2020 NFL Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends

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Sep 3

Fall is right around the corner, and as we prepare for the first leaf to fall from the tree, I only have one question for you, are you ready for some football? With the first pick in the 2020 NFL Fantasy Football Draft...... You know what, before we reveal our top pick(s), allow us to help you out with our position rankings so we can help you win your fantasy football league this year.

32) Gerald Everett - Los Angeles Rams

Week 9 Bye Week

While Gerald Everett is coming off of a career high 400 receiving yards, Tyler Higbee is the starter and will receive a majority of the snaps in this offense.

31) Kyle Rudolph - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 7 Bye Week

Kyle Rudolph has been a mainstay in the Vikings offense for close to a decade. However, Irv Smith Jr. will take over as the lead tight end for the team in 2020. While Rudolph will still contribute, don’t expect him to put up numbers like he did early in his career.

30) Tyler Eifert - Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 7 Bye Week

It has been a while since Jacksonville has had a consistent threat at the tight end position. It has also been a while since Tyler Eifert was one of the top players at his position. With the Jaguars seemingly tanking this year, don’t look for Eifert to magically put up 13 touchdowns again.

29) Will Dissly - Seattle Seahawks

Week 6 Bye Week

After a great start to 2019, Dissly was place on injured reserve early on. For the 2020 season the Seahawks also brought in veteran tight end Greg Olsen from the Carolina Panthers. While Dissly will still get his looks, don’t expect either player to get a large amount of playing time over the other.

28) Jace Sternberger - Green Bay Packers

Week 5 Bye Week

Jace Sterberger takes over as the starter in Green Bay. While he is playing with one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, don’t look for him to suddenly become a huge contributor on your fantasy team right away.

27) Jimmy Graham - Chicago Bears

Week 11 Bye Week

It has been a long time since Jimmy Graham has been a fantasy football star player. It doesn’t help that Chicago also currently employs five other players at the position, including second round pick Cole Kmet. The fact that Chicago is also undecided on its starter at quarterback makes it hard to trust Graham yet again.

26) Dawson Knox - Buffalo Bills

Week 11 Bye Week

There were high expectations for Knox as a rookie in Buffalo that he did not live up to. Its not very often that rookie tight ends perform at a high level in the NFL. There is still hope that this Bills offense takes another step forward in 2020 and that Knox becomes a huge part of that.

25) OJ Howard - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 13 Bye Week

Howard has had a hard time living up to his hype coming out of Alabama. While he does get to play with one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, he is also now sitting behind one of the best tight ends of all time in Rob Gronkowski. Brady is known to utilize all of his tight ends at a high level, but Howard is going to have a hard time putting up great numbers this year.

24) Irv Smith Jr. - Minnesota Vikings

Week 7 Bye Week

While Irv Smith Jr. was not super productive as a rookie, he showed promise. He heads into 2020 with the potential to be the guy in Minnesota. Losing Stefan Diggs will open up more opportunities for Smith in the passing game. Don’t be surprised if Smith breaks out this year.

23) Trey Burton - Indianapolis Colts

Week 7 Bye Week

Now in Indianapolis, Trey Burton slides into Eric Ebron’s role in this offense and looks to get a lot of targets behind Pro Bowler Jack Doyle. The Colts utilize a lot of two tight end sets and Burton has seen a lot of action so far in training camp. Don’t be surprised if Burton breaks in a similar fashion to how Eric Ebron was able to in 2018.

22) Ian Thomas - Carolina Panthers

Week 13 Bye Week

With longtime starter Greg Olsen leaving for Seattle, Ian Thomas finally takes over as the guy in Carolina. While Thomas has struggled with production so far in his career, he now has a great opportunity to prove that he can be productive.

21) Jack Doyle - Indianapolis Colts

Week 7 Bye Week

Jack Doyle does not get enough credit for what he does. He does everything for this Colts offense. However, that doesn’t always translate to fantasy points. While he could have productive weeks from time to time, he will be hard to count on consistently throughout the year.

20) Blake Jarwin - Dallas Cowboys

Week 10 Bye Week

With Jason Witten off to Las Vegas, and after a fresh 3-year $24 million contract, Blake Jarwin is the starter in Dallas. However, not only does that offense run through running back Ezekiel Elliott, but Dallas also has much more explosive offensive threats in CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, and Amari Cooper. It will be hard for Jarwin to be able to consistently put up points in this offense.

19) Chris Herndon IV - New York Jets

Week 11 Bye Week

After a great rookie year, many were expecting Chris Herndon to put up even better stats in 2019. However, Herndon was suspended to begin the year before being placed on injured reserve. If Herndon can stay healthy and stay out of trouble, he could have a year very similar to his first in the league.

18) Eric Ebron - Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 8 Bye Week

Losing Andrew Luck last year took away a lot of Eric Ebron’s production as well. After 13 touchdowns in 2018, Ebron looked more like his Detroit self in 2019, constantly dropping balls, and not making a huge impact. Ebron played a lot behind Jack Doyle and even Mo Ali-Cox in some cases last year. While his time in Indy ended somewhat unceremoniously, he could have a bounce back year with the Steelers.

17) Dallas Goedert - Philadelphia Eagles

Week 9 Bye Week

While Dallas Goedert is the second tight end on the depth chart for Philly, he sees a lot of playing time. Last year, he racked up over 600 receiving yards as well as 5 touchdowns. Goedert could be even more of a threat in year 3 but it is going to be hard to consistently trust him with Zach Ertz also on the field.

