I’ve been taking a stab at dynasty rankings on the weekends. Each weekend I take one position and rank them not for 2018, but if players could be protected indefinitely. I’ve done quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers the last three weeks, so I believe I’m down to tight ends.
Travis Kelce and Zach Ertz look like the first two to me. They’re both great players, they’re in good offenses with young quarterbacks who’ll be around for years – Patrick Mahomes and Carson Wentz.
I think it gets interesting at the third spot. Rob Gronkowski is a possibility – maybe the most dominant tight end to ever play the game. But I think he’s an old 29, with an extensive history of injuries, and he’s paired with a 41-year-old quarterback. How many good games are you getting?
So I instead decided to go with Eric Ebron. He was plagued by drops in Detroit, but he seems to have found a home in Indianapolis. They’ve been using him a lot in the red zone. He’s only 25, and he’ll be working for years with Andrew Luck. That was enough for me to edge Ebron ahead of Gronkowski and Kyle Rudolph (another player who’s in the back half of his career).
After that initial burst, all but one of my next six tight ends are young guys. Trey Burton is 26, and all five of the others are no older than 24. I’ve got 23-year-old Dallas Goedert at the tail end of that group. He isn’t a viable fantasy option yet, but I think he’s going to be around in the league for years putting up good numbers.
After those young guys, then I flip back to the older players who are in general better now but might not have much good ball left – Jimmy Graham, Jared Cook and Greg Olsen are all at least 31.
On this chart, rookies are tagged with black dots.
As usual with this kind of chart, let me know which ranking surprises you the most – a player you thought would be much higher or lower than I have him. We can discuss in the comments section.
DYNASTY LEAGUE TIGHT ENDS | |||
---|---|---|---|
Rk | Tm | Player | Age |
1. | KC | Travis Kelce | 29 |
2. | PHI | Zach Ertz | 27 |
3. | IND | Eric Ebron | 25 |
4. | NE | Rob Gronkowski | 29 |
5. | MIN | Kyle Rudolph | 28 |
6. | NYG | Evan Engram | 24 |
7. | CHI | Trey Burton | 26 |
8. | CLE | David Njoku | 22 |
9. | TB | O.J. Howard | 23 |
10. | SF | George Kittle | 24 |
11. | PHI | • Dallas Goedert | 23 |
12. | GB | Jimmy Graham | 31 |
13. | OAK | Jared Cook | 31 |
14. | PIT | Vance McDonald | 28 |
15. | CAR | Greg Olsen | 33 |
16. | WAS | Jordan Reed | 28 |
17. | MIA | • Mike Gesicki | 23 |
18. | IND | Jack Doyle | 28 |
19. | LAC | Hunter Henry (inj.) | 23 |
20. | ARI | Ricky Seals-Jones | 23 |
21. | ATL | Austin Hooper | 23 |
22. | TB | Cameron Brate | 27 |
23. | BAL | • Hayden Hurst | 25 |
24. | TEN | Jonnu Smith | 23 |
25. | SEA | Nick Vannett | 25 |
26. | BAL | • Mark Andrews | 22 |
27. | BUF | Charles Clay | 29 |
28. | DEN | Jeff Heuerman | 25 |
29. | CIN | Tyler Kroft | 25 |
30. | WAS | Vernon Davis | 34 |
31. | LAR | Gerald Everett | 24 |
32. | JAC | Austin Seferian-Jenkins | 26 |
33. | NYJ | • Chris Herndon | 22 |
34. | CIN | C.J. Uzomah | 25 |
35. | HOU | • Jordan Akins | 26 |
36. | LAR | Tyler Higbee | 25 |
37. | TEN | Delanie Walker (inj.) | 34 |
38. | NO | Benjamin Watson | 37 |
39. | BAL | Maxx Williams | 24 |
40. | LAC | Antonio Gates | 38 |
41. | KC | Demetrius Harris | 27 |
42. | LAC | Virgil Green | 30 |
43. | HOU | Ryan Griffin | 28 |
44. | NE | Jacob Hollister | 24 |
45. | PIT | Jesse James | 24 |
46. | CAR | • Ian Thomas | 23 |
47. | DAL | Geoff Swaim | 25 |
48. | HOU | • Jordan Thomas | 22 |
49. | DET | Luke Willson | 28 |
50. | NYJ | Jordan Leggette | 23 |
—Ian Allan