The tight end position is by far the most top-heavy when it comes to 2023 fantasy football drafts. The fantasy difference makers in Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews have separated themselves by a wide margin from a slew of mid-late round dart throws. That said, there are some interesting options later in the TE1 rankings that could provide some fantasy value.
Below are my 2023 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings and tiers.
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2023 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight End
- 1. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
- 2. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
- 3. T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
- 4. Darren Waller, New York Giants
- 5. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
- 6. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
- 7. Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
- 8. Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
- 9. David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
- 10. Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
- 11. Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
- 12. Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
- 13. Gerald Everett, Los Angeles Chargers
- 14. Irv Smith Jr., Cincinnati Bengals
- 15. Juwon Johnson, New Orleans Saints
- 16. Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams
- 17. Chigoziem Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans
- 18. Greg Dulcich, Denver Broncos
- 19. Jelani Woods, Indianapolis Colts
- 20. Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
Tier 1 Tight Ends
- 1. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
- 2. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
Travis Kelce has been in a tier of his own over the last few seasons. He outscored the second-highest tight end by close to 100 fantasy points in PPR leagues last year. At 33 years old, the age cliff is nearing closer, but he shows no signs of slowing down yet with Patrick Mahomes II throwing him the ball. He set career highs with 152 targets and 12 touchdowns last year. Anywhere near those totals is easily worth a mid-first round fantasy draft pick.
With Lamar Jackson back in a Ravens uniform this season, Mark Andrews‘ upside may be closer to Kelce than most think. Just two seasons ago, Andrews finished as the highest-scoring fantasy tight end with 1,361 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on 153 targets. He is a potential steal at the back end of the second round or early third round in single quarterback leagues.
Tier 2 Tight Ends
- 3. T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
- 4. Darren Waller, New York Giants
- 5. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
- 6. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
The gap between the top two tiers is massive. The next group of tight ends should fall in the round three to five range in most fantasy drafts. Scarcity at the position may encourage reaching for this group on draft day, but the upside may not reward such a decision.
After being traded to Minnesota, T.J. Hockenson‘s targets per game increased from 6.1 to 8.6, but the touchdowns didn’t follow suit. He found the end zone just three times in 10 games with the Vikings in 2023. He was a top-10 tight end in half of those weeks. A full offseason with the Vikings should help him and Kirk Cousins build more chemistry around the red zone.
Another recent trade acquisition, Darren Waller heads to New York as perhaps the most reliable target option for Daniel Jones. When avoiding injuries, Waller has been a target hog with the Raiders over the last few seasons. In 2020, his last full season, he put up 1,196 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on 145 targets. The potential is there for another breakout season with the Giants. After all, who else is Jones going to throw to?
Kyle Pitts is one of the most-hyped tight ends to enter the NFL in decades. In his rookie season, he put up historical numbers at the position with 1,026 yards on 110 targets. However, his single touchdown on the year kept him outside the top-10 at the position in fantasy points per game. Coming off an injury-plagued 2022, the athletic prowess is undeniable for Pitts. He will need to find increased touchdown production from Desmond Ridder and/or Taylor Heinecke to take the next step forward for fantasy owners.
A perennial top-tier tight end, George Kittle is beginning to slide down the rankings, in no way due to lack of ability. The 49ers have one of the best rosters in the NFL, except at the most important position. The combination of Brock Purdy, Sam Darnold, and Trey Lance have not yet shown the consistent passing production to create fantasy success for all the weapons at their disposal. Kittle scored a career-high 11 touchdowns in 2022, but only managed 13.4 PPR fantasy points per game, his lowest full-season mark since 2017.
Tier 3 Tight Ends
- 7. Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
- 8. Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
- 9. David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
- 10. Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
- 11. Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
The bottom half of the TE1 rankings leaves fantasy owners squinting to find the upside potential. In this range, double dipping on tight ends to play weekly matchups becomes a more reasonable strategy for season-long play.
Dallas Goedert is on by far the most explosive offense of the group, but the Eagles have a slew of weapons to spread the ball around for Jalen Hurts. Goedert has yet to top five touchdowns in a season, holding him back from the fantasy upside predicted for him after Zach Ertz left town.
The Steelers seem to like Pat Freiermuth as his targets increased from 79 to 98 last season. He’ll need to increase his touchdown share to elevate his fantasy value, but Pittsburgh also added the monstrous Darnell Washington to their tight end room in the draft as an obvious red zone threat.
David Njoku and Evan Engram have re-emerged after disappointing starts to their career and are each now attached to young quarterbacks with strong arms in Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson. That said, they will likely be touchdown-dependent options with middling target and yardage totals on a weekly basis.
Finally, the most intriguing flier in this range may be Dalton Schultz. He transitions to a Texans team that is short on receiving talent with a rookie quarterback in C.J. Stroud looking for a consistent short-yardage target. Schultz caught 78 balls for 808 yards and eight touchdowns in 2021 for the Cowboys. If he and Stroud find chemistry together, there should be opportunity as the Texans are likely to be throwing from behind in a lot of games this season.
