Tight end is not the most glamorous or exciting position in fantasy football, but the position could be a differentiator for you, depending on how you attack it. Tight end gets a bad reputation, and rightfully so, for how shallow it has been in past years. Things got so bad, that it wasn't uncommon for fantasy managers to completely punt the position and just grab someone at the end of the draft and stream different TEs every week depending on matchups.
But tight end is not the wasteland it once was. Yes, the position is still very top-heavy. But instead of Travis Kelce in a tier all to himself right at the top, he has some company in Sam LaPorta now. But the biggest difference is in Tiers 2 and 3. If you're able to snag one of the tight ends in either Tier 1 or Tier 2, you will likely be in great shape this season, barring bad injury luck. But that used to be just about the extent of how many reliable tight ends there were to choose from.
But take a look at Tier 3 this year. Brock Bowers at TE13 is a rookie, so there's a lot of inherent risk that comes with that, especially at the tight end position. But after seeing what Sam LaPorta did last year as a rookie, and given Bowers' athletic profile, it wouldn't shock anyone to see him in the upper half of tight ends this season. Other than him, though, tight ends 7-12 should all have solid seasons. Will they smash week after week after week? Probably not. But the dropoff to Tier 4 is significant.
2024 POSITION TIERS & DRAFT STRATEGY
QB | RB | WR | D/ST
This is why these positional tiers are so important. It's not enough to just scroll through the rankings and take the best available. Rankings only tell part of the story. These tiers give you the rest of the context you need to make your Draft Day decisions. If the tight ends in Tier 2 are gone and some of the players in Tier 3 start flying off the board, you better take notice, even if you were originally planning on waiting a couple more rounds to draft one. Don't be left behind and fighting an uphill battle right from the jump.
We'll be updating these rankings throughout the preseason, so check back for updates.
Fantasy TE Tiers 2024: Who are the best fantasy football tight ends?
Rankings and tiers based on PPR leagues. Half-PPR and Non-PPR leagues could have different tiers, which are highlighted throughout the text below.
TE TIER 1
1 Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
2 Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Not only is Travis Kelce not all alone in Tier 1 anymore, he's actually been surpassed by 2023 rookie Sam LaPorta. It was somewhat surprising when the Lions traded T.J. Hockenson before the trade deadline during the 2022 season, but LaPorta's rapid ascent last season was even more surprising. The pedigree was there, but tight ends often struggle in their rookie campaigns, so some growing pains were expected. But LaPorta went on to tally 89 catches for 889 yards and a whopping 10 touchdowns. That mark ties him for second (with Rob Gronkowski) all-time among rookies behind only Hall of Famer Mike Ditka who had 12.
There were plenty of rumors that Travis Kelce may ride off into the sunset with pop icon Taylor Swift after his third Super Bowl with Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes, but he “shook off” those rumors, and not only will be back, but he was quoted as saying he wants as many targets as Mahomes will feed him. As long as Kelce doesn’t endure a “cruel summer” and can stay healthy, it’s hard to doubt he’ll be in the conversation as the league’s top tight end yet again. Swifty puns aside, Kelce does carry some inherent injury risks as he will turn 35 on Oct. 5, but he also could be in line for some positive TD regression after hitting paydirt just five times last season.
2024 PPR RANKINGS
Top 250 Overall | QB | RB | WR | TE | DEF/ST | K
Fantasy TE Draft Strategy 2024: When should you draft a tight end?
TE TIER 2
3 Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
4 Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
5 Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
6 Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
While LaPorta and Kelce may be ranked higher, they're also being drafted as such, and it's much harder to extract value given their ADPs. There is a much better chance of finding that value with this crop of tight ends. You can almost put these tight ends in just about any order. These four players are all found within spots 56-69 in our Top-250 Overall PPR Rankings.
Dalton Kincaid was another rookie tight end who bucked the trend of first-year players at the position struggling out of the gates. He hauled in 73 catches for 673 yards, but he only found the end zone twice. But a lot has changed in the offseason. Stefon Diggs is gone. Gabe Davis is gone. The Bills did draft Keon Coleman, added Curtis Samuel in free agency, and Khalil Shakir remains on the team, but losing Diggs and Davis should create some added targets for Kincaid, and he's due for some positive TD regression.
