For years the TE position was really a one or two man show. After the last few draft classes, that has changed for the better! Even with the position strengthening, it is still a great advantage to have one (or two!) of the elite or near-elite players.
Now that the NFL draft has passed, IDP+ has been digging into rankings for each position. Tight ends have been a difficult position to grasp over recent years, being a “have or have not” sort of position, with little middle ground. More recently, the talent pool has grown, as can be seen in a the top tier, with a near half-dozen TEs younger than 25. This exercise is less about ranking each TE for your Dynasty rosters, but more to place them in specific buckets. Here we have 9 buckets and 55 overall TEs who have a massive variance in current vs career-long outlooks.
Let’s get into the tier breakdowns!
Tier 1: The young, elite talents
1. Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
2. Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
3. Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
4. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
5. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
Here is the influx of youth we have seen at the TE position over the past 4 years. Sam LaPorta and Dalton Kincaid had two of the best rookie years we have seen last season. Kincaid may be the top target on his team with Stefon Diggs’ departure, while Sam LaPorta did not lose offensive mastermind Ben Johnson (OC) as most expected. Trey McBride, Brock Bowers, and Kyle Pitts may not be the top target on their offense, and have some questions at quarterback (injury or performance), but the talent and flashes are impossible to ignore. Final point for tier 1: Brock Bowers has the highest grade I have given to a TE, and had he landed in a better spot (QB or with less established targets) may have been the overall TE1 here without taking an NFL snap.
Tier 2: The established starts with age/injury questions
6. T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
7. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
8. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
9. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
Here are the players who have been “haves” over the past half-decade plus. Hockenson is higher on my overall rankings, but with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, a rookie QB, and coming off a major injury, he does fall to tier 2. We all know how spectacular Mark Andrews, Travis Kelce, and George Kittle are, but they are aging and have faced injuries recently while also having multiple other talented targets on their teams. Travis Kelce, in particular, could still be the TE1, but we did see his regular-season workload diminished, saving his energy for another Super Bowl run.
Tier 3: Second contract players with upside
10. David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
11. Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
Here we have two of the biggest breakout TEs from 2023, despite having already earned a second contract. David Njoku shattered almost every career high despite tumultuous QB play. Engram had a top-4 league-wide reception total as the Jaguars receivers struggled. With moves made, both players should be, at worst, second options on teams with a great pass scheme (Cleveland) and a great QB (Jaguars).
Tier 4: Young options with TE1 potential
12. Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys
13. Luke Musgrave, Green Bay Packers
14. Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
Tier 4 is an interesting group of 25-under TEs with great QBs but uncertain roles. Jake Ferguson had a breakout year as the 2nd option, and will be a popular further breakout option. Luke Musgrave (a scouting favorite of mine) missed 7 games to injury last year (after missing most of his final collegiate season at Oregon State), but flashed great receiving talent and chemistry with Jordan Love when on the field. Cole Kmet finished as a TE1 last season and has a massive QB upgrade in Caleb Williams, but also may have fallen to the 4th target with Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze arriving to pair with DJ Moore.
Tier 5: Vets with target concerns
15. Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
16. Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
17. Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
18. Cade Otten, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
These 4 TEs differ vastly in age and experience, but have similar questions for how many targets they will receive. Goedert, Schultz, and Otten all have at least two top-24 WRs on their rosters while Freiermuth has a massive question at QB and schematically (projects to be very run-heavy). All are a great TE2 option, to play with injury, bye weeks, or as a higher upside youngster develops. However, none have the upside needed to truly compete for championships without a loaded roster elsewhere.
