Wild Card Round Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings: Mark Andrews, T.J. Hockenson, Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, Dalton Kincaid and More

It’s time to wrap up my fantasy football series where I rank all the offensive players in the Wild Card Round.

We already looked at quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers in separate stories and will now cover the tight ends. I’m going to use PPR scoring when discussing the tight ends.

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Wild Card Matchups

In the game between the Chargers and Texans, the Houston tight ends have a pretty average matchup, while the test for the LA tight ends is more challenging.

The clash for the Steelers and Ravens’ tight ends are slightly above average, with the Baltimore tight ends having the more favorable test.

The matchups for the Bills and Broncos’ tight ends are pretty average, with Denver’s TEs having a bit more favorable test.

The Packers’ tight ends have a very tough test against the Eagles. The Philly TEs have a very average matchup.

In the Tampa Bay, Washington tilt, the Commanders’ tight ends have a slightly above-average test, while the Bucs’ TEs have a pretty average matchup.

And finally for the Vikings, Rams game, the Minnesota TEs have a very favorable test (the best of the week), while the Los Angeles tight ends have a below-average matchup.

Tight Ends Rankings

1. Mark Andrews

Andrews is somehow the No. 1 fantasy tight end playing this week. He had the eighth-most PPR per game this regular season. Andrews ended the season by scoring in double figures in each of the final six contests.

In week 11 against Pittsburgh, he scored 4.2 points. He went for 13.8 points in the second clash in week 16.

2. T.J. Hockenson

Hockenson averaged 8.7 points per week this season. He alternated single- and double-digit performances over the final five weeks.

He did not play in the team’s first meeting. Hockenson is ranked as high as he is because of the favorable matchup he has.

3. Zach Ertz

Ertz had a really solid regular season, averaging 10.4 PPR points per week. He ended the season by scoring 39.7 points over the final two weeks.

In the first meeting with Tampa Bay way back in week 1, Ertz scored just 5.8 points.

4. Pat Freiermuth

Freiermuth averaged 9.9 points per contest this season, but ended the year strong. He hit 9.9 points in six of the past seven games.

In the first meeting against Baltimore, he scored just 3.4 points. He only tallied 4.6 in the second contest.

5. Cade Otton, if he plays; Payne Durham if Otton is out

Otton averaged 10 points a game this season, but hasn’t played since week 15. He’s questionable for Sunday’s game.

Otton only scored 1.5 points in the first meeting against Washington back in week 1.

Durham did enough down the stretch filling in for Otton, but only is a decent option if Otton is out.

6. Dallas Goedert

Goedert had an injury-riddled season, missing seven weeks altogether. He returned in week 18 and scored 9.5 points.

The tight end scored 7.1 fantasy points back in week 1 against the Packers.

7. Tucker Kraft

Kraft had an up-and-down fantasy season, averaging 9.6 points overall. He scored at least seven points in the final three contests, but wasn’t over 10 points in any of those games.

Kraft only scored 5.7 points in the team’s first matchup against the Eagles.

8. Isaiah Likely

Likely scored 26.1 PPR points in week 1, but went over 10 points just three other times this season. He had 6.8 or more points in the final three contests of the regular season.

In the first meeting against Pittsburgh, Likely had 9.5 points. He scored 11.9 points in the second game. Based on those two numbers, Likely could be a sneaky good sleeper option this week, especially with Zay Flowers out.

9. Dalton Schultz

Schultz had a pretty underwhelming fantasy season. He averaged just seven points a game and hit double figures just twice - on a somewhat positive note, those two double-digit outings have come since week 13.

The Texans and Chargers have not faced off this season. While LA has allowed a healthy amount of catches to opposing tight ends, the 775 yards and two touchdowns surrendered are some of the better marks in the NFL.

10. Dalton Kincaid

Kincaid had an underwhelming fantasy season and missed a handful of games. He went from a preseason tight end favorite to someone who was not a good starting option in any formats.

He averaged 7.8 points per contest this season. In his final five appearances, he didn’t go over 10 points once, while only topping five points on three occasions.

11. Tyler Higbee

Higbee only ended up playing three games this season, but averaged 8.9 points in those contests. He had one big game with the Rams’ regular starters in week 16 before tallying just 2.9 points in week 17. 

Higbee scored 15.6 points in week 18, but that came with Matthew Stafford and other LA regulars resting. Higbee was not active, or close to it, when the Rams and Vikings met in the regular season.

12. Will Dissly

Dissly averaged 7.3 points per game this season. He missed some time late in the season, but returned for weeks 17 and 18.

Dissly scored just 4.1 points in week 17, but erupted for 15.2 points in the regular season finale. He and the Chargers haven’t faced the Texans this season, and despite it being a tougher matchup, it’s worth noting that Houston allowed eight touchdowns to opposing tight ends.

13. Dawson Knox

Knox had a couple decent showings this season, but only averaged 3.7 points a contest. 

He is the first player in this article who I would definitely try to avoid this weekend. Knox could factor in a bit, but really is just a longshot lottery ticket.

14. Luke Musgrave

I wasn’t going to include Musgrave in the story, but with Christian Watson out for the postseason, Musgrave could be a little more involved in the pass game for the Pack.

He averaged just 1.6 PPR points in his seven games played this season. Musgrave did not score in the opener against Philly.

15. Grant Calcaterra

Calcaterra had a couple decent fantasy outings when Goedert missed time, but only averaged 3.5 points a week.

The only way Calcaterra would be heavily involved would be if Goedert, A.J. Brown or DeVonta Smith were out - and they are all on track to play.

16. Colby Parkinson

Parkinson had a couple nice showings early in the season, but faded as the season went along, well before Higbee returned from his injury.

Parkinson ended up averaging 3.8 points a game. With every one of the Rams’ big pass catchers healthy and available, Parkinson isn’t likely to be a big-time contributor this week.

17. Nate Adkins, Lucas Krull and Adam Trautman

I listed these three Denver tight ends together for a few reasons. For starters, they all averaged 2.6 fantasy points per game - that’s wild to me. Secondly, none of them are good fantasy options, and that’s why they are listed last.

Looking back through their game logs, it’d be anyone’s guess as to which player scored the most points this week. I’d take them in the order I have them listed, by the way.

The only reason I have Adkins on top is because he was the only one with two performances over 1.5 points across the past three games. That’s still not a good thing, so just avoid these guys altogether.