Top 50 fantasy football standard tight ends for Week 1

The NFL season is so close we can smell it! Well, maybe spray some Febreeze and let’s get into the tight end fantasy muck. This year we have Brock Bowers and Trey McBride as too good and too targeted to fail, but in standard leagues, George Kittle leapfrogs those two due to his big play and touchdown upside. Any one of those three is about as safe as you can get in standard leagues. Unfortunately it gets murkier after them. There are some no-doubt good tight ends out there, but consistency remains a problem for the position in fantasy. Let’s take a look at Week 1, shall we?

Otton is dealing with a leg injury, but was able to get on the practice field Monday. We’ll need to see his status this week, but if he’s ready to go, he would be a good position for good usage.

Likely avoided the PUP list, but he has yet to return to the practice field since foot surgery. He should return before Week 4, but he looks unlikely to play in Week 1. Mark Andrews would get more work in his absence.

Warren was selected with the No. 14 pick of the draft this past April will make his NFL debut on Sunday when the Colts play host to the Dolphins. The Penn State product posted over 1,200 receiving yards to win the Mackey Award in 2024 and should be a big target for Daniel Jones (or Anthony Richardson) in the Colts’ offense this year.

Loveland was the first tight end taken off the board at No. 10 and will step on the field when the Bears host the Vikings on Monday night. Chicago’s offense will have a new look under first-year head coach Ben Johnson and it’ll be interesting to see how much the rookie is used opposite veteran tight end Cole Kmet.

The new-look Jets will open the season against the Steelers on Sunday and making his pro debut will be second-round pick Mason Taylor. The LSU product could play a significant role for the Jets, especially with new head coach Aaron Glenn and new OC Tanner Engstrand coming from a TE-friendly attack in Detroit.

If your tight end is good enough to demand targets, the game flow isn’t as important, but if you’re looking for games to play your good, but not great tight ends, you’ll want game flow that leads to more passing. You can partially scout that using odds. We want high scoring games where your player’s team is an underdog for the most part.

Ravens at Bills (-1.5) — 52.5
Lions at Packers (-2.5) — 47.5
Bengals (-5.5) at Browns — 47.5
Cowboys at Eagles (-7.5) — 47.5

Eagles 27.5, Bills 27, Bengals 26.5, Commanders 26, Ravens 25.5, Packers 25

Steelers (-2.5) at Jets —37.5
Titans at Broncos (-7.5) —41.5
Cardinals (-5.5) at Saints — 42.5
Raiders at Patriots (-2.5) —43.5
Vikings (-1.5) at Bears —43.5

Titans 17, Jets 17.5, Saints 18.5, Giants 19.5, Cowboys 20, Steelers 20

Cowboys at Eagles (-7.5)
Titans at Broncos (-7.5)
Giants at Commanders (-6.5)