Dynasty TE Rankings and Tiers: 2020 Fantasy Football (2024)

TESTING NEW WIDGET hide

1. Dynasty TE Rankings

2. Top Tier Analysis

3. Tight Ends Who Are Trending Down

Dynasty TE Rankings

Position Rank	Position Tier	Player Name	Overall Tier	Overall Rank
1	1	George Kittle	5	21
2	1	Travis Kelce	6	25
3	1	Mark Andrews	8	50
4	2	Zach Ertz	10	60
5	2	Hunter Henry	11	68
6	2	Austin Hooper	11	69
7	2	Evan Engram	11	70
8	3	Darren Waller	12	76
9	3	Noah Fant	13	91
10	4	Dallas Goedert	13	94
11	4	Tyler Higbee	14	99
12	4	T.J. Hockenson	14	100
13	4	Mike Gesicki	14	113
14	5	Irv Smith Jr.	15	130
15	5	O.J. Howard	15	140
16	5	Hayden Hurst	16	145
17	5	Jonnu Smith	16	147
18	5	Ian Thomas	17	160
19	5	Chris Herndon IV	17	161
20	6	Jared Cook	17	162
21	6	Eric Ebron	18	169
22	6	David Njoku	18	174
23	6	Will Dissly	18	177
24	7	Jack Doyle	18	178
25	7	Cole Kmet	18	180
26	7	Jace Sternberger	18	186
27	7	Dawson Knox	19	189
28	7	Blake Jarwin	19	202
29	7	Gerald Everett	19	204
30	8	Devin Asiasi	20	205
31	8	Adam Trautman	20	215
32	8	Rob Gronkowski	21	220
33	8	Kyle Rudolph	21	226
34	8	Adam Shaheen	21	253
35	8	Greg Olsen	22	263
36	9	Vance McDonald	22	267
37	9	Dalton Keene	22	272
38	9	Trey Burton	22	283
39	9	Tyler Eifert	22	284
40	9	Jimmy Graham	22	287
41	10	C.J. Uzomah	22	288
42	10	Colby Parkinson	22	291
43	10	Albert Okwuegbunam	22	294
44	10	Hunter Bryant	22	296
45	10	Foster Moreau	22	297
46	10	Kaden Smith	22	298
47	10	Harrison Bryant	22	299
48	10	Josiah Deguara	23	301
49	10	Thaddeus Moss	23	306
50	10	Kahale Warring	23	312
51	10	Brycen Hopkins	23	313
52	10	Josh Oliver	23	317
53	10	Jacob Hollister	23	319
54	10	Delanie Walker	23	333
55	10	Jason Witten	23	334
56	10	Cameron Brate	23	344
57	10	Darren Fells	24	346
58	10	Ryan Griffin	24	347
59	10	Jared Pinkney	24	348
60	10	Jordan Reed	24	349
61	10	Mo Alie-Cox	24	350

Top Tier Analysis

Tight end's a shallower position than running back or wide receiver, so our top tier's got just three names in it, and honestly it's more like a two-player first tier and a one-player 1.5 tier, but whatever!

The only two tight ends ranked in our overall top 25 are George Kittle (21st) and Travis Kelce (25th). These are, without a doubt, the two best tight ends in the NFL.

Kelce still gets the nod in re-draft leagues, but in dynasty, Kittle's nudged ahead of him to be the overall TE1 in our rankings.

Tight Ends Who Are Trending Down

O.J. Howard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - TE15

Okay, okay, okay: I believe that whole "Bruce Arians hates tight ends" thing now. Howard caught 34 passes for 459 yards and a touchdown last season, which would be fine if he was supposed to be a streaming TE2 or something, but Howard was being hyped as a breakout candidate and ended up playing in an offense that led the NFL in passing yards, so the fact that he didn't produce in that scenario isn't a great sign. He's still young, but Howard looks like he's never going to live up to the high expectations that were placed on him when he entered the league.

