The tight end position has generally been overlooked outside of Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Mark Andrews in recent years. But the emergence of numerous young, impact players at the position may change that narrative this year.
Here is a closer look at the fantasy football tight end rankings in a non-PPR format entering the 2024 NFL season.
Ranking the Top Fantasy Tight Ends
FIND MORE POSITIONAL RANKINGS: QB | RB | WR | K | DEF
1) Sam LaPorta | Detroit Lions
2) Travis Kelce | Kansas City Chiefs
3) Dalton Kincaid | Buffalo Bills
4) Trey McBride | Arizona Cardinals
5) George Kittle | San Francisco 49ers
6) Mark Andrews | Baltimore Ravens
7) David Njoku | Cleveland Browns
8) Brock Bowers | Las Vegas Raiders
9) Evan Engram | Jacksonville Jaguars
10) Kyle Pitts | Atlanta Falcons
11) T.J. Hockenson | Minnesota Vikings
12) Jake Ferguson | Dallas Cowboys
13) Dallas Goedert | Philadelphia Eagles
14) Taysom Hill | New Orleans Saints
15) Cole Kmet | Chicago Bears
16) Dalton Schultz | Houston Texans
17) Luke Musgrave | Green Bay Packers
18) Cade Otton | Tampa Bay Buccaneers
19) Chigoziem Okonkwo | Tennessee Titans
20) Pat Freiermuth | Pittsburgh Steelers
21) Hunter Henry | New England Patriots
22) Ben Sinnott | Washington Commanders
23) Mike Gesicki | Cincinnati Bengals
24) Tyler Conklin | New York Jets
25) Juwan Johnson | New Orleans Saints
26) Tucker Kraft | Green Bay Packers
27) Ja’Tavion Sanders | Carolina Panthers
28) Isaiah Likely | Baltimore Ravens
29) Michael Mayer | Las Vegas Raiders
30) Gerald Everett | Chicago Bears
31) Noah Fant | Seattle Seahawks
32) Dawson Knox | Buffalo Bills
33) Tyler Higbee | Los Angeles Rams
34) Jelani Woods | Indianapolis Colts
35) Theo Johnson | New York Giants
36) Logan Thomas | Free Agent
37) Donald Parham Jr. | Los Angeles Chargers
38) Greg Dulcich | Denver Broncos
39) Zach Ertz | Washington Commanders
40) Jonnu Smith | Miami Dolphins
Who Are the Best Tight Ends To Draft In Fantasy?
Dalton Kincaid
Dalton Kincaid’s rookie campaign may feel like a bit of a disappointment when directly compared to another first-year player at the same position — the Lions’ Sam LaPorta — who finished the year as the TE1 overall in fantasy football. Yet, Kincaid’s 73 receptions for 673 yards and two scores were still good enough for a TE11 overall finish in 2023, making him a low-end TE1 over in his first season in the NFL.
Kincaid flashed some of his elite pass-catching potential in moments throughout his rookie year, finishing as a top-eight fantasy TE in seven of his last 11 games of the year.
Where the issue truly lay for Kincaid in his rookie year was his frustrating on-field usage when Dawson Knox was active in 2023.
Dalton Kincaid’s Production Weeks 1-7 With Dawson Knox Active
- TE20 Overall: 25 receptions, 193 yards, 0 TDs
Dalton Kincaid’s Production Weeks 8-12 With Dawson Knox Inactive
- TE4 Overall: 31 receptions, 281, and 2 TDs
These splits suggest Knox was having some semblance of an impact on Kincaid’s production because the evidence is also apparent in the snap count, where Kincaid never saw fewer than 60% of the offensive snaps when Knox was inactive but failed to hit that threshold on seven occasions when Knox was active.
Kincaid was utilized as a big slot option on 348 occasions last year, which was the second-most snaps in the slot at the TE position in 2023. With 49.1% of Kincaid’s snaps coming from the slot, it left Knox to handle a lot of the inline duties.
To further that point, Kincaid lined up as the outside receiving threat (17%) almost as much as he lined up as a traditional inline tight end (20%).
If Knox remains the preferred inline tight end option in 2024, it could lead to more frustrating usage for Kincaid fantasy managers this upcoming season.
Yet, Kincaid’s role as a move TE all over the formation could be seen as a big positive for his fantasy upside in this Bills offense that features Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel, and rookie Keon Coleman heading into the season.
The departure of Diggs and Davis opens up over 230 targets, 150 receptions, and 1,900 yards worth of production in this passing offense.
Kincaid saw 91 targets last year. The opportunity to see north of 100 targets with an expanded role in the passing game and a likely snap increase in his second season means Kincaid has a very plausible path to a 25% target share that could translate to an elite 2024 fantasy season.
Sam LaPorta
Sam LaPorta’s 86 receptions for 889 yards and 10 TDs helped him finish his first year in the NFL as the TE1 overall in fantasy football. In other words, if you spent a late-round pick on the rookie TE in your fantasy draft, he likely helped elevate your team to the fantasy playoffs last year by vastly outperforming his ADP.
Yet, can fantasy managers expect the same level of greatness in 2024?
When you take a closer look at LaPorta’s positional rankings in some major categories, they certainly suggest he wasn’t a player who simply fell into an outstanding season in a high-powered offense.
Sam LaPorta’s 2023 Stats and Positional Ranks:
- Targets: 120 (fifth)
- Receptions: 86 (fourth)
- Yards: 889 (fifth)
- TD: 10 (first)
- YAC: 358 (seventh)
- Yards Per Route Run: 1.78 (sixth)
LaPorta’s numbers certainly suggest he is a top-five fantasy option at the tight end position, but they fall a bit short of suggesting he should be the unquestioned TE1 overall heading into fantasy football drafts in 2024.
There could be some pitfalls that come with the expectations of TE1 overall. Scoring double-digit touchdowns isn’t easy at any position, which could lead to some regression in that department.
LaPorta’s 15 red-zone targets are certainly a solid mark, but they ranked fourth at the TE position behind Kelce, David Njoku, and Jake Ferguson. Additionally, LaPorta actually saw eight fewer targets than his teammate Amon-Ra St. Brown in the red area last season.
Outside of that, though, I don’t see how LaPorta’s role gets reduced in any significant way in 2024. The Lions didn’t add any noteworthy target competition this offseason, they brought back their offensive coordinator (Ben Johnson), and a potential significant role expansion for Jameson Williams may not come at the expense of LaPorta’s volume in the offense.
It is also worth mentioning that it is entirely possible LaPorta actually improves as a player from his rookie season to his second year in the league, which makes another overall TE1 finish well within the range of outcomes in 2024.