The NFL season kicks off one week from Thursday, so it’s time to review the final position group rankings. Here are the best tight ends for fantasy football in 2024.
Note: This list is not definitive, and players within tiers can move around. Players on the borderline between tiers can also be interchangeable.
Drew’s Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings 2024
Tight Ends 1-5
1. Sam LaPorta
2. Travis Kelce
3. Trey McBride
4. Mark Andrews
5. Dalton Kincaid
It may seem like a surprise to pick him over Travis Kelce, but Sam LaPorta is the best tight end going into the fantasy football season. He’s in one of the best situations as a target for Jared Goff, and he produced points at a high rate last year as a rookie. Kelce had a good run at the top for several year, but LaPorta is taking over.
"I feel very confident" in the offense.
And knowing Trey McBride is the #AZCardinals' starting tight end "eases my mind…makes me want to work harder" and "at the same time, it just gives me a little bit of freedom to go out there and just play."
–@CraigAZSports pic.twitter.com/bLSuwUZvpr
— Arizona Cardinals Insiders 🎤🎙 (@AZCardsInsiders) August 22, 2024
Trey McBride takes the third spot ahead of Mark Andrews and Dalton Kincaid solely based on expected usage. He will be the second target in Arizona behind Marvin Harrison Jr.
Tight Ends 6-10
6. Evan Engram
7. George Kittle
8. Kyle Pitts
9. Jake Ferguson
10. Brock Bowers
This second group of tight ends is serviceable, but won’t produce as much as the first tier. Evan Engram slots in as TE6 based on expected volume. Trevor Lawrence should throw to him a lot with a very inexperienced wide receiver room, and Engram led all tight ends last year with 114 receptions.
Jake Ferguson and Brock Bowers round out the group as Ferguson should see a similar workload as last year. Bowers is a bit of a wildcard, but his upside is too good to ignore to leave him out of this tier. Gardner Minshew loves to use his safety blanket, and Bowers will be just that for him.
Tight Ends 11-15
11. David Njoku
12. Dallas Goedert
13. Pat Freiermuth
14. Dalton Schultz
15. T.J. Hockenson
This third tier of fantasy tight ends is where things start to get a little dicey. David Njoku finished strong last year, but his best games happened with Joe Flacco calling plays. Pat Freiermuth is a low-risk option to snag later in drafts based on the Steelers wide receiver room being thin behind Pickens.
@kvalenzuela17 @PaulCharchian Regardless of spelling, Pat Freiermuth is going to feast on plays like this all season. Nothing flashy or highlight worthy. Just 10-12 yard chunks. Big low-end TE1 value loading this season for a guy who's ADP is currently hovering around #125 pic.twitter.com/ijXs8J732K
— Coach Gene Clemons (@geneclemons) August 18, 2024
T.J. Hockenson couldn’t be left off the list even though he’s missing at least the first four weeks of the season. If your league has IR roster spots, he’s worth putting in a waiver claim to stash until he’s fully healthy. Grabbing Hockenson as an undrafted free agent could be a league-winning move depending upon how much time he misses.
Tight Ends 16-20
16. Chigoziem Okonkwo
17. Cade Otton
18. Tyler Conklin
19. Hunter Henry
20. Cole Kmet
This last group is what fantasy gurus like to refer to as the leftovers. Most of these players have backup tight end value who can fill in for a week when your starter has a bye week. Cade Otton and Hunter Henry should see decent target numbers even if they don’t have the receiving yards to compliment it. Those two would be better to draft in PPR leagues over standard ones.
Main Photo Courtesy of Michael Chow – Arizona Republic – USA Today Sports
