Tight End Best Ball Tiered Rankings and Analysis for Fantasy Football

Tight end isn't everyone's favorite position in fantasy football. Beyond the top tier, we encounter uncertainty, frustration, and the need to stream. There is no such option in best-ball leagues, though. Securing a high-end TE, especially in a high-stakes league like FFPC that uses TE-Premium scoring, is very appealing but not everyone can have Travis Kelce, nor is spending a first-round pick on a tight end always the best choice.

For that reason, we're sharing our staff best-ball rankings at the tight end position with analysis on each tier to help you through draft season. Of course, you can find our frequently updated best ball rankings for every position live on RotoBaller throughout the preseason.

After you're done here, catch up on RB rankings analysis part one and part two for best-ball formats.

Fantasy Football Best-Ball Rankings - Tight End

Tier 1

Kelce and then the field. That's how the tight end position has narrowed down, despite the fact that Kelce wasn't even the overall TE1 last season.

This may be paradoxical, seeing as how last year's win rates may prove otherwise. In FFPC leagues, Kelce ranked fourth in win rate among tight end, lower than Mark Andrews, Rob Gronkowski, and Dalton Schultz, with late-round picks like Dawson Knox and Tyler Conklin coming in just behind Kelce according to RotoViz.

Doesn't that disprove the need to spend a first-round pick on Kelce?

On the one hand, if you can confidently identify this year's Schultz or Knox, go ahead and wait on tight end. That's easier said than done, though.

In BB10s, Kelce's impact was even less, as he was tied for 10th with Mike Gesicki in win rate. There isn't a pressing need to secure a tight end early in such formats anyway, but waiting until tier two or three would be far more logical.

The reason we have Kelce holding onto his throne boils down to one thing: consistency. The 2021 season represented the first time since 2016 that he wasn't the TE1 in PPR formats. The fact that Tyreek Hill is no longer there just serves to boost his target share, if that's even possible.

Tier 2

Kyle Pitts set a rookie record for receiving yardage by a tight end and he might be primed to set the record for targets. The Falcons already had a thin receiving corps and now are without Calvin Ridley for the entire 2022 season. Even if they grab wideouts early in the NFL Draft, Pitts will be the alpha in Atlanta's passing game for... Marcus Mariota?

That's right, Mariota is the new QB for the Dirty Birds but he is simply a placeholder for whoever they select, be it in this year's draft or next year. Pitts' value may swing quite a bit based on whether Atlanta drafts Garrett Wilson or Malik Willis.

Is a number three ranking disrespect toward Andrews after he finished as the TE1 last season? Not if you look at the context behind his performance. Andrews actually benefited from Lamar Jackson's injury, as backup Tyler Huntley looked his way frequently. In the five games Jackson didn't play, Andrews averaged 101.6 yards and 8.2 receptions per game on 11.4 targets. With Jackson at the helm, it was 71 yards and 5.8 receptions on 8.5 targets per game. He's still a stud with his usual quarterback, but having a backup with his sights set on the easy target took Andrews' game to another level.

Tyler Huntley finds Mark Andrews for a TD AGAIN! Might be one of the best connections in the NFL tbh.pic.twitter.com/H2zW3IXeZO

— DRF Sports (@DRF_Sports) December 19, 2021

The other thing is that Baltimore was missing their top two running backs, J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards for the entirety of the season and their defense stumbled to its worst performance in the John Harbaugh era. That meant run-heavy Baltimore finished with the ninth-most pass attempts per game at 35.9 a year after finishing dead last with 25.9 attempts. The Ravens will likely address their defense on draft day and go back to their ball-control ways if possible in 2022. That makes Andrews a risky pick given how much his ADP has skyrocketed.

It's hard to know what to expect of George Kittle when we can only assume Trey Lance is the starting quarterback now. We've got a two-game sample with which to judge Lance. In the first start, Kittle wasn't active. In the second, Kittle caught one pass for 29 yards. Then there's the whole Deebo Samuel removing San Fran from his social media thing. If he somehow ends up being traded, which wouldn't be surprising at this point of the 2022 NFL offseason, Kittle's stock soars. For now, he is better served as a redraft target than in best ball.

Tier 3

Go ahead and call Darren Waller a bust. After he saw his ADP climb near the first round in FFPC leagues, he proved to be an early-round landmine. He looked like a surefire league winner in Week 1 when he went for 10 catches, 105 yards, and a touchdown on a staggering 19 targets in a win over Baltimore. He would only go over 100 yards one more time and scored just one other touchdown all season.

