We can’t help but share excellent content (with permission) so please enjoy this article from Inhale Sports original article | By: Kyle Radimer
The fantasy football season is readily approaching! Inhale Sports will be updating consistently up to your draft with rankings and major news around the league. Be sure to follow the Inhale Fantasy Football Instagram account if you don’t want to miss an article.
How Our Rankings Work
Up next are the tight end rankings for the upcoming fantasy season. If you’re a regular who already knows how our rankings work, feel free to skip over this section. For everyone else, these rankings go by a traditional 12-team, PPR (points per reception) league setting. As described in the quarterback rankings article, these rankings will employ a floor and ceiling prediction along with a traditional numerical ranking. This will reveal which players are more risky and which are safer with a higher floor. This provides some extra information to determine who to select when you’re on the clock. For more information on how the floor and ceiling predictions work, head over to our quarterback rankings in the fantasy category of our site.
There may also be asterisks next to certain players’ names that mean there are factors which may impact their production, namely injury and suspension. When these asterisks appear on this ranking and future rankings, I will explain why they are there. They may impact where the player falls in the ranking.
How Tight End Rankings Differ From Other Positions
The name of this position in fantasy football is security, both in season-long and weekly terms. The benefit to grabbing a tight end early in drafts mainly is season-long security. Barring injury, you know you will have a quality option that you can leave in your lineup all year. After the high-end options, you are simply looking to grab someone who can gain a large role in their offense and produce a good output week after week. This consistency will likely be obtained by target share or red zone usage, so look towards those factors.
All the tight ends on this list appear to be firmly at the top of their team’s depth chart. This makes the tight end rankings much more straightforward than receivers and running backs. Few tight ends are top receiving options within their offenses. These players will be located towards the top of the rankings. Many on this list will be vying for a role to be a top option in their offense, making their floor and ceiling rather variable. These players are mostly younger tight ends looking to establish themselves and their abilities. At the bottom of the list are mostly guys who have a history of productivity, but have some question marks. These players may have been unproductive recently, and/or enter a new team where they have a shot at grabbing a quality role.
That’s enough background for now. We’re on to the rankings.
Tight End Rankings
- Travis Kelce | Ceiling: HTE1 | Floor: HTE1
- Mark Andrews | Ceiling: HTE1 | Floor: MTE1
- Kyle Pitts | Ceiling: HTE1 | Floor: MTE1
- For the full list and a breakdown of each tier see the original article here
Final Note
Tight end is a very underrated position in fantasy football. The position can make or break your year, and having a good one is a necessity for a championship. You don’t need to have an elite one, but you do need a starter with consistent double-digit performances. This is easy to find early in drafts and much more difficult later.
Like I mentioned before, target share and red zone usage are where tight end upside generally comes from. A starting tight end option in fantasy football must either be a top pass-catcher on their team, or have a large red zone role. I highlighted the players I think should have those roles, but one or two not on this list may come out as good waiver options early in the season with unexpected red zone roles, so be on the lookout.
Being stuck with a poor tight end situation can be a curse for your team. If you have a knack for picking later-round tight ends who work out, that’s great. Personally, I would prefer to get someone I am confident in starting the whole year, so any of the top 7 on my list are good options. I find myself getting one of the top three or Schultz often in drafts.
If you miss out on one of the top seven, I would recommend investing in two upside options still. This will give you the best shot at finding a consistent starting option.
For more fantasy football articles and positional rankings, head to the “fantasy” category on our site here.