16) T.J. Hockenson - Detroit Lions

Week 5 Bye Week

There was a lot of hype for rookie T.J. Hockenson coming into the league. That hype grew even more so after week 1 where we saw Hockenson explode for 131 receiving yards and a touchdown. However, he quickly came back down to earth shortly thereafter and looked much more like a rookie tight end. Hockenson finished the year with under 400 yards but getting Matt Stafford back healthy should help Hockenson be even better in year two.

15) Johnu Smith - Tennessee Titans

Week 7 Bye Week

Johnu Smith is finally the main guy in Tennessee. He had a few games towards the final stretch of the season for the Titans in which he showed potential to be productive. With Delanie Walker officially gone, Smith could have a huge role in this offense.

14) Noah Fant - Denver Broncos

Week 8 Bye Week

While Noah Fant had a quiet rookie year, that is to be expected for first year tight ends. Rookie seasons for tight ends are generally where we see them come into their own. Expect Fant to be much better in year two, especially with Drew Locke being the definitive starter in at quarterback.

13) Hayden Hurst - Atlanta Falcons

Week 10 Bye Week

While Hayden Hurst never quite lived up to his first round selection in Baltimore, he looks to be the guy in Atlanta. Right away in Baltimore, Hurst was outperformed by fellow rookie tight end Mark Andrews. Now Hurst gets a fresh start with the Falcons, a team that has produced many fantasy relevant players at the position.

12) Mike Geisicki - Miami Dolphins

Week 11 Bye Week

For the second year in a row, its going to be hard to trust anyone in Miami’s offense, especially when they eventually turn things over to rookie quarter back Tua Tagovailoa. However, Geisicki did show massive improvements towards the end of 2019 and could be a huge sleeper in 2020.

11) Rob Gronkowski - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 13 Bye Week

This is the biggest boom or bust player in fantasy this year. While he didn’t put up crazy numbers the last time he played, Gronk has had a full year to get his mind and body healthy and looks reinvigorated to play with Tampa Bay this year. Brady didn’t out up crazy numbers last year and is now another year older. Lets see if either are able to replicate their once world shattering offense that they had in New England all those years ago.

10) Jared Cook - New Orleans Saints

Week 6 Bye Week

Many expected Jared Cook to explode in this Saints offense. While the year started off slow for him, he was able to turn it on at the end of the year and finish with 9 touchdowns. Anyone who plays with Drew Brees should be trusted.

9) Austin Hooper - Cleveland Browns

Week 9 Bye Week

Hooper had a great year last year for fantasy owners. This year he will be a little harder to trust. He signed a huge deal to move to Cleveland and looks to be a huge part of their offense. However, it is an offense that already has Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb, and former 1st round pick David Njoku.

8) Tyler Higbee - Los Angeles Rams

Week 9 Bye Week

Losing Brandin Cooks allows for some targets to go around in this offense. Higbee broke out last year and put up great receiving numbers for the Rams. Look for him to be even better this year and don’t be surprised if he puts up top 5 numbers for tight ends this year.

7) Evan Engram - New York Giants

Week 11 Bye Week

We expect Evan Engram to excel this year in New York. Health is going to be a major factor this year. Last year, the tight end was not reliable for fantasy owners, missing half of the season. Look for Engram to finally put it together and gel with second year QB Daniel Jones.

*Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG*

6) Hunter Henry - Los Angeles Chargers

Week 10 Bye Week

After missing the first several weeks of the season last year, Henry still went on to have over 600 receiving yards and be consistent for fantasy owners. While losing Phillip Rivers hurts Henry’s stock a lot, he is playing for a new contract and looks to be a safety blanket for either Tyrod Taylor or rookie Justin Herbert.

5) Darren Waller - Las Vegas Raiders

Week 6 Bye Week

Darren Waller finally found the right situation with the Raiders in 2019. He will likely have the same success as he did a year ago. While the Raiders brought in veteran Jason Witten at the position, Waller still expects to get a majority of the looks in this offseason.

4) Mark Andrews - Baltimore Ravens

Week 8 Bye Week

Mark Andrews broke out last year for the Ravens. While Lamar Jackson likely wont have 300 passing yards week after week, don’t be surprised if he throws a lot of touchdowns again in 2020. If he does, expect Mark Andrews to be on the receiving end on a lot of those.

3) Zach Ertz - Philadelphia Eagles

Week 9 Bye Week

Zach Ertz nearly had 1,000 receiving yards last year and is the guy in Philadelphia. The only thing that keeps him lower than the top two spots on the list is the fact that Dallas Goedert looks to play a lot this year as well.

2) Travis Kelce - Kansas City Chiefs

Week 10 Bye Week

Travis Kelce is in a great place in his career. He is fresh off of his first Super Bowl victory, he just got a nice new contract, and he still has Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback. Kelce will remain playing at an extraordinarily high level.

1) George Kittle - San Francisco 49ers

Week 11 Bye Week

For many people there is a huge toss up between Kelce and Kittle. While Kelce is in an offense that throws the football at a much more efficient rate than the 49ers, there is no doubt that Kittle is the guy in San Fran. Kittle will be a majority of the offense and see a lot of looks while Kansa City will look to spread the ball out more.

Follow A.J. on twitter @age_lona and Shawn @ShawnSportsNut.

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AJ Olona

Follow AJ on Twitter @age_lona

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