DFS Army’s Gthom breaks down tight end rankings 7 – 12 for the 2022 fantasy football season (prior to the NFL Draft).
- QB rankings 1-12
- RB rankings 1-6 and RB rankings 7-12
- WR rankings 1-6 and WR rankings 7-12
- TE rankings 1-6
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Green Bay Packers strong safety Adrian Amos (31) tackles Detroit Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson (88) during the third quarter of their game Monday, September 20, 2021 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. The Green Bay Packers beat the Detroit Lions 35-17.
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7. T.J. Hockenson (TE) Detroit Lions
Hockenson has had an up and down career spanning across three seasons. In those three years he has finished as the TE31, TE4 and TE15 overall, respectively.
There are a lot of things to like about targeting Hockenson in fantasy drafts. He is a former first-round draft pick with a high ceiling, should he reach it. He missed multiple games a season ago, but still had a 21.1-team-target-percentage and scored 30.2-percent of his team’s receiving touchdowns. He is a key piece of this offense going forward into 2022.
No doubt about it, Hockenson’s last season was derailed by injuries, missing a total of five games. In weeks 1 – 13, when he was healthy, Hockenson was the TE3 overall and averaged 9.6-FPPG. The former Iowa Hawkeye has missed four-or-more games in two of his three seasons. 2020 was his only healthy season.
If it isn’t Hockenson’s injuries then it is the team around him. The Lions are not a good football team and it is no surprise that their quarterback is as equally bad. These two factors certainly affect Hockenson throughout the season, creating volatility in his role. So volatile that Hockenson goosed his fantasy managers in Week 10 against Pittsburgh (and no he was not injured).
At this point in tight end rankings, you can poke holes into any fantasy outlook. Hockenson is no different, but he is a solid tight end to leave your fantasy draft with. The biggest attraction towards Hockenson is the potential to breakout. For this to happen he must become more consistent and he has to stay healthy, two things that could be difficult to overcome. Look for Hockenson around the TE7-mark.
8. Dallas Goedert (TE) Philadelphia Eagles
With Zach Ertz out the door it is time for Dallas Goedert to breakout for fantasy football, right? The answer is not so easy to come to. But he certainly is a formidable option for fantasy stakeholders in 2022.
Goedert has always been the second tight end behind Zach Ertz, until the Eagles traded Ertz in 2021. Now Goedert has become a dependable option every week within this Eagles’ offense. Last seasons he was targeted 18.8-percent of the time on his team, which was ninth out of all tight ends. The former second-round draft pick also finished with a team touchdown percentage of 23.6-percent, also ninth-best out of all tight ends.
One area that really improved for him in 2021 was Goedert’s yards-per-reception metric. In his first three seasons he averaged 10.69-yards-per-reception. That number improved to 14.8 in 2021.
The issue with Goedert is that he does not have much upside in 2022. Despite removing himself from Ertz’s shadow, Goedert only improved from 8.2-FPPG to 9.6-FPPG. This is likely due to the quarterback of his team, Jalen Hurts. Hurts scored 10 touchdowns on the ground last year, plus he is not known for his throwing ability. With Hurts under center, Goedert’s floor and ceiling become hard to predict, especially on a week-to-week basis. Therefore Hurts will hold Goedert back in fantasy football, should these trends continue.
Goedert is still a reliable and proven fantasy asset. While he may not score at the rate that fantasy managers want, he will certainly provide value for you in 2022. Goedert should be worth a TE8-pick heading into fantasy football drafts, but do not reach for him due to his limited upside.
9. Zach Ertz (TE) Arizona Cardinals
Zach Ertz turned in another solid year for fantasy football. He finished as the TE6 on the season and since 2015 he has been a top-10 fantasy tight end every year, except for the 2020 season.
Even after being traded to the Cardinals, Ertz was a formidable PPR tight end that was plug-and-play. In 2021 he finished third amongst tight ends in targets, fourth in receptions and had a target share of 19-percent on his team. On average he scored 8.5-FPPG.
The biggest issue is that Ertz does not seem to carry an easily accessible ceiling. For that to happen he would need to score touchdowns at a higher rate. Playing in Arizona makes receiving touchdowns harder to come by thanks to the running ability of the quarterback, Kyler Murray. Murray can finish the job with his legs within the red zone and that takes away from the pass catchers on Arizona.
