Not much has changed on the tight end landscape since the beginning of the 2016 season. A healthy Gronk is the clear king. Travis Kelce and Jordan Reed figure to be the next-best options; and Greg Olsen and Jimmy Graham lead a jam-packed third tier. The rest have serious question marks about their talent, usage or both.
Fantasy football rankings, 2017: Tight ends for Week 1
The SB Nation fantasy staff rounds up the rankings for the top 25 tight ends for Week 1.
Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images
Week 1 brings tough matchups for the top three tight ends. Rob Gronkowski and Travis Kelce will duel it out Thursday night and both defenses ranked near the top at defending tight ends last season. Jordan Reed is already dealing with a toe injury and plays the Eagles who he only managed one reception against last year (limited due to shoulder injury). All three are still top 10 options, but guys like Tyler Eifert and Greg Olsen get bumped up.
If you are streaming the position or playing DFS it’s a fantastic week for tight ends ranked between five and 15. Jermaine Gresham faces the Detroit Lions who gave up the third-most fantasy points to tight ends last season. We get to see what Zach Ertz can do without Jordan Matthews around, though Ertz didn’t do much last season against a very friendly Washington defense. Those digging deep should take a look at rookies Evan Engram and George Kittle who both could have strong NFL debuts this week. I also like Charles Clay to do bad things to the NY Jets defense on Sunday if Tyrod Taylor clears his concussion protocol.
Tight end rankings, Week 1
(SK: Scott Kaliska; JG: Jeff Goldberg; DG: Derek Gordon; KB: Kyle Bennett ZS: Zach Senvisky; JM: Jason Marcum)
TE rankings, Week 1
Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp | SK | JG | DG | KB | ZS | JM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rob Gronkowski | NE | vs. KC | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Greg Olsen | CAR | @ SF | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Travis Kelce | KC | @ NE | 3 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | Jimmy Graham | SEA | @ GB | 4 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Tyler Eifert | CIN | vs. BAL | 9 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 2 |
| 6 | Jordan Reed | WAS | vs. PHI | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| 7 | Delanie Walker | TEN | vs. OAK | 5 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | Zach Ertz | PHI | @ WAS | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 9 |
| 9 | Charles Clay | BUF | vs. NYJ | 21 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 8 |
| 10 | Martellus Bennett | GB | vs. SEA | 10 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 12 |
| 11 | Jason Witten | DAL | vs. NYG | 13 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 11 |
| 12 | Hunter Henry | LAC | @ DEN | 11 | 16 | 17 | 11 | 7 | 13 |
| 13 | Austin Hooper | ATL | @ CHI | 17 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 11 | 14 |
| 14 | Eric Ebron | DET | vs. AZ | 12 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 15 |
| 15 | Cameron Brate | TB | @ MIA | 14 | 10 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 10 |
| 16 | Kyle Rudolph | MIN | vs. NO | 7 | -- | 9 | 10 | 23 | -- |
| 17 | Jack Doyle | IND | @ LAR | 15 | 21 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 20 |
| 18 | Julius Thomas | MIA | vs. TB | 18 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 17 |
| 19 | Evan Engram | NYG | @ DAL | 24 | 13 | 21 | 21 | 17 | 16 |
| 20 | Coby Fleener | NO | @ MIN | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 18 |
| 21 | Antonio Gates | LAC | @ DEN | -- | 22 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 22 |
| 22 | Jesse James | PIT | @ CLE | 23 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 19 |
| 23 | Austin Seferian-Jenkins | NYJ | @ BUF | -- | 19 | 23 | 24 | -- | 21 |
| 23 | Jared Cook | OAK | @ TEN | 25 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 23 |
| 24 | O.J. Howard | TB | @ MIA | -- | 24 | -- | 25 | 20 | 25 |
| 25 | C.J. Fiedorowicz | HOU | vs. JAC | 19 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Vance McDonald | PIT | @ CLE | 22 | 25 | -- | -- | -- | 24 |
| -- | Zach Miller | CHI | vs. ATL | 20 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | David Njoku | CLE | vs. PIT | -- | -- | -- | -- | 25 | -- |
| -- | George Kittle | SF | vs. CAR | -- | -- | 25 | -- | -- | -- |
