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Dynasty Leagues

Long-term tight end rankings

What is value of a decent player who might not be around in 2020?

In November, rankings for dynasty leagues get particularly tricky. You get into trying to weigh guys with some short-term value against younger players with some potential to maybe develop into something in the future. (Or not.)

Specifically at the tight end position, what are the values of guys like Jason Witten and Greg Olsen? They’ve been great players in the past and will catch a few balls, but I don’t think we’ll see either of them on the field in 2020. And we can probably put Benjamin Watson and Delanie Walker in this group.

Or do we instead go with a youngster like Jace Sternberger or Dawson Knox? These guys might not become viable players, but some chance they might develop into decent starters at some point. Knox has had a credible rookie season with the Bills. With Sternberger, the Packers drafted him in the third round, and I’m operating under the assumption that Jimmy Graham will be gone at the end of the season.

With these rankings, you have to decide how far in the future you want to look. Do you at all about 2023 or 2024? And any model needs to factor in that things invariably change along the way. A month ago, for example, nobody considered Jacob Hollister to be one of the game’s top 50 tight ends. Now you can legitimately argue whether he might be a top-10 guy for the remainder for the 2019 season (and if so, perhaps a viable choice in 2020).

For these rankings, I’m going off my gut. That is, I’ve got the guys in a long list, and I comb over it for about an hour, moving guys a few spots up and down, based on what feels right. I’m assuming PPR scoring, and I’m assuming we’re in a dynasty league with deep rosters – perhaps 12 teams with each of them carrying three tight ends.

I turn my attention to dynasty leagues each Saturday, focusing on one position. To see previous posts, use the “past issues” links on the right side of the page.

Last week: Wide receivers.

Next week: quarterbacks.

Rookies tagged with black dots.

DYNASTY TIGHT ENDS
RKTmPlayerAge
1.SFGeorge Kittle26
2.KCTravis Kelce30
3.PHIZach Ertz29
4.ATLAustin Hooper25
5.BALMark Andrews23
6.LACHunter Henry24
7.NYGEvan Engram25
8.DET• T.J. Hockenson 22
9.OAKDarren Waller27
10.DEN• Noah Fant 21
11.CLEDavid Njoku23
12.PHIDallas Goedert24
13.MIN• Irv Smith 21
14.LARGerald Everett25
15.MIAMike Gesicki24
16.TBO.J. Howard24
17.PITVance McDonald29
18.INDEric Ebron26
19.SEAJacob Hollister25
20.GB• Jace Sternberger 23
21.NYJChris Herndon23
22.MINKyle Rudolph30
23.INDJack Doyle29
24.BUF• Dawson Knox 23
25.TBCameron Brate28
26.NOJared Cook32
27.CINTyler Eifert29
28.GBJimmy Graham32
29.SEAWill Dissly23
30.DALBlake Jarwin25
31.HOUJordan Akins27
32.CARGreg Olsen34
33.INDMo Alie-Cox26
34.TENJonnu Smith24
35.JAC• Josh Oliver 22
36.CHITrey Burton28
37.BALHayden Hurst26
38.OAK• Foster Moreau 22
39.HOUDarren Fells33
40.LARTyler Higbee26
41.CLERicky Seals-Jones24
42.TENDelanie Walker35
43.DALJason Witten37
44.SFRoss Dwelley24
45.CARIan Thomas24
46.NEBenjamin Watson38
47.TB• Tanner Hudson25
48.CIN• Drew Sample 23
49.BALNick Boyle26
50.SEAEd Dickson32
51.NERob Gronkowski30
52.BUFTyler Kroft27
53.HOU• Kahale Warring 22
54.DETLogan Thomas28
55.KCBlake Bell28
56.CHIAdam Shaheen26
57.JACGeoff Swaim26
58.HOUJordan Thomas23
59.ARIMaxx Williams25
60.NYJ• Trevon Wesco 24

—Ian Allan

Fantasy Index