Missing out on an entire section of talented players can leave you scrambling during your fantasy football draft. To help you navigate your upcoming drafts, we’ll take a look at which TEs to target in your upcoming fantasy football drafts using a tier-based approach.
Why use TE “tiers” rather than rankings for fantasy football?
Tier-based drafting is all about looking for maximum talent/production at the best price. In this case, we are looking at tight ends and using tiers to find the better pick in fantasy football drafts at their given value.
Each position has a different point where there’s a considerable drop-off in talent and opportunity. For tight ends, it’s the quickest of them all, which makes drafting with a tier-based approach all the more advantageous as not to miss out on reliable production.
2021 Fantasy Football TE Tiers
Note: The rankings used for these tiers are from the consensus rankings created by Senior Fantasy Analyst Eric Moody and Fantasy Analyst Tommy Garrett with 0.5 PPR scoring in mind and will fluctuate as we get closer to the season. Please check back regularly for any changes.
Tier 1: Travis Kelce
Some say that the gap between Travis Kelce and the TE2 is closer than ever. Yeah, until I see it, I am going to stick with the sure thing.
Kelce has been the overall TE1 for five straight seasons and never lower than TE8 (2014). Additionally, he’s finished 78% of his games as a TE1, including 28 of 31 active games since 2019. He has averaged 94.6 receptions on 134 targets for 1,228.8 yards and 7.6 touchdowns per season.
Those are WR1 numbers. There is a powerful argument for Kelce to be the first non-RB off the board in fantasy football drafts. Kelce is in a tier by himself, with the rest of the TEs trying to catch up.
Tier 2: Darren Waller and George Kittle
In Tier 2 of TEs for fantasy football in 2021, we find two players who will likely lead their teams in targets and red zone opportunities.
No question, Darren Waller has closed the gap between himself and Kelce. He led all tight ends in red-zone targets (24), target share (27.7%), and reception share (29%). Waller tied with Kelce for 145 targets but led the league with 107 receptions for 1,196 yards and 9 touchdowns. Averaging 14.1 ppg, Waller should see similar work in 2021.
After bursting onto the NFL scene in 2018 and setting a new single-season receiving record for tight ends (1,377), George Kittle has been a dominant factor in the 49ers’ passing game. However, he is just as valuable for his run blocking, something he prides himself on.
While battling a myriad of injuries and questionable QB play in 2020, Kittle finished as the TE19 overall, but he was the TE3 in points per game (15.6). In his previous two seasons, Kittle was the TE3 and TE2, averaging 86.5 targets on 121.5 receptions with 1,215 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 16.0 ppg. Simply put, Kittle is a man amongst boys on the field. He’s one of the most electric players the NFL has to offer.
Barring injuries, it’s difficult to see either Waller or Kittle not finishing inside the top 3.
Tier 3: T.J. Hockenson, Mark Andrews, and Kyle Pitts
Here is where I feel the value of using tiers to draft your TE in fantasy football shines. There is a mixture of massive workload, touchdown upside, and unparalleled upside. Rather than getting bogged down with rankings if you don’t have a dead-set preference, select the player who goes the latest.
T.J. Hockenson was a must-start in fantasy as a second-year player. He hauled in 67 of his 101 targets for 723 yards and 6 touchdowns. Amongst other TEs, he was fifth in targets, fourth in receptions, and third in yards. In terms of just raw vacated targets from 2020, no team has more than the Lions, losing 64.1% of the passing attempts in 2020. There is every reason to believe he can lead the Lions in targets this season.
For the last two years, Mark Andrews has been the primary target for Lamar Jackson and makes the Ravens’ passing game tick. Since 2019, Andrews has hauled in 122 receptions on 186 targets for 1,553 yards and 17 touchdowns. He ended 2019 as the TE5 (13.8 ppg) and 2020 as the TE6 (12.2 ppg). In contrast, he will not see the target volume of Hockenson. His propensity for blowup weeks, however, gives him week-winning upside.
When was the last time we saw a rookie come into the season with this much hype? Saquon Barkley or Andrew Luck, maybe? Kyle Pitts is a unicorn and steps into an incredible situation in Atlanta.
Athletically, his closest comparable is Calvin Johnson. I don’t mean that anecdotally either. Without question, there’s risk assuming he will be a sure thing. But if you were ever going to bet on someone, Pitts is the guy in 2021.
Tier 4: Dallas Goedert, Robert Tonyan, Tyler Higbee
In Tier 4 of TEs, these are middle-round guys in fantasy drafts that present stable floors but lack the consistency of players ranked higher. But that does not mean they are not values.
After missing six games through Week 9 (listed with four games), Dallas Goedert looked like the potential breakout we saw in 2019. He was the TE7 to close out the season, recording 32 receptions on 46 targets for 371 yards and 2 TDs in his seven games. Although Zach Ertz remains on the team, Goedert is a reliable mid-tier TE1 for 2021.
