San Francisco tight end George Kittle is in a contract year, but just maybe something will get done sooner rather than later. He's been the team's leading receiver in recent years, and will almost certainly be their top target again this year (especially given the Deebo Samuel injury). When he signs he'll be the NFL's highest-paid tight end -- reportedly in the neighborhood of $13 million per season.
Kittle was just a 5th-round pick, but still put up serviceable rookie-year numbers in 2017 -- 43 catches for 515 yards and 2 TDs. He was fantasy's 19th-ranked tight end that season. He's gone on to blow those numbers out of the water the last two years, finishing as the No. 3 tight end both seasons.
Five other tight ends have been top-20 performers all three years, including Kelce, Ertz, Cook, Rudolph and Engram. But just three have had a pair of top-5 seasons in that span: Kelce, Ertz and Kittle.
| TOP-20 TIGHT ENDS, 2017-2019 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Year | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | PPR | Rk |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | 2018 | 103 | 1336 | 13.0 | 10 | 296.6 | 1 |
| Zach Ertz, Phil. | 2018 | 116 | 1163 | 10.0 | 8 | 280.3 | 2 |
| George Kittle, S.F. | 2018 | 88 | 1377 | 15.7 | 5 | 258.7 | 3 |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | 2019 | 97 | 1229 | 12.7 | 5 | 256.3 | 1 |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | 2017 | 83 | 1038 | 12.5 | 8 | 235.5 | 1 |
| Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 2017 | 69 | 1084 | 15.7 | 8 | 227.4 | 2 |
| Eric Ebron, Ind. | 2018 | 66 | 750 | 11.4 | 13 | 224.2 | 4 |
| Darren Waller, Oak. | 2019 | 90 | 1145 | 12.7 | 3 | 223.0 | 2 |
| George Kittle, S.F. | 2019 | 85 | 1053 | 12.4 | 5 | 222.5 | 3 |
| Zach Ertz, Phil. | 2019 | 88 | 916 | 10.4 | 6 | 217.6 | 4 |
| Mark Andrews, Balt. | 2019 | 64 | 852 | 13.3 | 10 | 209.2 | 5 |
| Zach Ertz, Phil. | 2017 | 74 | 824 | 11.1 | 8 | 204.4 | 3 |
| Jared Cook, Oak. | 2018 | 68 | 896 | 13.2 | 6 | 193.6 | 5 |
| Austin Hooper, Atl. | 2019 | 75 | 787 | 10.5 | 6 | 191.7 | 6 |
| Delanie Walker, Ten. | 2017 | 74 | 807 | 10.9 | 3 | 178.5 | 4 |
| Evan Engram, NYG | 2017 | 64 | 722 | 11.3 | 6 | 173.6 | 5 |
| Jack Doyle, Ind. | 2017 | 80 | 690 | 8.6 | 4 | 173.0 | 6 |
| Jimmy Graham, Sea. | 2017 | 57 | 520 | 9.1 | 10 | 171.0 | 7 |
| Jared Cook, N.O. | 2019 | 43 | 705 | 16.4 | 9 | 167.5 | 7 |
| Austin Hooper, Atl. | 2018 | 71 | 660 | 9.3 | 4 | 163.0 | 6 |
| Tyler Higbee, LAR | 2019 | 69 | 734 | 10.6 | 3 | 160.4 | 8 |
| Kyle Rudolph, Min. | 2017 | 57 | 532 | 9.3 | 8 | 158.2 | 8 |
| Hunter Henry, LAC | 2019 | 55 | 652 | 11.9 | 5 | 152.2 | 9 |
