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Dynasty Leagues

Tight end rankings

Long term, Kelce is tops among tight ends

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
RkTmPlayerAge
1.KCTravis Kelce29
2.PHIZach Ertz27
3.INDEric Ebron25
4.NERob Gronkowski29
5.MINKyle Rudolph28
6.NYGEvan Engram24
7.CHITrey Burton26
8.CLEDavid Njoku22
9.TBO.J. Howard23
10.SFGeorge Kittle24
11.PHI• Dallas Goedert23
12.GBJimmy Graham31
13.OAKJared Cook31
14.PITVance McDonald28
15.CARGreg Olsen33
16.WASJordan Reed28
17.MIA• Mike Gesicki23
18.INDJack Doyle28
19.LACHunter Henry (inj.)23
20.ARIRicky Seals-Jones23
21.ATLAustin Hooper23
22.TBCameron Brate27
23.BAL• Hayden Hurst25
24.TENJonnu Smith23
25.SEANick Vannett25
26.BAL• Mark Andrews22
27.BUFCharles Clay29
28.DENJeff Heuerman25
29.CINTyler Kroft25
30.WASVernon Davis34
31.LARGerald Everett24
32.JACAustin Seferian-Jenkins26
33.NYJ• Chris Herndon22
34.CINC.J. Uzomah25
35.HOU• Jordan Akins26
36.LARTyler Higbee25
37.TENDelanie Walker (inj.)34
38.NOBenjamin Watson37
39.BALMaxx Williams24
40.LACAntonio Gates38
41.KCDemetrius Harris27
42.LACVirgil Green30
43.HOURyan Griffin28
44.NEJacob Hollister24
45.PITJesse James24
46.CAR• Ian Thomas23
47.DALGeoff Swaim25
48.HOU• Jordan Thomas22
49.DETLuke Willson28
50.NYJJordan Leggette23

—Ian Allan

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