Ertz only scored with Arizona in three instances last season. That number may creep up a bit, but I would not expect more than 6-or-7 touchdowns at most. Hopkins will be the alpha in this offense and within the red zone, leaving Ertz to be the next best option.
Look for Ertz to be drafted late in fantasy leagues. Ertz should be viewed as the ninth or tenth tight end off the board.
10. Rob Gronkowski (TE) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Is Gronk the 10th-best tight end on this list? Absolutely not. In fact he would likely be the TE4 overall if he would commit to playing in 2022 (he probably will play). But that has yet to happen from Gronk and for now he will fall to the 10th ranking.
There is no question that Gronkowski has been one of the most valuable tight ends over the last decade-plus. In the previous 11 years he has finished inside the top-10 for tight ends seven times; and inside of the top-five (six) times. With Tom Brady returning to Tampa, Gronkowski will still have value for fantasy football.
Last season he was able to catch 55 passes for 802 receiving yards and six touchdowns. This allowed Gronk to finish as the TE5 overall, while only playing 12 games. While active, the former Arizona Wildcat averaged 12-FPPG in 2021, third-best at the position.
The landmine to avoid with Gronkowski is injuries, and there is no shortage of them throughout his career. Since 2012 Gronk has only played one full season without injury. This trend did not stop in 2021 because Gronkowski missed five games. This is the biggest risk in drafting Gronkowski for fantasy, making it hard not to carry a backup option at tight end. Carrying two tight ends on a fantasy football team can quickly clog your bench too.
This ranking is extremely volatile today, but there is only upside from this position unless he retires. As soon as Gronkowski commits to playing in 2022 he would instantly become the third or fourth-best tight end for fantasy. If you are drafting a best ball team today (where he is being selected after much inferior tight ends), he would be a must-have for your team.
11. Dawson Knox (TE) Buffalo Bills
Dawson Knox showed up for fantasy football last season. He recorded career highs in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. And while he was a great value-pick for fantasy managers a season ago, if you expect a repeat of Knox’s 2021 season you may find yourself disappointed.
Knox was a touchdown-dependent player, like many tight ends are. In weeks where he did not score a touchdown (a total of eight weeks) he busted at a 87.5-percent rate. The problem with any touchdown-dependent player is that touchdowns are a volatile stat year-to-year.
Even within his stellar 2021 season, you saw a drop-off in touchdown frequency. In the first five weeks he scored five touchdowns, but in the last nine weeks he only scored four touchdowns.
If Knox was more reliable week-to-week, you could be more bullish on the fourth-year vet. But he is not involved much outside of the red zone. Compared to other tight ends Knox finished 24th in team reception percentage, 20th in team target share and 18th in team receiving yards percentage.
With the volatility about Knox explained, there is value in his role and he can still provide meaningful weeks for managers in 2022. The Bills’ offense is arguably the best in the NFL and it is led by quarterback Josh Allen. Clearly, Allen looks for Knox in the red zone: 66.7-percent of Knox’s touchdowns came within the red zone.
Knox also has a respectable fantasy ceiling for his managers. In 2021 he scored over 15-fantasy points four times in half-PPR.
He will have usage in an extremely valuable offense and that does keep Knox within the top-12 list of fantasy tight ends.
12. Pat Freiermuth (TE) Pittsburgh Steelers
Pat Freiermuth was a valuable streaming tight end that many managers turned to at some point in the season. While he was boom-or-bust, he had potential to go out and score a touchdown every week. Sometimes that is all you need from the tight end position.
The sophomore tight end had an excellent rookie season finishing with 60 receptions, 497 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. This stat line allowed Freiermuth to finish as the TE13 overall, averaging 7.6-FPPG.
Clearly he had to score in order to bring value to his fantasy stakeholders, the volume alone was not there. In the games he failed to score a touchdown, Freiermuth had a bust-rate of 70-percent. Understanding that, Freiermuth’s touchdowns feel a lot more volatile to project in 2022 since the Steelers do not have an answer at the quarterback position at this time.
Even with the change at quarterback, this coaching staff will continue to look Freiermuth’s way when it comes to the red zone. He finished 17th in the NFL for red zone targets (18), which was fifth amongst tight ends.
He’s likely to continue being touchdown dependent in 2022 and fantasy managers can wait to select him in the final rounds of fantasy drafts. Freiermuth will not be a plug-and-play tight end, but he can bring value in certain match ups.