Once Kyler Murray returned from a torn ACL in Week 10, Trey McBride saw no less than six targets in any game and registered eight or more targets in five of those seven games. He topped 100 yards receiving twice during that time, which included a monster game of eight catches for 131 yards in Murray’s season debut. While that’s an encouraging sign, that’s not the only reason to be optimistic about McBride’s 2024 season. He and Murray will have a full offseason and training camp together, barring any other injures, allowing the two to keep building on their already solid rapport. Plus, Arizona drafted WR Marvin Harrison Jr. fourth overall who will likely attract a lot of attention from opposing defenses, which should allow McBride to continue to cook.
Am I a glutton for punishment? Perhaps. But I just can’t quit Kyle Pitts just yet. Drafted No. 4 overall in 2021, Pitts came into this league with astronomical expectations. It may not be surprising that he hasn’t been able to live up to that level of hype yet, but no one was expecting him to disappoint in three straight seasons. He did log 1,026 yards in his rookie season and was selected to the Pro Bowl, but he also had only one TD. But much to the chagrin of fantasy managers everywhere, that was his best season so far.
In fact, he had more receiving yards in his rookie year than he had the last two seasons combined. So why go back to the well? One big reason is that Arthur Smith is gone. Not only did it seem like Smith refused to try to get the most out of Pitts, but he took a similar approach with running back Bijan Robinson who was just as heralded coming into his rookie season last year. New head coach Raheem Morris has indicated he realizes the type of talent he has in Pitts. Add in the facts that Kirk Cousins is a massive upgrade over anyone who was under center last season and that Pitts was banged up for much of last season, this could be the breakout we’ve all been waiting for. Perhaps the fourth time’s a charm.
And then there's veteran Mark Andrews, who is no stranger to the top couple of tiers. There’s no denying Andrews’ talent and his importance to the Ravens’ offense, but he only played in 10 games last season after suffering a cracked fibula and ankle ligament injury. According to Draft Sharks’ Injury Guide, Andrews has a 61% chance of an injury this season and is projected to miss 1.80 games (61% = chance of missing at least two quarters). Even though there is some risk involved, before that injury last season, Andrews was on pace for 81 catches, 984 yards and 11 touchdowns. That kind of production is too difficult to pass up at this position - even with promising Isaiah Likely behind him.
2024 FANTASY AUCTION VALUES (PPR & STANDARD)
Overall | QB | RB | WR | TE | DEF/ST | K
Fantasy TE Draft Strategy 2024: What happens when you wait too late to draft a tight end?
TE TIER 3
7 Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
8 George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
9 JakeFerguson, Dallas Cowboys
10 David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
11 Dallas Goedart, Philadelphia Eagles
12 Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
13 Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
As mentioned earlier, in past years, this is where you would start to see a cavernous drop off. But while each of these tight ends carry more risk and volatility than anyone in Tier 2, everyone in this tier has a chance be an every week contributor to fantasy lineups.
Evan Engram entered his second year with the Jaguars and his seventh season overall in 2024, and it ended up being a career-year. Engram compiled a stat line of 114/963/4 and became one of Trevor Lawrence's favorite targets. The 114 receptions was second all-time for a tight end, just two behind Zach Ertz's total from 2018. Calvin Ridley is gone, but the Jags brought in Gave Davis and drafted Brian Thomas Jr., so it's not like opposing defenses can roll too many resources Engram's way. Engram may not have many splash weeks (he didn't crack 100 yards in a single week), but he'll compile with the best of them.
George Kittle has the talent to be right up there with the most dominant tight ends in the game. But the 49ers have such a bevy of offensive weapons, and Kittle is a such a good blocker, that he doesn't typically see as many opportunities as other tight ends higher on this list. Kittle did eclipse 1,000 receiving yards last season, but he also failed to crack 30 receiving yards six times. But he also cracked 90 yards receiving four times. Because of gameplans and the 49ers often playing with a lead, Kittle still carries some boom-or-bust qualities from week to week, but he can also carry teams on any given week.
Then the next four players are bunched together very tightly in terms of their production. Jake Ferguson went 71/761/5 for the Cowboys, David Njoku went 81/882/6 for the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Goedert went 59/592/3 for the Eagles over 14 games (forearm fracture), and Cole Kmet went 73/719/6 for the Bears.
Assuming CeeDee Lamb ends up on the field (he's currently holding out and not at training camp), Ferguson could end up being the No. 2 option in the passing game. There have been some positive reports on the progress being made by Jalen Tolbert, and speedster Brandin Cooks is still on the team, but Ferguson should see similar volume this season.