| Kyle Rudolph, Min. | 2018 | 64 | 634 | 9.9 | 4 | 151.4 | 7 |
| Trey Burton, Chi. | 2018 | 54 | 569 | 10.5 | 6 | 149.1 | 8 |
| Jason Witten, Dall. | 2017 | 63 | 560 | 8.9 | 5 | 149.0 | 9 |
| Dallas Goedert, Phil. | 2019 | 58 | 607 | 10.5 | 5 | 148.7 | 10 |
| David Njoku, Cle. | 2018 | 56 | 639 | 11.4 | 4 | 143.9 | 9 |
| Cameron Brate, T.B. | 2017 | 48 | 591 | 12.3 | 6 | 143.1 | 10 |
| Jason Witten, Dall. | 2019 | 63 | 529 | 8.4 | 4 | 141.9 | 11 |
| Mike Gesicki, Mia. | 2019 | 51 | 570 | 11.2 | 5 | 138.0 | 12 |
| Benjamin Watson, Balt. | 2017 | 61 | 522 | 8.6 | 4 | 137.2 | 11 |
| Vance McDonald, Pitt. | 2018 | 50 | 610 | 12.2 | 4 | 135.0 | 10 |
| Jared Cook, Oak. | 2017 | 54 | 688 | 12.7 | 2 | 134.8 | 12 |
| Eric Ebron, Det. | 2017 | 53 | 574 | 10.8 | 4 | 134.4 | 13 |
| Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 2018 | 47 | 682 | 14.5 | 3 | 133.2 | 11 |
| Jimmy Graham, G.B. | 2018 | 55 | 636 | 11.6 | 2 | 130.6 | 12 |
| Hunter Henry, LAC | 2017 | 45 | 579 | 12.9 | 4 | 126.9 | 14 |
| Evan Engram, NYG | 2018 | 45 | 577 | 12.8 | 3 | 126.3 | 13 |
| Vernon Davis, Was. | 2017 | 43 | 648 | 15.1 | 3 | 125.8 | 15 |
| Tyler Kroft, Cin. | 2017 | 42 | 404 | 9.6 | 7 | 124.4 | 16 |
| Greg Olsen, Car. | 2019 | 52 | 597 | 11.5 | 2 | 123.7 | 13 |
| Jordan Reed, Was. | 2018 | 54 | 558 | 10.3 | 2 | 121.8 | 14 |
| O.J. Howard, T.B. | 2018 | 34 | 565 | 16.6 | 5 | 120.5 | 15 |
| Austin Hooper, Atl. | 2017 | 49 | 526 | 10.7 | 3 | 119.6 | 17 |
| Charles Clay, Buff. | 2017 | 49 | 558 | 11.4 | 2 | 116.8 | 18 |
| Kyle Rudolph, Min. | 2019 | 39 | 367 | 9.4 | 6 | 113.7 | 14 |
| Chris Herndon, NYJ | 2018 | 39 | 502 | 12.9 | 4 | 113.2 | 16 |
| Noah Fant, Den. | 2019 | 40 | 562 | 14.1 | 3 | 113.0 | 15 |
| Jack Doyle, Ind. | 2019 | 43 | 448 | 10.4 | 4 | 111.8 | 16 |
| Darren Fells, Hou. | 2019 | 34 | 341 | 10.0 | 7 | 110.1 | 17 |
| Evan Engram, NYG | 2019 | 44 | 467 | 10.6 | 3 | 109.4 | 18 |
| Mark Andrews, Balt. | 2018 | 34 | 552 | 16.2 | 3 | 107.2 | 17 |
| Tyler Eifert, Cin. | 2019 | 43 | 436 | 10.1 | 3 | 106.6 | 19 |
| George Kittle, S.F. | 2017 | 43 | 515 | 12.0 | 2 | 106.5 | 19 |
| O.J. Howard, T.B. | 2017 | 26 | 432 | 16.6 | 6 | 105.2 | 20 |
| C.J. Uzomah, Cin. | 2018 | 43 | 439 | 10.2 | 3 | 104.9 | 18 |
| Jonnu Smith, Ten. | 2019 | 35 | 439 | 12.5 | 3 | 104.7 | 20 |
| Cameron Brate, T.B. | 2018 | 30 | 289 | 9.6 | 6 | 94.9 | 19 |
| Dallas Goedert, Phil. | 2018 | 33 | 334 | 10.1 | 4 | 90.4 | 20 |
In the table, players are sorted by PPR points. With Kittle being 3-4 years younger than either Kelce or Ertz, a case can be made that he's the No. 1 tight end in dynasty leagues. He'll get paid soon, and he'll deserve it.
--Andy Richardson