2017 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight ends – Travis Kelce leads the group

Fantasy football rankings for tight ends become increasingly important with each year. We examine some of the top prospects here.

While running backs, quarterbacks, and wide receivers receiver most of the attention in fantasy football, the tight end position is becoming increasingly important. We make some tight end fantasy football rankings here in a way-too-early fashion.

1. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

Kelce led all tight ends in fantasy points last year and if anything he should see an increase in usage this year with the release of Jeremy Maclin. He finished first in yards and second in receptions among all tight ends. I would normally give this spot to Rob Gronkowski but with his injury history I’ll take the more reliable Kelce above him this year.

1. Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots

Gronk would take the top spot every year if not for his injury history. When healthy, he is the best tight end in the game. However, even if he is healthy this year he could see a slight dip in targets with the multitude of weapons on the Patriots’ offense.

1. Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers

Another year as the top pass catcher in Carolina should be on the horizon for Olson. He may be the most consistent tight end on this list and is rarely injured if you want consistency from the position this should be your guy.

1. Jimmy Graham, Seattle Seahawks

Graham finished fourth among tight ends in 2016 as he finally built a solid rapport with Russell Wilson. If anything, he should improve on last year’s numbers and remain among the best at the position in the league.

1. Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings

Surprisingly, Rudolph finished second in the league among tight ends in 2016. He saw the most targets of any tight ends in the league with 132 passes coming his way. He doesn’t have quite the YAC ability as the other tight ends in the top-five but he is still very reliable.

1. Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins

Reed is in a similar situation to Gronk, if we knew he would be healthy he’d probably be second on this list. Concussions have derailed his career and he is probably only one more away from his career being in jeopardy.

1. Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans

Walker is another very consistent contributor at the tight end position. We could start to see some decline this year though as he turns 33 this season and the Titans appear to finally have some decent wide receivers on the roster with Corey Davis and Eric Decker.

1. Martellus Bennett, Green Bay Packers

Bennett finished tenth in the league as a second tight end behind Rob Gronkowski in New England, he should see an increase in Targets in a pass-heavy offense with Aaron Rodgers throwing bullets to him.

1. Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles

Another year to work on his connections with second-year quarterback Carson Wentz should help his production. He finished sixth in the league last year but his targets should decrease slightly as the Eagles now have a true number one receiver in Alshon Jeffrey.

1. Eric Ebron, Detroit Lions

Ebron is my breakout candidate for tight ends. He finished 14^th in points last season but he was eighth in yards and only had one touchdown. Touchdowns are fluky but I’d be willing to bet the mortgage he finishes with more than one this season barring injury.

1. Tyler Eifert CIN
2. Hunter Henry LAC
3. Jack Doyle IND
4. Coby Fleener NO
5. Jason Witten DAL
6. Julius Thomas MIA

Thomas could make his way up this list before the season starts. He is reunited with Adam Gase who he was very productive under in Denver. However, back then he had Peyton Manning throwing him the ball and not Ryan Tannehill.

1. J. Fiedorowicz HOU
2. Antonio Gates LAC
3. Jared Cook OA
4. Cameron Brate TB
5. Austin Hooper ATL
6. David Njoku CLE
7. J. Howard TB
8. Charles Clay BUF
9. Zach Miller CHI
10. Evan Engram NYG
11. Jesse James PIT
12. Mychal Rivera JAC

Keep an eye on the Jacksonville Jaguars depth chart. For now I believe Rivera should be the lead receiving tight end on the roster but it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Ben Koyack ended up being the starter as he is a much better blocker than Rivera.

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Jermaine Gresham ARI

Questions? Comments? Smart remarks? Comment below!