Tier 6: Young TEs with role uncertainty
19. Greg Dulcich, Denver Broncos
20. Ben Sinnot, Washington Commanders
21. Michael Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders
22. Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens
23. Ja’Tavion Sanders, Carolina Panthers
24. Chig Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans
25. Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers
26. Theo Johnson, New York Giants
27. Daniel Bellinger, New York Giants
What to do with this group? All are young and have flashed talent in their first season(s) or as prospects, but what are they really? Dulcich and Okonkwo have had moments, but largely disappointed in their first two seasons due to a combination of rawness, injury, and QB play. Likely, Mayer, and Kraft all have another higher pedigree TE ahead of them in their respective room, but have also flashed talent on numerous occasions. Should their starter miss time (or Mayer finds a role while Bowers is used more as a receiver), they have legitimate TE1 talent. Ben Sinnot and Ja’Tavion Sanders were taken with legitimate capital in this draft, but still have other talented weapons around them and QB questions. Finally we have the Giant duo of Johnson and Bellinger (pun intended). Bellinger has been steady when given the opportunity while Johnson is a freak athlete who needs snaps to refine his game (shocking from a Penn State product, I know). If Darren Waller does officially retire, the battle between these two will be fascinating, with the hope that one emerges in a weak WR room behind fellow-rookie Malik Nabers.
Tier 7: Vets that should have a role but be unspectacular
28. Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
29. Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
30. Noah Fant, Seattle Seahawks
31. Jonnu Smith, Miami Dolphins
32. Zach Ertz, Washington Commanders
33. Tyler Conklin, New York Jets
34. Colby Parkinson, Los Angeles Rams
35. Hayden Hurst, Los Angeles Chargers
Tier 7 is the vets who are clear TE1s on their teams, but are most likely TE2s for your team. Jonnu Smith offers the highest upside in the Miami offense, but how many targets will he really see behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle? The others have a combination of uncertain QB play, target competition, limited skillsets, and aging that keep their weekly upsides lower than the tiers above.
Tier 8: Young players who could ascend with injury/time
36. Erick All, Cincinnati Bengals
37. Davis Allen, Los Angeles Rams
38. AJ Barner, Seattle Seahawks
39. Jaheim Bell, New England Patriots
40. Tanner McLaughlin, Cincinnati Bengals
41. Tip Reiman, Arizona Cardinals
42. Jeremy Ruckert, New York Jets
43. Luke Schoonmaker, Dallas Cowboys
44. Cade Stover, Houston Texans
45. Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars
46. Jelani Woods, Indianapolis Colts
47. Jared Wiley, Kansas City Chiefs
The penultimate tier is full of players who have been on taxi/collegiate squads over the past few years who do have talent but need time and/or a larger opportunity. This list is ordered by last name, so do not focus on the order, but remember the names! Many of them (like Ruckert) and Woods) may take over as their team’s true TE1 this season, while others have talent but need seasoning behind an established veteran (like Stover and Wiley). If you have space, taxi your favorite profile of the group!
Tier 9: Vets who can be solid with an injury ahead of them
48. Will Dissly, Los Angeles Chargers
49. Gerald Everett, Chicago Bears
50. Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams
51. Austin Hooper, New England Patriots
52. Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals
53. Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills
54. Foster Moreau, New Orleans Saints
55. Darren Waller, New York Giants***
The final tier is a group of veterans who are past their prime, but still can be usable in the right spot. Many are TE2s on their own team or have their heir apparent in place, but if given an opportunity can be a solid enough TE2. This list is also ordered alphabetically and serves as a list of emergency options you may need if (when) the throes of the NFL season hit.
*** Note that Darren Waller has been flirting with retirement. If he were to play this season, he would rise into tier 7, with injuries and QB play keeping him from going higher. If he were to retire, he obviously would drop off the list entirely.
That will do it for my Tight End Dynasty tiers breakdown, thank you for reading! TEs are a fickle but massively important position, so I hope you enjoyed it and took some information from it! You can find my other work on the “Ride or Dynasty” Podcast with @JJWenner and @Jamesonrulez every Friday, or on my IDP Guys Author Page. Feel free to reach out to me directly @JoeLow63 on X, where you can also find and follow @IDP_Plus!
