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As what we assume will be the NFL season draws ever nearer, so too does the start of fantasy football. I’m wrapping up my early looking at 2020 rankings with the tight end position.
I wish I was bold enough to have someone other than Travis Kelce atop my ranks but that would just be silly. He and George Kittle are absolute locks (ignoring injury) to finish top 5 PPR tight ends. They are the driving force of their respective offenses.
I can’t quit Evan Engram much to my dismay and I’m likely lower on Darren Waller than most. I think Waller’s incredible 2019 season happened in large part due to necessity. With the Raiders stockpiling offensive weapons in the draft, I don’t think Waller is a lock to see 100+ targets this year.
On our TE deep dive podcast, Clark talked about Jack Doyle and his potential to being a top 10 tight end this year and frankly, I love the call. Doyle now has the position all to himself in Indianapolis and playing with known tight end targeter Philip Rivers is always a plus. I think he’s a great late round tight end with a ton of potential this year.
I have no idea what to expect from Greg Olsen and O.J. Howard this year.
Who am I too high on? Who am I too low on? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
(Note these are PPR rankings)
2020 TE rankings
Rank | Tight end | Team | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | Tight end | Team | Notes |
1 | Travis Kelce | KC | I wish I was bold enough to not have Kelce at number one, but that would be silly. |
2 | George Kittle | SF | No matter how many weapons Kyle Shanahan has, Kittle will always be the 49ers #1 guy. |
3 | Zach Ertz | PHI | Year in and year out, Ertz continues to be Carson Wentz's most trusted target. |
4 | Evan Engram | NYG | If Engram can just manage to stay healthy, he's in an offense lacking a true #1 meaning he could see a lot of targets. |
5 | Mark Andrews | BAL | Andrews didn't see a single game with double digit targets last year. Not great for PPR reasons. |
6 | Darren Waller | LV | With more weapons in Vegas, I'm expecting a lot of target regression from Waller. |
7 | Hayden Hurst | ATL | Hooper was a fantasy beast with the Falcons and Husrt walks into all those targets. |
8 | Tyler Higbee | LAR | Higbee broke out once Sean McVay switched to more of a two tight end base offense. |
9 | Hunter Henry | LAC | Who knows who'll be throwing him the football but Henry has proven when healthy, he's a top 10 tight end. |
10 | Jack Doyle | IND | Philip Rivers loves throwing to tight ends and with no Ebron in Indy anymore, Doyle has a chance to be a great late round target. |
11 | Rob Gronkowski | TB | Gronk is going to score touchdowns and probably not much else. |
12 | T.J. Hockenson | DET | It takes a couple of seasons for young tight ends to put it all together. Bet on Hockenson taking a big step. |
13 | Jonnu Smith | TEN | Delanie Walker is gone and in steps the hyper athletic Smith. |
14 | Mike Gesicki | MIA | Gesicki emerged in Miami last year and will look to build upon his strong 2019. |
15 | Noah Fant | DEN | There are a lot of weapons in Denver, but Fant showed last year he can be a top target. |
17 | Austin Hooper | CLE | With Odell, Landry, and Kareem Hunt, I'm not sold Hooper is going to get enough target share to be a top TE yet again. |
16 | Dallas Goedert | PHI | The Eagles love running two tight ends, especially when they have no wide receivers. |
18 | Jared Cook | NO | I've sold all my Jared Cook stock. |
19 | Blake Jarwin | DAL | A lot of mouths to feed in Dallas, but people are continuly speaking highly of Jarwin. |
20 | Eric Ebron | PIT | Ebron has been a touchdown catcher but might not see the regular target share to be a top PPR option. |
21 | Ian Thomas | CAR | Thomas steps into a full time gig with Greg Olsen now in Seattle. |
22 | Chris Herndon IV | NYJ | Herndon's biggest issue is staying on the field. He's a boom or bust pick. |
23 | Irv Smith Jr. | MIN | Expect Smith to have a larger role in the Vikings offense with Stefon Diggs in Buffalo. |
24 | Will Dissly | SEA | When healthy, Dissly has shown time and time again to be a fantasy asset with Russell Wilson throwing him the ball. |
25 | Jace Sternberger | GB | If Aaron Rodgers is going on a F U tour, he's going to need targets outside of just Davante Adams. |
26 | Dawson Knox | BUF | Young tight end flashed in his rookie year. |
27 | Gerald Everett | LAR | If Sean McVay continues to play two TE sets, Everett has shown to have a solid fantasy floor. |
28 | Kyle Rudolph | MIN | Rudolph is becoming extremely touchdown dependent with age. |
29 | Greg Olsen | SEA | You know the Seahawks will target their tight ends, the question is how much does Olsen have left in the tank. |
30 | O.J. Howard | TB | Who knows. |