Fantasy managers have been salivating over Njoku's potential ever since he entered the league, but after making some strides in 2022, Njoku put together a complete and productive season last year despite having to catch passes from five different quarterbacks (Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco, Jeff Driskel, P.J. Walker, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson), Njoku showed explosiveness and was targeted 123 times - his previous high was 88 targets in 2018. In fact, he was the TE1 from Week 8 on. If his usage can stay in that range, another productive season should be a lock.
Dallas Goedert dealt with some injury woes last year, and by the time he came back, the Eagles were already in the middle of their late-season collapse. A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith are still in town, so there's no reason to expect a massive surge in production, but this is a new scheme under Kellen Moore and tight ends have seen success in his systems in the past. At the very least, there is plenty of room for some positive TD regression here.
It was hard to predict much in the Bears' passing game from week to week last year with Justin Fields under center, but Fields is in Pittsburgh, and Chicago drafted Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick. And what position often becomes a favorite safety valve for rookie QBs? That's right, the tight end position. There is a lot more competition for targets this season with DJ Moore returning, the additions of Keenan Allen and D'Andre Swift (RB but with receiving chops) via free agency, and having drafted Rome Odunze at No. 9 overall, but expect another solid season.
Brock Bowers has all the talent to be higher on this list, but he has multiple factors working against him. We've talked enough already about the struggles many rookie tight ends face (and we've also seen examples of rookies who thrive), it was pretty clear late last year that head coach Antonio Pierce is perfectly content to pound the rock in the running game, and the Raiders already drafted a promising tight end last year in Michael Meyer. A lot has to go right for Bowers to shoot up this list, but it's possible.
2024 FANTASY SLEEPERS
QB | RB | WR | TE
Fantasy TE Rankings Tiers: Sleepers, breakouts, and bounce-backs
TE TIER 4
14 Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
15 Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
16 T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
17 Luke Musgrave, Green Bay Packers
18 Tyler Conklin, New York Jets
19 Noah Fant, Seattle Seahawks
20 Ben Sinnott, Washington Commanders
Pat Freiermuth had a very productive 2022 season, and while he did miss four games, his numbers were slashed completely in half, and by even more in some categories. Diontae Johnsiic the passing game was in Atlanta. Pittsburgh's QB situation is also murky at best with both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields vying for the starting role.
Dalton Schultz had a very solid, if unspectacular, season in 2023, but Stefon Diggs enters the equation this season, and Joe Mixon takes over lead rushing duties, plus he possess passing game skills as well. With more mouths to feed, a best-case scenario for Schultz would be similar production to last year.
T.J. Hockenson certainly stands out in this tier, but that's because he's coming off of a devastating ACL and MCL tear suffered in Week 16 of last season. There hasn't been a definitive timetable for his return, and it's very likely he misses at least the first month of the season. The QB situation also isn't exactly ideal. The Vikings drafted J.J. McCarthy who hasn't exactly had a glowing training camp, and Sam Darnold was brought in to likely start the year as QB1 for Minnesota. But who will be under center when Hockenson returns?
Luke Musgrave showed some solid production last year as a rookie before going down with a kidney injury and missing almost the entire second half of the season. In his absence Tucker Kraft flashed some upside, but Kraft suffered a pec injury in the offseason, and while he should be back for Week 1, it gave Musgrave some breathing room to re-establish himself as the No. 1 TE in Green Bay.
Tyler Conklin, Noah Fant, and Ben Sinnott were all TE sleeper picks of Michael O'Hara. Conklin has 87 targets in three straight seasons, a bizarre coincidence if there ever was one in fantasy football. One has to assume a healthy Aaron Rodgers will be a big upgrade over last year's situation. Noah Fant has previously been mired in a TE committee in Seattle, but Colby Parkinson and Will Dissly are both gone, so there's room for an uptick in production. And Ben Sinnott is another intriguing rookie, but unlike what we talked about with Brock Bowers, Sinnott likely has an easier path to more targets and opportunities.
Fantasy Tiers 2023: TE deep sleepers and streamers
TE TIER 5
21 Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints
22 Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
23 Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
24 Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens
25 Chigoziem Okonkow, Tennessee Titans
26 Jonnu Smith, Miami Dolphins
27 Jelani Woods, Indianapolis Colts
TE TIER 6
28 Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
29 Greg Dulcich, Denver Broncos
30 Colby Parkinson, Los Angeles Rams
31 Michael Meyer, Las Vegas Raiders
32 Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals
33 Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers
34 Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills
35 Hayden Hurst, Las Angeles Chargers
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