DFS Army’s Gthom breaks down tight end rankings 1 – 6 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 7-12
Follow Gthom on the cesspool they call twitter, @GarettThomas.
Join the DFS Army today for best in the industry projections, Fantasy Football Draft Kit, Best Ball Rankings, Lineup Optimizer, Daily Cheat Sheets, Research Station, Coaching, for ALL DFS sports!
Join Today for 10% off your VIP/CORE 4 Membership each and every month!
Jan 24, 2021; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) before the AFC Championship Game against the Buffalo Bills at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
1. Travis Kelce (TE) Kansas City Chiefs
It’s Travis Kelce. The man needs no introduction. But just in case you need a refresher: he is the gold-standard at the tight end position.
Kelce finished as the TE2 overall last season, his worst finish since 2016. The Chiefs’ tight end finished as the TE1 overall five consecutive years, until Mark Andrews dethroned him in 2021. Not only does this show Kelce’s consistent dominance in fantasy football, it also shows his elite durability.
The Chiefs also shipped out Tyreek Hill, who commanded a 23.6-percent of his team’s target share last season (Kelce’s was 19.9-percent). Kelce will not get all of the targets vacated, but he will see an uptick in volume.
Even if the Chiefs select one-or-more receivers in the rookie draft, Kelce will be the top option in this offense. Outside of Patrick Mahomes, Kelce is the best player on this football team.
Kelce is worthy of a backend first-round fantasy draft pick. As such, he remains the TE1 overall for fantasy in 2022.
2. Mark Andrews (TE) Baltimore Ravens
Another extremely consistent fantasy tight end is Mark Andrews. The former Boomer Sooner has finished in the top-five for tight ends for three consecutive years.
Andrews had an elite year in 2021 and it led him toward becoming the TE1 overall. He averaged 14.6-FPPG and really stepped up his involvement within Baltimore’s offense. Andrews finished with 107 receptions (career high) for 1361 receiving yards (career high) and nine touchdowns.
Even if Andrews maintains his 25.2-team-target-percentage, 2021 was a weird year for the Ravens. It featured multiple weeks without Lamar Jackson. Furthermore, the two starting running backs for this offense went down with season-ending injuries before 2021 started. This is a run-first offense and these injuries really changed the dynamic of this offense last season. In 2019 – 2020 Baltimore led the league with more than 54-percent of their plays being run plays; in 2021 that number dropped to 43.63-percent. With a healthy squad in 2022 there is a good chance Andrews sees a regression of opportunities.
While it is reasonable to expect regression from Andrews, he remains an elite option for fantasy football managers in 2022. Some may eagerly reach for him over Travis Kelce, but the sharp managers will have Andrews as the TE2 on the season.
3. Kyle Pitts (TE) Atlanta Falcons
Going in the fourth-round of 2021 fantasy drafts, Kyle Pitts was a painful player to roster. This was fueled by two horrid stretches: weeks 1 – 4 and weeks 8 – 13. During these two stretches Pitts averaged 5.92-FPPG in half-PPR, something fantasy managers cannot afford from their fourth-round draft pick.
While it felt ugly, Pitts wound up finishing as the TE7 overall. This finish was supported by his 19.2-team-target-percentage and the two weeks where he scored 22.4-fantasy points and 19.8-points.
The biggest question that surrounds Kyle Pitts, and this Atlanta team, is what will the Falcons get from their quarterback position? Admittedly it could be much worse for Atlanta, but Marcus Mariota leading this team is far from ideal. Atlanta holds the eighth position in the NFL draft and they easily could (and should) draft a top rookie quarterback. If this were to happen, it would slightly boost Pitts’ fantasy outlook.
Though there are many questions around Pitts, it’s reasonable to feel that he can finish in the top-three at his position. The reason for this is touchdowns, or the lack thereof in 2021. Pitts finished with one measly touchdown for the season and that seems hard to do since he had 110 targets. Hypothetically speaking, if Pitts would have scored five total touchdowns last season (instead of one) he would have gone from TE7 to TE4 overall. Five total touchdowns is attainable for Pitts in 2022.
Pitts will be married to a bad NFL team and a bad or inexperienced quarterback. However, the sophomore tight end has an elite talent-ceiling and he will be guaranteed opportunities, which is enough to make him the TE3. Pitts starts the second-tier of tight ends, do not reach for him over Kelce or Andrews.
