Best Fantasy Football Tight End Pick in Each Tier: Travis Kelce, Dalton Kincaid, George Kittle and More

Since most fantasy leagues have just one tight end slot, the pool of fantasy-relevant players is much smaller than at running back or wide receiver. It’s easier to sort a position with less players; essentially, the one-starter positions (quarterback, tight end, kicker and defense) have half or even one-third as many guys to sift through as RB or WR.

Fantasy positions generally work into tiers, with the top players standing out, a few groups in the middle making up the bulk of the fantasy guys, and the bottom supplying the last of the fantasy-relevant group.

I separated the tight ends into tiers using our FantasySP PPR rankings. For each tier, I highlighted the player I like most and the point in the draft at which he is being selected based on our rankings. The number listed with each guy is his overall ranking among all players.

Tier 1: Superstars

• No. 26 Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
• No. 29 Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions

LaPorta looks like a star at a position without many of them. He was a second-round pick, so it’s not a surprise he became a successful NFL player. It is a surprise, though, that he might be the best tight end in the league entering his second season.

He was fourth in receptions and fifth in receiving yards among tight ends while scoring four more touchdowns than anyone else at the position (10). LaPorta was TE1 due to his touchdown binge, something that might not continue at the same rate.

While I trust him to be able to repeat his catch and yardage totals, LaPorta caught a touchdown every 8.6 receptions in 2023. Kelce has caught a touchdown every 12.2 receptions in his career, and his best season was 9.2. Tony Gonzalez averaged a TD every 11.9 catches, though twice was under 8.0. Gronk averaged 6.75, but he’s a freak; I’m not predicting anyone will replicate anything Rob Gronkowski did.

Unless you think LaPorta is going to produce touchdowns at an all-time level every year, there’s a good chance his TD number will fall this season, leaving LaPorta as more of a top-five tight end rather than TE1.

I trust the history of production that Kelce brings a little more than the upside of LaPorta. Kelce’s finishes since 2016:

• 2016: Standard TE1, PPR TE1
• 2017: Std TE2, PPR TE1
• 2018: Std TE1, PPR TE1
• 2019: Std TE1, PPR TE1
• 2020: Std TE1, PPR TE1
• 2021: Std TE2, PPR TE2
• 2022: Std TE1, PPR TE1
• 2023: Std TE3, PPR TE3

I mean, what more can we ask for? The most recent season showed that Kelce isn’t immortal, but he’s been the most consistent fantasy player of the last eight years. He will turn 35 in October; Kansas City added better pass catchers to take some of the load off their tight end.

None of it matters, though. Kelce is still going to be there in big spots, including the red zone. He has never played less than 15 games in a season (last year he played 15). Kelce is the guy if you want a top tight end.

I’m against the idea of taking one of these two in the third round. Tight end is easier to stream and find production later in the draft, though nobody will consistently play at the level of these guys. Running back and receiver are more important to fill at this point in fantasy drafts (Kelce makes his argument with such yearly production).

Tier 2: Potential Over Proof

• No. 48 Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
• No. 49 Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
• No. 52 Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills

Andrews is the guy who beat out Kelce for TE1 in 2021. Partly due to injury, he has never come close to reproducing that season (107-1,361-9). Even during that 2021 season, Andrews wasn’t excelling with his top quarterback.

Jackson played just 11 games that season (not counting one in which he threw only four passes). Andrews recorded much better stats when he played with backups Tyler Huntley and Josh Johnson under center:

• Averages with Jackson: 5.1 receptions, 67.1 yards, 0.45 touchdowns
• Averages without Jackson: 8.5 receptions, 103.8 yards, 0.67 touchdowns

Andrews has dealt with injuries, only been elite for a full season once, and played his best without his current quarterback. I don’t feel good about taking him in the fifth or sixth round.

McBride is unproven. I love Kyler Murray this year (being drafted around QB10), so I guess it makes sense to like McBride, but we haven’t seen elite production; that’s what this draft position implies.