Waller did miss six games due to injury but in the games he played beyond Week 1, his performance was far below expectations. He averaged just under five receptions and 60 yards per game, compared to 2020 when he averaged 6.7 receptions and 74.8 yards per game. The pendulum could swing back the other way but keep in mind that Waller will not be the top target for Derek Carr ever again now that Davante Adams has arrived.

Normally, Dalton Schultz would be a classic case of a player to avoid in best ball. Paying for last year's stats is never advisable and his new ADP of 41.3 (TE6) in FFPC and 81 (TE7) in BB10s makes him far less likely to secure a high win rate. His success last year was based on the fact he was selected well after pick 200. The reason I'm willing to stick with Schultz this year is the fact that Amari Cooper is gone and he could retain his role as a top target in Dallas. He falls in between the top tiers, where you risk overpaying, and the lower tiers that are filled with uncertainty.

Tier 4

No tight end had a worse offseason than Mike Gesicki, at least as far as fantasy managers are concerned. He was hit with the franchise tag in order to stay in Miami and then the team went out and signed Cedrick Wilson before trading for Tyreek Hill. It's hard to imagine Gesicki getting too much attention in the Miami offense. Then again, new coach Mike McDaniel is the one who oversaw George Kittle's development in San Francisco so it's hard to write him off completely.

Dawson Knox will be overdrafted. Not that anyone expects him to take a massive leap forward or jump into top-10 TE territory but he's being taken at his ceiling, which is what he reached last year. Knox is a talented receiver but he simply won't be utilized enough to pay off a far higher draft price. Last season, arguably his breakout, Knox averaged 4.7 targets per game. That ranked 20th among tight ends, below the likes of Evan Engram and James O'Shaughnessy.

Where Knox stood out was in the red zone, tying for the fourth-most targets inside the 20 among TE, and second-most inside the 10. Those nine TD made Knox one of the better tight ends but you know the expression, "touchdowns are not a sticky stat." Knox tied for the most scores at the position but you simply can't bank on a repeat. The addition of O.J. Howard shouldn't impact Knox much but the loss of OC Brian Daboll could. All told, Knox is a player I'm avoiding in best ball this year at an ADP of 75 (TE9) in FFPC.

If you choose to wait on tight end, Zach Ertz is your guy. Despite the drama and the rumors, there's a good chance Kyler Murray is still quarterbacking the Cardinals next year. The team lost Christian Kirk in free agency and it is yet to be determined if A.J. Green will be brought back. We could see Ertz play a bigger role in the offense and return to his elite status. He's the player I'm drafting in this tier, especially if Gronk retires again.

Tier 5

Just when you thought a move out of Denver would be an upgrade for Noah Fant...

Poor Noah Fant. Goes from having Drew Lock as his quarterback to having Drew Lock as his quarterback.

— Justin Carter (@juscarts) March 8, 2022

Hope springs eternal that Drew Lock will develop into a franchise quarterback. Noah Fant thinks so and Seattle hopes so. The truth is that he's had three years in the NFL and has posted a sub-60% completion rate with 25 TD and 20 INT. Fant is a superb athlete but he finds himself stuck in a poor situation. If Seattle drafts a quarterback in the first round, that's not doing much for his fantasy value either.

My exposure to David Njoku in best-ball might approach 80% by the time it's all said and done. The team not only upgraded from Baker Mayfield to Deshaun Watson this offseason, they jettisoned Austin Hooper after he failed to live up to his contract. Njoku wanted out last year but the team resisted trading him and held on; they are working on a contract extension. Njoku is a natural receiver but his Route% was only 45% last season. This is promising because he wasn't only on the field for obvious passing downs and he should see that figure go up.

Tier 6 and Lower

I have Isaiah Likely over Trey McBride as of now but that could obviously change depending on draft stock and landing spot. McBride is generally considered the better NFL prospect and posted better Combine workout numbers but Likely has good burst and just looks like a natural pass-catcher. Any rookie is a lotto ticket at this point, though.

Cameron Brate suddenly looks like an amazing value, at least for the time being. O.J. Howard signed with Buffalo and Gronk is still mulling over his future. If Gronk isn't with Tampa next season, Brate will be the TE1 catching passes from Tom Brady and could become one of the top targets while Chris Godwin recovers from his ACL injury. The yardage will never be massive but Brate is a red-zone threat that can provide a boost over several games.

The Colts haven't had a fantasy-relevant tight end for a couple of years now and it feels weird. Jack Doyle has retired, so the torch may be passed to second-year man Kylen Granson. This former wide receiver in high school is built like a pass-catching tight end and has good speed. He was barely used last season (15 targets), so it will take a step forward and chemistry with Matt Ryan before we can have any sort of confidence in him. For early drafts, he's worth a last-round flier in FFPC leagues because of the upside.

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