4. George Kittle (TE) San Francisco 49ers
Kittle feels more like a “regular” tight end compared to the others above him. He features a boom-or-bust fantasy football profile but make no mistake, he has the talent to finish as the TE2 overall if he can stay healthy.
The ceiling that Kittle brings to fantasy managers is one of the best at his position. In 2021 he had weeks where he scored 27.6-fantasy points and 35.1-points. Those are huge fantasy weeks, ones that can be week-winning for Kittle’s stakeholders.
While his ceiling is one-side of the coin, his floor is another. From 2020 – 2021, Kittle finished with less than 10-fantasy points 50-percent of the time. So while Kittle can win you a fantasy matchup, he can also ghost your team at any time.
Health is another factor that prospective Kittle managers need to consider. Over the last three seasons Kittle has missed 13 games. Even when Kittle is healthy, he constantly pops up on the injury report. These injury designations cause fantasy managers to hesitate or become indecisive with their roster decisions.
Kittle possesses elite talent at his position, but his injury woes and inconsistent usage cause him to disappear on several occasions each year. Despite this, Kittle looks like a great TE4 selection, with upside, for potential suitors.
5. Darren Waller (TE) Las Vegas Raiders
After two incredible years for fantasy football, Darren Waller did not finish as a top-three tight end for the first time since 2018. This was partly fueled by missing six games due to injury, plus he saw his catch percentage drop from 73.8-percent in 2020 to 59.1-percent in 2021. This was his lowest catch percentage since becoming a starter for Las Vegas.
2022 poses many new hurdles for Waller too. Obviously there is a new head coach which creates minor uncertainty. In addition, Devante Adams will immediately replace Waller as the go-to option in this offense. Without Waller being the most preferred pass-catcher, his floor and ceiling have downgraded from years past. Luckily quarterback Derek Carr has shown that he can support two fantasy receivers (see the Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree days). But it is fair to point out that Carr has not done this in several years.
Despite this, there is value in drafting Darren Waller. Even after missing six games last season, he maintained a 22-team-target-percentage. While that number will slightly come down, his team touchdown percentage should go up. In 2021 Waller found the end zone 8.1-percent of the time for his team. This metric was lower than Kyle Rudolph, Adam Trautman, Eric Ebron and Blake Jarwin, all lesser talented players with much lower snap counts. Waller can easily improve upon his touchdown metrics from 2021.
Look for Waller to be a little volatile compared to his 2019-2020 run. Adams will soak up some of Waller’s usage but in the end, look for Waller to be more involved in the red zone area.
Waller should be drafted no higher than the TE5 spot because he starts a new tier at the tight end position. Expect Waller to be a plug-and-play option for all PPR formats.
6. Dalton Schultz (TE) Dallas Cowboys
As a member of one of the best offenses to target for fantasy football, Dalton Schultz comes in as the sixth tight end on this list. Schultz’s had a breakout season in 2021 and he will look to continue that in 2022.
Schultz was the third option in this Dallas offense, yet he was still able to capture a 16.8-team-target-percentage. That metric is sustainable heading into 2022 with the departure of Amari Cooper, but do not expect Schultz to be the lead dog in this offense; that job will be for CeeDee Lamb.
It also is worth mentioning that quarterback Dak Prescott looks to Schultz as a safety blanket. There is genuine rapport between the two and that will provide some safety for fantasy managers looking to draft Schultz.
Last season Schultz finished as the TE3 on the season, which was a huge steal for fantasy managers that had him on their roster. He averaged 10-FPPG, but he certainly had streaky moments.
While T.J. Hockenson and Dallas Goedert both have merit to be in this sixth-spot, Schultz gets the nod for several reasons. Compared to Hockenson, Schultz’s every-week involvement was more reliable. Additionally, Hockenson has struggled with injuries in two-of-three seasons and is attached to a bad NFL team with a bad quarterback. Comparing Schultz to Goedert, Schultz’s quarterback, team and floor is better than Goedert’s and that was exclusively looking at Goedert following the departure of his teammate Zach Ertz. Schultz appears to be the safest of this group.
Dallas may draft a receiver in the rookie draft but even if that were to happen, Schultz would remain steadfast in his role and Prescott will still look for him in times of trouble. Draft Schultz as the sixth tight end off the board.
