The decision making gets more difficult in dynasty leagues, where you need to measure not only what a player’s doing this year, but what he might be a few seasons down the road. And it’s particularly tricky at tight end, where some of the best options are in the later stages of the career.
Travis Kelce, for example, is awesome, but he’s 32 and has shown signs of slowing down. Some tight ends have remained productive into their mid-30s – Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten – but Kelce might not be one of those guys. (And if he’s playing in his mid-30s, he wouldn’t necessarily be putting up top-5 numbers.)
To a lesser degree, Darren Waller is a Kelce-type of guy, but he’s 29 years old, and playing on a team that might be hitting the reset button after firing Jon Gruden. And George Kittle might be the game’s best all-around tight end, but he’s an old 28 – constantly battling injuries because of his physical playing style. Kittle will never be a Kelce or Witten type tight end who only rarely misses games.
So rather than go with one of the older, established veterans, you could instead select one of the younger, up-and-coming options – players that might be on the verge of cranking out a bunch of top-10 or top-5 seasons.
Rookie Pat Freiermuth (pictured) looks like he might be one of those guys. The Steelers have been going to him a lot recently, and he’s been their primary option in the red zone. He’s played well enough that I think it’s a tough call whether you select him or Kelce in a keep-em-forever draft. Freiermuth is 9 years younger than Kelce.
I also like 22-year-old Cole Kmet. I think he’s the biggest upward mover on the list this week. You probably saw him catch a bunch of passes on Thanksgiving. He’s had a bunch of those games in recent weeks. I think he’s just fine as a tight end, and if and when they ever put things together offensively in Chicago, he’s going to be a reliable performer. That will be with Justin Fields established at quarterback and a new coaching staff.
Below see my 1 thru 50 stab at a dynasty list for tight ends. These assume PPR scoring, and I’ve got rookies tagged with black dots. On these rankings, I’m assuming teams would have the ability to hold players indefinitely. And I’m thinking there would be about 12 teams, with each holding about three tight ends (so you get down to Nos. 37-50, and those guys wouldn’t even be rostered).
There are players on this list who won’t even play again in 2021 -- #26 Irv Smith, #28 Robert Tonyan, maybe #32 Adam Trautman and #46 Jacob Harris. The thinking with those guys is that they might hold more value in 2022, making them more valuable than some of the modest warm bodies that are always available on the waiver wire.
I turn my attention to dynasty leagues each Saturday, rotating between the four notable positions. Lists published on previous Saturdays can be accessed using the “Past Issues” navigation box on this screen.
Last week: running backs.
Next week: wide receivers.
| TIGHT ENDS; DYNASTY RANKINGS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Team | Player | Age |
| 1. | ATL | • Kyle Pitts | 21 |
| 2. | BAL | Mark Andrews | 25 |
| 3. | DET | T.J. Hockenson | 24 |
| 4. | LV | Darren Waller | 29 |
| 5. | KC | Travis Kelce | 32 |
| 6. | PIT | • Pat Freiermuth | 23 |
| 7. | PHI | Dallas Goedert | 26 |
| 8. | MIA | Mike Gesicki | 26 |
| 9. | SF | George Kittle | 28 |
| 10. | BUF | Dawson Knox | 25 |
| 11. | NE | Hunter Henry | 26 |
| 12. | CHI | Cole Kmet | 22 |
| 13. | DAL | Dalton Schultz | 25 |
| 14. | DEN | Noah Fant | 24 |
| 15. | TB | Rob Gronkowski | 32 |
| 16. | JAC | Dan Arnold | 26 |
| 17. | LAR | Tyler Higbee | 28 |
| 18. | CIN | C.J. Uzomah | 28 |
| 19. | ARI | Zach Ertz | 31 |
| 20. | WAS | Logan Thomas | 30 |
| 21. | SEA | Gerald Everett | 27 |
| 22. | CLE | Austin Hooper | 27 |
| 23. | NE | Jonnu Smith | 26 |
| 24. | NYG | Evan Engram | 27 |
| 25. | CLE | David Njoku | 25 |
| 26. | MIN | Irv Smith | 23 |
| 27. | IND | • Kylen Granson | 23 |
| 28. | GB | Robert Tonyan | 27 |
| 29. | CAR | • Tommy Tremble | 21 |
| 30. | WAS | Ricky Seals-Jones | 26 |
| 31. | MIN | Tyler Conklin | 26 |
| 32. | NO | Adam Trautman | 24 |
| 33. | GB | Josiah Deguara | 24 |
| 34. | NYJ | Tyler Kroft | 29 |
| 35. | DEN | Albert Okwuegbunam | 23 |
| 36. | TEN | Geoff Swaim | 28 |
| 37. | LAC | Donald Parham | 24 |
| 38. | IND | Jack Doyle | 31 |
| 39. | TB | O.J. Howard | 27 |
| 40. | KC | • Noah Gray | 22 |
| 41. | SEA | Will Dissly | 25 |
| 42. | IND | Mo Alie-Cox | 28 |
| 43. | HOU | • Brevin Jordan | 21 |
| 44. | LAC | Jared Cook | 34 |
| 45. | MIA | • Hunter Long | 23 |
| 46. | LAR | • Jacob Harris | 24 |
| 47. | TEN | Anthony Firkser | 26 |
| 48. | PIT | Eric Ebron | 28 |
| 49. | PHI | Tyree Jackson | 24 |
| 50. | DAL | Blake Jarwin | 27 |
—Ian Allan