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Chip Bayless FEATURED Football Latest 

2025 Fantasy Football Rankings: TEs 1-10

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By Chip Bayless (click Howie for more Chip)

 

 

 

 

1) Brock Bowers

In all honesty, Brock Bowers’ talent level itself almost isn’t even worth evaluating considering his monstrous target share and the fact that much like a Malik Nabers per say, he’s the undisputed most-talented offensive player on his team which in 2025 virtually guarantees double-digit targets every single week.

In fact, when it comes to last season’s tight ends Bowers finished second to only Trey McBride in terms of his target share, as Bowers accounted for an astounding 25.8% of all of the Raiders’ 2024 targets. He accounted for 22% of all his team’s air yards too, a mark that ranked third among 2024 TEs.

Bowers accrued a quarter of all of the Raiders’ red zone targets as well, which ranked sixth among the position group.

That kind of volume locks Bowers in as the top fantasy TE of 2025, as even if Las Vegas drafts Ashton Jeante, Bowers would still be the team’s top man-beater, go-to guy, chain mover (second in receptions for first downs among 2024 TEs, sixth among all players), and red zone threat.

Furthermore, the difference between the shitpile of QBs the Raiders started last season and Geno Smith is as stark as the change Tom Brady’s cheekbones have undergone over the past two decades and Bowers is thus poised for an even better fantasy season in 2025, which is insane to think about considering last season among TEs Bowers ranked:

If the Raiders do draft a certain Boise St. rusher and Geno Smith does markedly improve the Raiders’ offensive production, Bowers’ fantasy stats should remain relatively unaffected or even improve, considering he fell outside the top-5 TEs in touchdowns despite leading the position group in volume.


The big-bodied target isn’t just a possession receiver either, and last year he finished with the third-most yards after contact, the third-most broken tackles and led TEs in YAC.

Those broken tackles and extra yards lead to explosive plays, and last year Bowers ranked among the top three tight ends in catches for at least 10 yards, catches for at least 20 yards, and catches for 50 yards or more.

Finally, we all know the best ability is availability and opportunity, and Bowers boasts both of those in spades. Last year he played the second-most snaps of any tight end, trailing only Cade Otton.

Like Mark Davis getting a bowl cut, you can count on Bowers finishing among the top three tight ends in 2025 (barring injury).

 

 

2) Trey McBride

Like Bowers, McBride’s skillset in itself is almost a moot point considering his glacial volume (led all TEs in target share in 2024 and air yards share) and chemistry with Kyler Murray guarantees a top three finish as long as he doesn’t have another horrifying leg injury.

It is also blatantly obvious that McBride is a sharp route runner and is a natural pass-catcher, rarely dropping balls he shouldn’t.

Among 2024 TEs, Trey McBride ranked:

The former Mackey Award winner’s strong hands combined with his surprising finesse allows him to rack up YAC yards, and last year he finished with the fourth-most yards after the catch and the fourth-most yards after contact among all TEs.

He ripped defenders off his body with ease too, and McBride also ranked tied for sixth among the position in broken tackles. That makes McBride’s Arizona’s go-to guy on third down and in clutch situations, and in 2024 McBride led TEs in catches for first downs (fourth among all pass catchers).

McBride TDs are well overdue to skyrocket as well, as the Arizona pass-catcher finished with the third-most red zone targets in terms of TEs but only scored twice the entire season.

That improved touchdown rate is also likely because of McBride’s penchant for big plays as last season he ranked among the top five TEs in catches for 10+ yards and catches for 20+ yards.

Add in the fact that McBride is on the field as often as McDonald’s ice cream machines are broken and finished second in snap percentage among tight ends last season, and you’ve got a lock-it-in high-floor, top TE.

 

 

3) George Kittle

If George Kittle’s target share was as absurd as McBride’s or Bowers’ he would easily clear the top spot on this list as he ranked as the #1 TE by far in terms of most advanced analytics.

For instance last year Kittle led TEs in yards per target and ranked second across the entire league regardless of position. He also led the position group in receiving success rate, trailing only the Lions’ David Montgomery when it came to all NFL players.

ESPN Analytics uses player-tracking data from Next Gen Stats to evaluate every route pass catchers run and scores their performance in three phases of the game, from 0 to 99. Who led all TEs and ranked second to only A.J. Brown across the entire league in overall rating with an 88 score?

BITCH YOU GUESSED IT

Brown and Kittle were the only players in the league who scored above 75.

In addition, he led tight ends in yards per route and was tied for third among all positions while ranking fourth among all players in passer rating when targeted with a whopping 135.2 average passer rating on passes that come his way.

