The Walrus trailed only Travis Kelce in
catches last season (97-90) at the tight end position.
If you invested early draft capital in a tight end last season,
chances are you received a solid return. Travis Kelce, the consensus
No.1 tight end in rankings and the top-ranked tight end in average
draft position (ADP), finished the year as the TE1.
George Kittle was the No. 2 tight end in points per game based
on FFToday standard scoring.
New faces jumped into fantasy relevance, with Mark Andrews leading
all tight ends in touchdowns (10), and Darren Waller lived up
to his Hard Knocks hype and delivered a monster season.
Will the elite tight ends once again be safe picks? Who will
be the Mark Andrews breakout tight end for 2020? It is too early
in the process to know for sure, but here is my first attempt
at ranking tight ends for the upcoming season.
With two seasons in a row of finishing has the top tight end
in fantasy, it is almost impossible to rank anyone above Kelce
heading into this season. Mahomes and the core group of skill
position players will be back, and Big Red will still be calling
the plays along with offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.
Kittle is the only other tight end that I would consider taking
over Kelce this season. He is the focal point of the 49ers passing
offense and continues to be a monster after the catch. His five
touchdowns last year should go up closer to eight, making him
a lock to finish in the top five again this year, with a chance
of being the TE1.
Andrews was an absolute monster last season and proved to be
a league-winning player for owners lucky enough to snag him in
the draft. Like Kelce and Kittle, the system is staying the same
for Jackson and Andrews in Baltimore, so it is safe to say Andrews
will continue to be the favorite target for Jackson in the passing
game. There might be a bit of negative touchdown regression, but
I anticipate he will counter that will an uptick of closer to
70 receptions.
Only Kelce had more targets than Ertz last season. If Ertz managed
to reach the eight touchdowns he posted in each of the two previous
seasons, he would have scored more points than George Kittle.
Ertz could be the best value of the top four tight ends should
he fall into the fourth round.
The walrus trailed only Travis Kelce in catches last season at
the position. With five games of at least 100 receiving yards
and three games of double-digit targets, the fact that Waller
is the main focus in the passing game tells you everything you
need to know about how Jon Gruden feels about his player. I can’t
move him higher than this until he starts scoring more touchdowns.
This may shock some people, but Cook averaged more fantasy points
per game than both Ertz and Waller. Sure, he gets hurt often and
has a history of disappearing at times, but he clearly has a rapport
with Brees in the red zone.
The talent is there, and you would anticipate the opportunity
will be as well with the Giants lacking a big-bodied receiving
option in the passing game. But the injuries are a considerable
cause for concern, making Engram too risky to take in the top
five.
Like Engram, Hunter Henry has a ton of talent but can’t
seem to stay on the field. The former second-round pick from Arkansas
has not played in more than 13 games in a season and missed all
of 2018 with a knee injury. There is also concern around who will
be the quarterback for the Chargers in 2020.
Hooper is a free agent and could land in a positive situation
like New England or possibly Green Bay (Although most tight ends
struggle with Aaron Rodgers). If he were not a free agent and
were locked in to play with the Falcons, I would have ranked him
just behind Waller.
If you are looking for a player who finished white-hot in 2019
with the hopes of having it carry-over to 2020, Higbee is your
guy. Higbee received ten or more targets in each of his final
four games while notching four games of over 100 receiving yards
in his final five. Higbee could be a star in the making.
Olsen jumped into my top 12 after signing a free-agent deal to
join the Seahawks. Russell Wilson loves the tight end position,
and he has never had a tight end that can move as well as Olsen.
If he can stay healthy, Olsen could be the steal of the draft
at the TE position in 2020. He could also continue his trend of
not playing in a full season and be a bust, but at least you don’t
have to pay much in draft capital to secure his rights.
If you are looking for a young tight end that may make a massive
leap and become a star in 2020, you may want to draft Noah Fant.
Consider this: Fant had two games over 113 receiving yards and
a score last year. Hunter Henry has one 100-yard game in his career.
