective teams and true difference makers at the position, and they have second-round ADPs.
Travis Kelce has been the leading fantasy scorer (0.5 PPR) in four of the last six years. He finished second to Mark Andrews last year and second to Rob Gronkowski in 2017. Kelce has topped 1,000 yards for six straight seasons. With Tyreek Hill gone, Kelce will be more important than ever to the Kansas City offense.
Mark Andrews has been a top-five fantasy scorer at tight end in each of the last three seasons, and he ascended to TE1 last year with a 107-1,361-9 campaign. After trading away Marquise Brown, the Ravens are thin at wide receiver, so QB Lamar Jackson will continue to lean heavily on his tight end.
Tier 2
A rare athlete with prototypical size and speed, Pitts had 68 catches for 1,026 yards in his rookie season. He only had one TD catch, but the touchdowns will come. Pitts frequently faced opponents’ cornerbacks because the Falcons’ WR corps was so unimposing. The arrival of rookie WR Drake London should help get Pitts some more favorable matchups.
George Kittle has missed 13 games over the last three seasons, and his excellence as a blocker actually drains some of his fantasy value. Still, he’s an absolute warrior who’s outrageously tough to tackle. Since 2018, Kittle has averaged 76.4 yards per game and 9.9 yards per target.
Davante Adams‘ arrival in Las Vegas means Darren Waller won’t be the Raiders’ top pass catcher, but Adams’ presence could also create some favorable matchups for Waller and give him more room to roam.
Tier 3
T.J. Hockenson oozes talent, but he hasn’t really popped in his first three NFL seasons. There’s still time.
Dalton Schultz has ordinary athleticism, but he’s caught 141 passes for 1,423 yards and 12 touchdowns over the last two seasons. He finished as the TE3 last season and could be even more heavily involved in the Dallas passing game this year with Amari Cooper gone.
For the first time in his career, Dallas Goedert will enter the season as the Eagles’ No. 1 tight end. He was a midrange TE1 last year after Philadelphia traded away Zach Ertz.
The aforementioned Ertz had 56-574-3 in 11 games following his trade to Arizona, making him the TE4 over that stretch. It was a nice rebound season after a disastrous 2020.
Tier 4
Dawson Knox is young and athletic, and he’s paired with one of the best quarterbacks in the league, Josh Allen. His TD total last season (9) was a little fluky, but Knox may grow into a more prominent role in the Buffalo offense.
Cole Kmet had 60 catches for 612 yards in 2021 but didn’t score any touchdowns. He’s due for some luck in the TD department and should see plenty of targets this year with the Bears so weak at wide receiver.
Noah Fant had the misfortune to be included in part of the trade that sent Russell Wilson to Denver, so now the athletic tight end will have to chase passes from Drew Lock and/or Geno Smith.
Pat Freiermuth is destined to be overvalued after scoring seven touchdowns as a rookie. He averaged 8.3 yards per catch and 6.3 yards per target – numbers that should restrain our enthusiasm.
Albert Okwuegbunam is an extraordinary athlete who’s flashed playmaking ability, and now he gets to play with QB Russell Wilson.
After a season in which he set career highs in targets, catches and yardage, Mike Gesicki isn’t generating much enthusiasm. He’ll have to fight for targets in an offense that includes WRs Hill and Jaylen Waddle. It’s concerning that Gesicki averaged just 5.4 yards per target over his last nine games.
Five years into his NFL career, former first-round pick David Njoku hasn’t lived up to expectations. He’s still uber-athletic, though, and Njoku will have less competition for snaps and targets now that Austin Hooper is gone.
Hunter Henry’s 2021 fantasy value was mainly driven by his nine TD catches. He’s due for some touchdown regression, but the maturation of Patriots QB Mac Jones could lift Henry’s catch and yardage totals.
Some people believe Irv Smith was headed for a breakout year with the Vikings in 2020 before a torn meniscus in his knee caused him to miss the entire season.
I have questions about Gerald Everett’s talent, but being Justin Herbert’s TE1 isn’t a bad setup.
Tier 5
In shallow leagues, a lot of these players will go undrafted. In deeper leagues, these players make intriguing dart throws. Quick thoughts on a handful of them:
Robert Tonyan had 11 touchdowns in 2020, then tore his ACL in 2021. He’s the top tight end on a team thin at wide receiver, so he should be busy this year.
I’m an Adam Trautman truther. He hasn’t done much in his first two years in the league, but it takes a lot of young tight ends a couple of years to find their footing.
Now that Rob Gronkowski has announced his retirement, Cameron Brate *could be* No. 1 tight end for Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.
Evan Engram has been a perennial tease, but his athleticism is reason enough to keep a candle lit for him as he moves from the Giants to the Jaguars.
Tier 6
These tight ends are waiver wire fodder in all but the deepest of leagues. It’s possible a few of them might become fantasy-relevant.
Pat Fitzmaurice’s 2022 Tight End Rankings & Tiers
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