Moreover, George Kittle trailed only Jefferson and Chase in total EVE, which stands for efficiency versus expected which is a statistical model from Opta Analyst that compares success on every single play to a league average based on situation and opponent.

As far as the more standard stats when it comes to 2025 TEs, Kittle finished:

  • 1st in PPG and 3rd in total points
  • Tied for 2nd in receiving TDs
  • 3rd in receiving yards
  • 5th in receptions
  • 7th in targets

He achieved all of those statistics in the face of finishing outside the top-10 TEs in routes run.

While his top-3 TE productivity despite a lack of top-3 volume is impressive, it is that dearth of volume compared to Bowers and McBride (both finished easily inside the top three in routes run) that results in maybe the best all-around TE the NFL currently has to offer ranking outside the top two from a fantasy perspective.

Kittle is maybe the best after-the-catch TE in the league (led the position in yards after contact last season), as his knack for stiff-arming, and running around and through defenders of all shapes and sizes is why he was able to finish in the top-3 TEs when it came to receiving yards and TDs despite finishing outside the top-5 when it came to targets.

In addition, he finished second in YAC to only Bowers when it came to last year’s tight ends, and according to Next Gen Stats he also finished second to only the aforementioned Brock when it came to TE YAC over expectation and YAC per reception.

Those YAC skills make him the most explosive tight end in the NFL, as he ranked inside the top two tight ends for catches of at least 10 yards, at least 20 yards, at least 30 yards, at least 40 yards, and at least 50 yards.

In addition, he was also fourth among TEs when it came to receptions for first downs and is clearly the 49ers’ most dependable chain-mover, especially now with Deebo gone and Aiyuk recovering from injury once again (and Aiyuk didn’t look like the man-beater he once was the last time we saw him on the field).

Although Kittle’s target share wasn’t as insane as the top two TEs on this year’s list, he still had a significant one as he accounted for 18% of all of San Fran’s 2024 targets which placed sixth among the position.

Kittle also finished with the fourth-most red zone targets among TEs, and had the fourth-highest snap share in terms of last year’s TE crop.

It makes sense, considering Kittle is as sure-handed as they come and is essentially a large, aggressive, elite WR who’s phenomenal at blocking, who just happens playing TE.

In 2024 Kittle sported the third-best catch percentage across the entire NFL.

Looking for one final efficiency stat to blindly convince you to draft Kittle like you’re Kyle Shanahan blindly calling passes while you’re up by 25 points in the third quarter of the Super Bowl?

Kittle led tight ends in yards per catch last season.

 

 

4) Jonnu Smith

While this ranking is in part biased because I owned Jonnu Smith in a league last season and have loved his athleticism and versatility for the position going back to his Titans days, Smith’s fantasy totals from last season speak for themselves.

Jonnu is essentially playing the Evan Engram/Travis Kelce “Joker” role now in Miami as he frequently lines up in the slot, and is a size mismatch against any defensive back and a speed mismatch against any linebacker.

That role in mostly pass-friendly weather resulted in the following TE rankings:

  • 5th in PPG & 4th in total points
  • Tied for 2nd in receiving TDs
  • 3rd in receptions for 1st downs (11th in the NFL)
  • 4th in receptions & targets
  • 4th in receiving yards
  • 4th in YAC (16th in the NFL)

Smith is a smooth route-runner and has some of the best hands at the position as he catches the ball like a receiver with his natural hands away from his body, and can jump sky-high to beat defenders to the football’s highest point on 50/50 and back shoulder balls.


It’s no surprise that Smith’s production on a per yard/route/target basis was phenomenal as his hulking frame combined with his WR skillset allowed him to finish with the third-highest yards per route run average last season.

Jonnu can also break tackles like a running back and has an RB’s ball-carrier vision, and last year he had the second-most broken tackles and the fifth-most yards after contact among the position.

Those broken tackles and yards after contact result in plays that go further down the field than the usual horizontal TE’s route tree, and Jonnu ranked third in catches for at least 10 yards among 2024’s TEs.

His target share is elite as well, and he ranked fourth in TE target share last year, accounting for 19.5% of all of Miami’s targets. He had the fifth-most red zone targets among tight ends too.

Jonnu also proved in 2024 that even if Tua’s helmet is accidentally touched at all, literally ever, and he’s forced to miss time, that he will still produce via dump offs over the middle, check downs, and TE screens.

 

 

5) Sam LaPorta

Sam LaPorta had a down year relative to last season’s performance as he was considered the #1 fantasy TE last season in terms of his ADP in the summer.

In spite of his early-season inconsistency, LaPorta plays in one of the most productive and creative offenses in the entire league, and he finished his season with six-straight double-digit fantasy weeks while placing among the top-10 tight ends when it came to both fantasy PPG and PRK.

