It’s not easy ranking the tight ends (either for 2017 or longer term). Four of the very best ones comes with considerable injury risk. And if a player misses 4-8 games or ends his career three years early, that’s a huge hit for those who selected him.
So if I’m walking into a dynasty draft today, I would be leery of selecting Rob Gronkowski, Tyler Eifert, Jordan Reed and Kyle Rudolph. All are great, but all have missed games with multiple injuries during their careers. They can’t be counted on to play 16 games in any given season.
So if I were picking a tight end today, I think I would instead go with Hunter Henry. He hasn’t fully blossomed yet, but I’ve seen enough to convince me he’s going to be a very good player at this position for a lot of years.
I would also be looking hard at Cameron Brate. He’s a converted wide receiver out of the Ivy League, but he seems to be for real.
Below is my top 50. This is using standard scoring, and I’m trying to strike a balance between what a player will do in the 2017, what he might do in subsequent seasons and how many productive seasons he has left. At the same time, rankings must be crafted knowing that NFL and fantasy teams are constantly adjusting their rosters. And when 30-plus tight ends have been chosen, it makes more sense to go after somebody who might be very good (rather than just a player who’ll definitely be on a roster but has no chance of every posting top-10 numbers).
My try …
DYNASTY TIGHT ENDS | |||
---|---|---|---|
Rk | Tm | Player | Age |
1. | SD | Hunter Henry | 22 |
2. | CIN | Tyler Eifert | 26 |
3. | TB | Cameron Brate | 25 |
4. | NE | Rob Gronkowski | 27 |
5. | KC | Travis Kelce | 27 |
6. | WAS | Jordan Reed | 26 |
7. | MIN | Kyle Rudolph | 27 |
8. | DET | Eric Ebron | 23 |
9. | SEA | Jimmy Graham | 30 |
10. | CAR | Greg Olsen | 31 |
11. | HOU | C.J. Fiedorowicz | 25 |
12. | NE | Martellus Bennett | 29 |
13. | PHI | Zach Ertz | 26 |
14. | TEN | Delanie Walker | 32 |
15. | SF | Vance McDonald | 26 |
16. | BUF | Charles Clay | 27 |
17. | IND | Dwayne Allen | 26 |
18. | GB | Jared Cook | 29 |
19. | DEN | AJ Derby | 25 |
20. | PIT | Ladarius Green | 26 |
21. | NO | Coby Fleener | 28 |
22. | JAC | Julius Thomas | 28 |
23. | IND | Jack Doyle | 26 |
24. | CHI | Zach Miller | 31 |
25. | OAK | Clive Walford | 25 |
26. | ATL | Austin Hooper | 22 |
27. | BAL | Dennis Pitta | 31 |
28. | ARI | Jermaine Gresham | 28 |
29. | CLE | Gary Barnidge | 31 |
30. | NYJ | Austin Seferian-Jenkins | 24 |
31. | MIA | Dion Sims | 25 |
32. | DAL | Jason Witten | 34 |
33. | PIT | Jesse James | 22 |
34. | LA | Tyler Higbee | 23 |
35. | NYG | Will Tye | 25 |
36. | IND | Erik Swoope | 24 |
37. | ARI | Troy Niklas | 24 |
38. | GB | Richard Rodgers | 24 |
39. | SD | Antonio Gates | 36 |
40. | LA | Lance Kendricks | 28 |
41. | OAK | Mychal Rivera | 26 |
42. | BAL | Maxx Williams | 22 |
43. | CHI | Daniel Brown | 28 |
44. | HOU | Stephen Anderson | 23 |
45. | ATL | Jacob Tamme | 31 |
46. | DEN | Jeff Heuerman | 24 |
47. | HOU | Ryan Griffin | 27 |
48. | PHI | Trey Burton | 25 |
49. | NO | Josh Hill | 26 |
50. | BAL | Darren Waller | 24 |
—Ian Allan