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Fantasy Football: Tight end depth charts and rankings post 2017 NFL Draft

Incoming rookies shake up my TE rankings.

By Pete Rogers
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NFL: Cleveland Browns-Press Conference Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The 2017 NFL draft has come and gone and now it’s time to see how the dust has settled.

Here is the tight end depth charts for all 32 teams. The tight ends labeled Starter are currently set to be the number one option. Backup is who is currently behind the starter on team’s depth chart.

For each TE, I’ve attached my current fantasy Value in standard leagues: TE1 (top 10), TE2 (11-25) and Don’t Bother (pretty self explanatory). I’ve also given my initial value for each backup tight end if either the starter is injured or sees their playtime reduced throughout the season. For backups I’ve added a Waiver value, which means worth a potential pickup.

Enjoy!

TE depth charts

Team Starter Value Backup Value
Team Starter Value Backup Value
ARI Jermaine Gresham Don't Bother Troy Niklas Don't Bother
ATL Austin Hooper TE2 Levine Toilolo Waiver
BAL Dennis Pitta Don't Bother Benjamin Watson Don't Bother
BUF Charles Clay Don't Bother Nick O'Leary Don't Bother
CAR Greg Olsen TE1 Ed Dickson TE2
CHI Zach Miller TE2 Dion Sims Don't Bother
CIN Tyler Eifert TE1 Tyler Kroft Waiver
CLE David Njoku TE2 Randall Telfer Waiver
DAL Jason Witten TE2 Geoff Swaim TE2
DEN Virgil Green Don't Bother Jeff Heuerman Don't Bother
DET Eric Ebron TE2 Darren Fells Waiver
GB Martellus Bennett TE2 Richard Rodgers TE2
HOU C.J. Fiedorowicz TE2 Ryan Griffin TE2
IND Jack Doyle TE2 Erik Swoope TE2
JAC Marcedes Lewis Don't Bother Mychal Rivera Don't Bother
KC Travis Kelce TE1 Demetrius Harris TE2
LAC Antonio Gates TE2 Hunter Henry TE1
LAR Tyler Higbee Don't Bother Temarrick Hemingway Don't Bother
MIA Julius Thomas TE2 Anthony Fasano Don't Bother
MIN Kyle Rudolph TE1 David Morgan II Don't Bother
NE Rob Gronkowski TE1 Dwayne Allen TE1
NO Coby Fleener TE2 Josh Hill TE2
NYG Evan Engram TE2 Will Tye Don't Bother
NYJ Jordan Leggett Don't Bother Braedon Bowman Don't Bother
OAK Jared Cook TE2 Clive Walford Waiver
PHI Zach Ertz TE1 Brent Celek TE2
PIT Ladarius Green TE2 Jesse James TE2
SF Vance McDonald Don't Bother Garrett Celek Don't Bother
SEA Jimmy Graham TE1 Luke Willson Waiver
TB Cameron Brate TE2 O.J. Howard TE1
TEN Delanie Walker TE1 Jace Amaro TE2
WAS Jordan Reed TE1 Vernon Davis TE1

Quick Thoughts:

  • Now let me start by quickly explaining something: while I stated above that my values for backup tight ends was if the tight end that is set to start gets injured or lose playing, then that would be my value. Well, that’s true for everyone except Hunter Henry. Even with Antonio Gates on the field and healthy, Henry is a top 10 tight end. I think Gates’ role in the Chargers’ offense is going to greatly decrease and Henry will quickly assume top tight end duties.
  • Similar thought process applies to O.J. Howard. Technically, Cameron Brate is in front of him on the depth chart but that I feel like won’t last long. Howard joining the Buccaneers bumps Brate’s value down to TE2 because you know the Bucs are going to look to take full advantage of the matchup nightmare that is Howard.
  • Could have put Njoku as a TE1 because it’s clear he will be THE tight end in Cleveland what with them releasing Gary Barnidge the day after the draft. But because it’s the Browns, kept my expectations low for him.
  • I’m going to be very curious to see what Evan Engram can do in the Giants’ offense. The Giants clearly have a vision for him as they took him above Njoku, the conscious number two tight end. He joins a crowded receiving group however with some people who will get pissed if they aren’t seeing the ball. We’ll see.

Let me know your thoughts on my rankings in the comments!

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