Playing in 16 games, Robert Tonyan caught 52 of 59 passes (88%) for 586 yards and a staggering 11 touchdowns. In fact, the third-year player tied for the league lead in TDs with Kelce despite finishing 24th at the position in targets. From Week 11 on, Tonyan recorded TE1 performances in six of seven games. Undoubtedly the efficiency will drop, but given he could see increased targets/red-zone opportunities in 2021, he is one of the best values in the mid-tiers of fantasy football TEs.
With Gerald Everett in Seattle, Tyler Higbee is free to take over the TE production that put him on the map at the end of 2019. In games without Everett on the field, Higbee averaged 94.4 yards and 23.2 ppg, which is absurd. Certainly, I would not expect this to continue, but it speaks to his upside.
Tier 5: Noah Fant, Mike Gesicki, Logan Thomas, Jonnu Smith, Irv Smith Jr.
If you value athleticism in your fantasy football TEs, this is the tier to target in drafts.
Noah Fant was the TE9 (10.0 ppg) and is one of the most athletically gifted players at the position. He is entering the critical third year when tight ends typically turn the corner. The question comes down to whether or not he sees enough targets with Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy on the field. Also, who is the QB going to be?
Mike Gesicki more than outperformed his ADP for fantasy. He finished the season as the TE7 overall in PPR formats and ninth in points per game with 10.6. He also greatly benefited from a lack of overall pass-catching depth for the Dolphins, something the team rectified in the offseason with the additions of Jaylen Waddle and Will Fuller.
In the final 10 games, Logan Thomas was the TE3, averaging 10.1 ppg on 7.8 targets, 5.7 receptions, and 51.3 yards. Five of his games (50%) were inside the top eight in scoring. He was third in targets (70), receptions (51), and yards (462). A converted QB, Thomas is a mid-tier TE target — he should be more familiar with the nuances of the position in 2021.
Jonnu Smith was my breakout TE for the 2020 season, and for a while, it was happening. Through Week 5, he was the TE3 in ppg at 17.5. But a torn ACL for Taylor Lewan derailed Smith’s season as he moved into more of a blocking role. Now flanked by Hunter Henry, Smith is the bet for the TE1 role in New England. Once outside the third tier of fantasy football TEs, Smith has as all the upside you could ask for in a mid-round option.
Irv Smith Jr. caught 30 of his 43 targets for 365 yards and 5 touchdowns in his second season, finishing as the TE22 in half-point PPR formats. While not impressive, Kyle Rudolph is no longer looming over him, and he should see the majority of the 80 targets the two combined for last season.
Tier 6
Evan Engram, Hunter Henry, Rob Gronkowski, Anthony Firkser, Blake Jarwin, Adam Trautman, Gerald Everett, Cole Kmet
Of this tier of TEs, Trautman, Everett, and Kmet interest me the most for fantasy football. And as luck would have it, they are also some of the last to go in drafts. According to Fleaflicker, Trautman is the TE18, Everett is TE19, and Kmet is the TE23.
While Michael Thomas continues his rehab from his most recent surgery (ankle), the pass-catching hierarchy is up for debate in New Orleans. After leading the Saints in red-zone targets for the last two seasons, Jared Cook is now with the Chargers. This, along with the projected volume, makes Adam Trautman one of our favorite TE sleepers.
Just as the move benefited Higbee, Gerald Everett can now reap the benefits of being on his own in Seattle. Everett is coming off a career year in targets (62), receptions (41), and yards (417) but only found the end zone once.
We all forget about Everett’s athleticism. With 17 of his 127 career receptions going for over 20 yards, he has the big-play ability at what is traditionally a lacking position in the NFL. The Seahawks’ TE committee caught 73 passes for 699 yards and 6 touchdowns last year (106 targets), so Everett could have a significant role.
Even with Jimmy Graham still on the field, Kmet appeared to jump him on the Bears’ depth chart. From Week 10 on (seven games), Kmet played on 85% of the snaps while averaging 5.1 targets a game. About halfway through the season, Graham was leading the NFL in red-zone targets. If Kmet can take some of that production — and increased efficiency from Justin Fields under center — Kmet is one of the favorite TEs to leap multiple tiers this year and become a household fantasy football name.
Remaining TE Tiers for 2021
How do the rest of the TE tier groups shake out?
Tier 7
Jared Cook, Austin Hooper, Zach Ertz, Eric Ebron
Tier 8
O.J. Howard, Hayden Hurst, Dalton Schultz, Dan Arnold, Jordan Akins, Chris Herndon, Jimmy Graham, Dawson Knox, Mo Alie-Cox
Tier 9
Donald Parham Jr., Albert Okwuegbunam, Jack Doyle, Tyler Conklin, Jacob Hollister
Tommy Garrett is a writer for Pro Football Network covering the NFL and fantasy football and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA). You can read more of his work here and follow him at @TommygarrettPFN on Twitter.