Jared Cook, New Orleans Saints - TE20

You know that Kenny Chesney song "Don't Blink?" Well, I blinked, and somehow in that time, Jared Cook became 33 years old. He was still fine last season and he caught a career-high nine touchdowns, but Cook's on the wrong side of 30 and the Saints drafted Adam Trautman, potentially signalling that they're looking towards a post-Cook world. It makes sense, as the journeyman hasn't played a third season with a team since 2015 with the Rams.

David Njoku, Cleveland Browns - TE22

What...what happened here? Njoku seemed like a future star after 2018, when his second NFL season saw him catch 56 passes for 639 yards and four touchdowns. He opened 2019 with four catches for 37 yards and a touchdown against the Titans, then broke his wrist against the Jets. He returned for the final two games of the year, but had just one catch for four yards while playing 24 total snaps. So, was he just not healthy at the end of the year? Or is there something deeper at play? How you respond to that probably decides how you feel about him right now in fantasy; personally, I think TE22 is a value for a fourth-year tight end with plenty of upside still.

Jimmy Graham, Chicago Bears - TE40

Graham's probably never going to be a viable fantasy tight end again, but a win-now dynasty owner could maybe get a little use out of him? Maybe?

Where The Top Rookies Rank

Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears - TE25

This was not a good tight end class, but Cole Kmet was the best player in it. The Bears need a long term starting tight end, because despite bringing in Jimmy Graham this offseason, Graham isn't that. Kmet is a big-bodied receiver who can carve out a nice role in the red zone, but he'll have to break through the crowded tight end group at Soldier Field first. He's the top dynasty rookie at this position, but I don't think he has a solid hold on that role, because he could be in for a big set back as a rookie when he struggles to see the field.

Devin Asiasi, New England Patriots - TE30

Is Asiasi the Rob Gronkowski replacement? No. Is he a tight end playing for Bill Belichick and thus in a slightly better position than other rookie tight ends because we can use New England's past tight end usage to make a guess that he'll get more targets than other rookie tight ends? Yeah, sure. (Can you tell I'm excited about this tight end class?)

Adam Trautman, New Orleans Saints - TE31

Trautman won't get much of a look right away because of Jared Cook, but he has a chance to be a key piece of this offense in whatever the post-Drew Brees version of it looks like. Maybe potentially a solid TE2 in a year or two?

Let's Find Some Value Guys!

Here are some non-rookie players ranked outside of our top-12 who have a decent chance of one day breaking into our top-12.

Irv Smith Jr., Minnesota Vikings - TE14

While Smith didn't accomplish too much as a rookie -- he had 36 catches for 311 yards and two touchdowns -- he also had to contend with the presence of Kyle Rudolph. The two virtually split targets, with Rudolph having one more but catching six touchdowns. Rudolph is still around, which limits Smith's re-draft upside, but in dynasty he's still looking to be the top tight end here moving forward, and when Rudolph held that role alone, he consistently got a ton of targets, including 132 of them in 2016. If Smith gets full rein to be THE guy in a Mike Zimmer offense, watch out.

Jonnu Smith, Tennessee Titans - TE17

With Delanie Walker gone, Smith finally gets the chance to be the guy in Tennessee. Last year, he caught 35 passes for 439 yards and three touchdowns while playing 71 percent of Tennessee's offensive snaps. I think we'll see that number jump up to the mid-80s this year, if not higher, and with the Titans going into 2020 with Smith planned to be the starter, the playbook should feature him a little more heavily.

Ian Thomas, Carolina Panthers - TE18

I don't feel as good about Thomas under Matt Rhule as I would have under Ron Rivera because Rhule ran a lot of 10 personnel in college, but in what should be an offense where passing the ball is the main focus and pass attempts rise in a post-Cam Newton universe, Thomas will have a chance to establish himself as a low-end TE1. He struggled last year, but don't forget he only played 27 percent of the team's offensive snaps.

Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.