Kincaid might be my favorite tight end this year (or the guy we’ll get to next). Buffalo lost their top two receivers from last season and replaced them with a mix of the 33rd overall pick and middling veterans like Curtis Samuel. Without a proven WR1, Kincaid might be the one to pick up the slack.

Kincaid assuming the WR1 role by proxy would look a lot like Kelce in Kansas City. I’m not expecting Kincaid to ever reach Kelce’s level, but even the poor-man’s Kelce would be a top-five tight end every year.

Kincaid was tied for seventh in receptions among tight ends as a rookie and 10th in receiving yards. He scored only two touchdowns, but like I said in the LaPorta section, touchdowns fluctuate from year to year. If he sees 90 targets again, Kincaid will score more than twice. I equate picking Kincaid in the sixth round to trying to get Kelce-level volume three rounds later.

Tier 3: Veterans in the Middle

• No. 62 George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
• No. 67 Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
• No. 72 Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars

Kittle might actually be my favorite tight end pick this season because he’s available a round later than Kincaid. Instead of holding the potential to break out, Kittle is just consistently great, kind of like Kelce.

He’s not on Kelce’s level, but let’s play the fantasy finish game again with the San Francisco tight end:

• 2018: Std TE2, PPR TE3
• 2019: Std TE3, PPR TE2
• 2020: Std TE19, PPR TE19
• 2021: Std TE4, PPR TE4
• 2022: Std TE2, PPR TE3
• 2023: Std TE2, PPR TE5

He only played eight games in 2020, making it even more impressive that he was a top-20 guy. Other than that, Kittle has been a top-five tight end in both standard and PPR in each of the past six seasons. And he’s being drafted as TE6 this year.

We overthink things a lot, and this is one of them. He has a lot of competition for targets; it’s been the same story each of the last two years and hasn’t mattered. Kittle is my favorite tight end pick this year based on value.

Tier 4: Starter/Streamer Line

• No. 86 Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys
• No. 92 David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
• No. 102 Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders

Everyone from this point forward is essentially the same to me. I don’t see one guy being much more valuable than the others: It will depend on health, quarterback situation and touchdown luck.

Ferguson was TE9 last year; he’s a decent pick who should have some good weeks. Njoku was TE5/6, but like Andrews, he did a lot of his damage without his top quarterback (Deshaun Watson in this case). Bowers has a ton of upside, but it’s always dangerous to trust rookie tight ends, especially with Las Vegas having an uncertain quarterback situation.

That’s a lot of “meh.” Each of these guys will probably have capable fantasy weeks and others that leave you wanting. I trust the veterans more, probably in the order they are listed.

Tier 5: Backups and Streamers

• No. 112 Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
• No. 118 T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
• No. 119 Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
• No. 130 Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
• No. 135 Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears

Schultz and Kmet are the two guys who stand out here. Schultz had a one-year deal with Houston and finished as TE10/11 last season while having maybe his second-best season. His connection with then-rookie C.J. Stroud earned him a bigger deal this offseason, and he should be in line to repeat something close to his 59-635-5 line; that’s a guy on the line of fantasy starter/streamer.

Kmet had career highs in receptions (73) and yards (719) last season while scoring six touchdowns. That’s a better line than Schultz, and now Kmet is getting a (supposed) big upgrade from Justin Fields to Caleb Williams.

I was on the Schultz train as my favorite late-round tight end, but I think I’ve changed my mind to Kmet. Both have plenty of guys to fight with for targets, but they also have good quarterbacks and no other tight end to fight for the top spot.

Hockenson is an interesting pick as an IR stash whom you hope will return later in the season to give you top-10-level production. It’s a good idea, but I’d rather do that with Nick Chubb at a more important position.

The others are streamer guys, able to start on the right week but not top performers. Kmet is my favorite from this group, but Schultz is just a hair behind.