Big Blue View
A first look at the most vexing position in fantasy for 2025
Welcome to the final installment of my preliminary rankings and tiers for each major position for fantasy. You can find all my preseason fantasy content, including my quarterback, running back, and wide receiver rankings and tiers, here. I’ll update rankings in late August. Hopefully, these initial looks will help you to start thinking about player values and draft strategies.
Before we get to the rankings, here are three observations on the tight end position.
1. TE is Top-Heavy and Bottomless at the same time. Just when it looked like the Great American Tight End Renaissance was in full bloom, we’re back to a situation where there are very few guys you can trust on a weekly basis. If three catches for 26 yards and no TDs floats your boat, have I got some players for you!
Only four tight ends averaged more than 10 fantasy points per game (FPPG) last season in Half-Point PPR (down from seven the year prior), and one of those players (Jonnu Smith) was a mid-season waiver wire pickup. If you want to differentiate at this position, you’ll need to pay up for one of the top-tier players, or get a little lucky. Tight end is a “onesie” position – in the vast majority of leagues you only start one, and it’s not a position where you’re likely to flex. That pushes the top guys up the rankings even more, but trust me, there will be some late round fliers that hit, and some waiver gems. The position may be thin with reliable weekly starters, but it’s ocean-deep with sleepers.
2. *Rookies are tempting, but…*tight end has traditionally been a position where rookies have little value for fantasy. It’s a hard position to learn, for obvious reasons. Then along came Sam LaPorta in 2023, and Brock Bowers in 2024. Can it happen? It can. But put those outliers aside because it’s still a long-shot. The 2025 rookie tight end class is an exciting one, led by Top-20 NFL Draft picks Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren, and it features some intriguing late-round sleepers like Elijah Arroyo and Mason Taylor. Just be aware of the track record before you spend too much on a rookie tight end.
3. Can the old guys still bring it? Let’s visit the flip side to the rookies. Travis Kelce is 35, and George Kittle, Mark Andrews, Dallas Goedert, Evan Engram, and Zach Ertz will all be at least 30 when the season kicks off. David Njoku is 29. Tight ends often hit their primes later, but still, Kelce is clearly not the player he was a few years ago, and age could start to factor in for a few others.
I’ve organized the tight ends into tiers, as I do at every position. You should do the same. To reiterate what I said in the other rankings columns, everyone wants the best players, and a tiered approach allows fantasy managers...
