I update the dynasty rankings from time to time. I circle between QB, RB, WR and TE, re-stacking the overall board. Of these groups, tight ends is by far my least favorite – definitely the hardest of the four.
More so than the other position, you quickly get into measuring players with drastically different qualities.
The first three, I think, are pretty easy. I’ve got Zach Ertz at No. 1. He’s only 26, he’s been durable, and he’s really cutting it up right now. In his last 12 games, he’s caught 84 passes for 911 yards. Just 4 TDs, but I think he’s going to go well over 1,000 yards, and he looks like he’s going to be a good long-term player.
Two other players I like, and they both wear No. 87. Rob Gronkowski is remarkably productive; if I had more confidence in his ability to stay on the field, he’d be the runaway No. 1. (These are dynasty rankings, making durability/longevity more important). Travis Kelce isn’t a great scorer but catches plenty of balls; he went for a league-high 1,125 yards last year and was close to 900 in each of the two previous seasons. Kelce is a year younger and a lot more durability.
But after those three, I have to kind of throw my hands up in the air. Jordan Reed and Tyler Eifert have been very good, but I have very little confidence in their ability to stay on the field.
Martellus Bennett and Jimmy Graham have been good in the past, but they’re both 30 and having lesser years so far. They need to turn things around, and how long can they remain effective? Graham is in a contract year, so I imagine he’ll be playing elsewhere next year (which could be a good thing).
And then there are a host of promising young tight ends who look like they will develop into stars. Hunter Henry, Evan Engram, O.J. Howard, David Njoku. And even a couple of second-round rookies are in this group – Jonnu Smith, Gerald Everett. With all of these players, they’re not great right now. You’re selecting them because you think they’ll become great.
The other group are the old guys right at the end of their careers. Delanie Walker, Greg Olsen (injured) and especially Jason Witten and Antonio Gates. With them, they might be productive, but they might have under 30 games left in their careers.
So it’s a difficult process.
I do it by hand, going through the list by hand, placing and re-placing the guys until the list feels right. I’m assuming standard scoring. And I’m assuming a league of about 12 teams, with each team having a starting tight end and multiple backups.
DYNASTY TIGHT END RANKINGS | |||
---|---|---|---|
Rk | Tm | Player | Age |
1. | PHI | Zach Ertz | 26 |
2. | NE | Rob Gronkowski | 28 |
3. | KC | Travis Kelce | 27 |
4. | LAC | Hunter Henry | 22 |
5. | NYG | Evan Engram | 23 |
6. | WAS | Jordan Reed | 27 |
7. | IND | Jack Doyle | 27 |
8. | GB | Martellus Bennett | 30 |
9. | SEA | Jimmy Graham | 30 |
10. | CIN | Tyler Eifert | 27 |
11. | MIN | Kyle Rudolph | 27 |
12. | TEN | Jonnu Smith | 22 |
13. | TB | O.J. Howard | 22 |
14. | CLE | David Njoku | 21 |
15. | BUF | Charles Clay | 28 |
16. | TB | Cameron Brate | 26 |
17. | TEN | Delanie Walker | 33 |
18. | CAR | Greg Olsen | 32 |
19. | DAL | Jason Witten | 35 |
20. | ATL | Austin Hooper | 22 |
21. | OAK | Jared Cook | 30 |
22. | LAR | Gerald Everett | 23 |
23. | DET | Eric Ebron | 24 |
24. | SF | George Kittle | 23 |
25. | PIT | Jesse James | 23 |
26. | LAC | Antonio Gates | 37 |
27. | IND | Erik Swoope | 25 |
28. | NYJ | Austin Seferian-Jenkins | 24 |
29. | CHI | Zach Miller | 31 |
30. | NO | Coby Fleener | 29 |
31. | HOU | C.J. Fiedorowicz | 25 |
32. | MIA | Julius Thomas | 29 |
33. | ARI | Jermaine Gresham | 29 |
34. | CHI | Adam Shaheen | 23 |
35. | JAC | Marcedes Lewis | 33 |
36. | HOU | Ryan Griffin | 27 |
37. | NE | Jacob Hollister | 23 |
38. | DAL | Rico Gathers | 23 |
39. | BAL | Maxx Williams | 23 |
40. | DEN | Virgil Green | 29 |
41. | CLE | Seth DeValve | 24 |
42. | WAS | Vernon Davis | 33 |
43. | LAR | Tyler Higbee | 24 |
44. | BAL | Benjamin Watson | 36 |
45. | NE | Dwayne Allen | 27 |
46. | SEA | Luke Willson | 27 |
47. | PIT | Vance McDonald | 27 |
48. | CIN | Tyler Kroft | 24 |
49. | DET | Michael Roberts | 23 |
50. | BUF | Nick O’Leary | 25 |
51. | NYJ | Jordan Leggette | 22 |
52. | NO | Josh Hill | 27 |
53. | KC | Demetrius Harris | 26 |
54. | GB | Lance Kendricks | 29 |
55. | DEN | Jake Butt | 22 |
56. | PHI | Trey Burton | 25 |
57. | NYG | Rhett Ellison | 29 |
58. | SF | Garrett Celek | 29 |
59. | BAL | Nick Boyle | 24 |
60. | DEN | AJ Derby | 26 |
—Ian Allan