Big Blue View
Happy summer, readers! The start of summer means a lot of things, including that the opening kickoff of the NFL season is only about 11 weeks away. That sounds like a long time, but you’ll be screaming at the TV on Sundays before you know it.
I recently posted three columns with facts and stats you need to know at the quarterback, running back, and wide receiver positions. I’m finishing this series today with what might be fantasy’s trickiest position: Tight end.
You can find all my offseason and preseason fantasy content, including the articles noted above and the biggest burning fantasy questions for each team, here.
Tight end is perplexing because in most seasons, there’s a very small number of elite options, a handful of somewhat reliable players, and after that you’re usually just looking to get lucky with an unlikely breakout, an occasional big game, or a touchdown here and there. Most leagues require you to start a tight end every week, so the position matters. But demand (for quality fantasy points) exceeds supply. The typical drafting strategy is either to take one of the best ones early or wait and roll the dice.
As more leagues institute tight end premium (TEP) scoring, where tight ends get more bonus points than backs and receivers for catches and perhaps other stats, the big fellas on the end of the line take on greater prominence. TEP can push the best tight ends into the first round, if the bonuses are big enough. But as you’ll see below, tight ends don’t spin the scoreboard like other positions.
The highest-scoring fantasy tight ends of the 2020s (Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Mark Andrews as a distant third) are all 30 or older. The good news – maybe even great news — is that the NFL has seen a very big influx of young pass-catching talent at the position in the past few seasons. My first fact for today is this: Nine of the 15 highest season-long receiving yard totals for a rookie tight end have happened in the last five seasons.
Here are 26 more facts you need to know about tight ends for fantasy football. All fantasy scoring stats are Half-point PPR, with Week 18 excluded for season totals and ranks.
2. Trey McBride averaged 15.1 FPPG in 2025. He’s the first tight end to average more than 15 FPPG since Travis Kelce averaged 15.5 FPPG in 2022.
3. After scoring six TDs across his first three seasons, McBride erupted for 11 last season.
4. In the first five games of the 2025 season, with Kyler Murray at quarterback, McBride averaged 5.8 catches for 55 yards per game, and scored one touchdown. In 12 games with Jacoby Brissett under center for the rest of the...
