Drafting a tight end can prove to be one of the more challenging decisions for your fantasy team. Reason being, this is a position that has major question marks from top to bottom.
Fantasy Football rankings 2017: Tight ends
The preseason is halfway over, so we updated our rankings of the top fantasy tight ends.
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The consensus No. 1 tight is Rob Gronkowski, but he has yet to make it through a full 16-game season since 2011. Gronkowski missed eight games last season. He also missed a combined 14 games from 2012-13. Draft him at your own peril.
The same goes for Jordan Reed. He is arguably the second-best tight end, but his durability makes him a tough sell early in fantasy drafts. That’s also the case with Tyler Eifert, who is a fantasy stud when healthy, but he has missed 26 games over the last three seasons.
All of this is why drafting a tight end is often a boom-or-bust proposition. We’re sorting through all the concerns with a fresh set of tight end rankings for the new fantasy season.
Tight end rankings, preseason Week 3
(SK: Scott Kaliska; JG: Jeff Goldberg; DG: Derek Gordon; AW: Alex Welch; ZS: Zach Senvisky; JM: Jason Marcum)
Preseason TE rankings
Rk | Consensus | Tm | SK | JG | DG | AW | ZS | JM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rob Gronkowski | NE | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Travis Kelce | KC | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Jordan Reed | WAS | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Jimmy Graham | SEA | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Greg Olsen | CAR | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Tyler Eifert | CIN | 6 | 6 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | Kyle Rudolph | MIN | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 7 |
| 8 | Delanie Walker | TEN | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 |
| 9 | Zach Ertz | PHI | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| 10 | Martellus Bennett | GB | 9 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 11 |
| 11 | Jack Doyle | IND | 13 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 11 | 10 |
| 12 | Eric Ebron | DET | 12 | 14 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 14 |
| 13 | Hunter Henry | LAC | 11 | 12 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 12 |
| 14 | Austin Hooper | ATL | 16 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 13 |
| 15 | Julius Thomas | MIA | 18 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 17 | 15 |
| 16 | Jason Witten | DAL | 17 | 16 | 18 | 12 | 14 | 16 |
| 17 | C.J. Fiedorowicz | HOU | 19 | 17 | 23 | 17 | 15 | 17 |
| 18 | Coby Fleener | NO | 14 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 23 | 19 |
| 19 | Cameron Brate | TB | 15 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 |
| 20 | Antonio Gates | LAC | 20 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 18 |
| 21 | Jared Cook | OAK | 22 | 21 | 15 | 22 | 19 | 21 |
| 22 | O.J. Howard | TB | 21 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 22 |
| 23 | David Njoku | CLE | 24 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 21 | 23 |
| 23 | Evan Engram | NYG | 23 | -- | 22 | -- | -- | 25 |
| 24 | Charles Clay | BUF | 25 | 24 | -- | 24 | 25 | 24 |
| 25 | Zach Miller | CHI | -- | 25 | 25 | -- | 24 | -- |
| -- | Benjamin Watson | BAL | -- | -- | -- | 23 | -- | -- |