LaPorta has underrated deep speed for the position, is highly versatile, and has some of the surest hands at the position.

Add in the fact that he looks so much like Dan Campbell that the Lions’ head coach has to have an unconscious bias for targeting LaPorta’s magnificent mustache and its easy to see how LaPorta ranked (among 2024 tight ends):

LaPorta also finished sixth among TEs in overall receiver rating, eighth in open rating, and ran the ninth-most routes.

A humongous human being with elite strength, LaPorta also powered through the seventh-most yards after contact when it came to last season’s TE crop.

Those advanced analytics combined with his long strides and sneak acceleration resulted in tons of long plays and the eighth-highest yards per target among tight ends last season while he finished amongst the top eight tight ends in terms of catches for 10+ yards, 20+ yards, 30+ yards, 40+ yards, and 50+ yards.

Being ranked tied for third in touchdowns amongst tight ends is no accident either, as LaPorta had the sixth-most red zone targets among the position last year.

LaPorta’s versatility and Dan Campbell-like appearance keeps him on the field as much as anyone too, and in 2024 he ranked sixth in both snap share and total snaps played among TEs.

The only concern regarding LaPorta is the Lions hefty supply of playmakers that allows them to spread the ball around as well as any team in the league.

As a result of the Lions’ multiple-back offense that is also home to Amon-Ra St. Brown and the speedy Jameson Williams, LaPorta’s 2024 volume was lower than most of the other tight ends on this list and he finished outside the top 10 TEs in both targets and receptions.

 

 

6) David Njoku

Njoku barely beats out Mark Andrews for the sixth slot on this year’s list, simply due to his age and the fact that the Browns don’t spread the ball around as much as the Ravens.

David Njoku has improved his once-maligned drop issues, and when he has the ball in his hands he might be the most explosive tight end in the league in terms of his top speed and acceleration.

In the face of missing six games due to injury, Njoku still accrued these 2024 TE ranks:

Impressively, Njoku still finished as a top 10 tight end by tons of metrics while missing six games due to injury and getting hurt midway through others.

His target share and frequent receptions are massively underrated aspects of Njoku’s fantasy value that many non-Browns fans might still be unaware of considering you might not have watched a single Browns game over the past two seasons unless you genuinely enjoy watching the Washington Generals of the NFL, or are from Cleveland.

While Njoku ranked 10th in receptions on the season among TEs, he averaged the third-most receptions per game among the position with 5.8.

With his size and sky-high leaping ability, Njoku is also clearly the Browns’ favorite red zone target, and in 2024 Njoku accrued a massive 37% of all of Cleveland’s targets inside the ten yard line which ranked third among tight ends and sixth among all players.

As long as the Browns don’t accidentally start a rapist who actually sucks at football instead of a quarterback for the checks notes third year in a row (and maybe even if they do), Njoku will finish as a mid to high-end TE1 again this season.

 

 

7) Mark Andrews

MAndrews Isiah Likely disappointed everyone who drafted him for the first quarter of the 2024 fantasy season; however, he finished the year with six straight double-digit fantasy weeks, he has clear chemistry with one of the best QBs in the league in one of the most potent offenses in the league, and is still a big-bodied end zone target (seventh in TE red zone target share) even if he’s lost a step or two athleticism wise since his injury.

Moreover, most of Andrews’ advanced analytics were absolutely off the charts. For example he led TEs in open rating according to ESPN Analytics and ranked seventh among all positions.

And a potentially lost MAndrews step has likely been greatly overstated, considering Andrews trailed only George Kittle in burn % and ranked sixth in the league (burn percentage measures how often a pass catcher achieves a burn, which is when a receiver “wins” – determined by a formula based on game state info and how far downfield the pass is thrown – his matchup against a defender when targeted).

He also finished with the sixth-most yards per route and the third-highest yards per target in 2024 among TEs.

He passed the eye test with flying colors as the season wore on too.

In terms of last year’s tight ends, Andrews finished:

Even if Andrews has lost some agility or acceleration, his long strides and unique chemistry with Lamar lends him more favorability than one might assume in regards to his ability to get open down the field for long gains.

Last season Andrews ranked amongst the top seven TEs in catches for 30+ yards, 40+ yards, and 50+ yards.

Mark Andrews also led the position in average targeted air yards, according to Next Gen Stats and had the seventh-highest share of his team’s air yards among TEs.

Lamar’s trust in Andrews is easy to see, and its no surprise that he finished the year with the sixth-best catch percentage in terms of 2024 TEs, and the eight-best catch percentage across the NFL.

If you’re searching for one final proof point that MAndrews still has it, look no further than the fact that he led the league in passer rating when targeted with an average passer rating of 140 on targets that came his way, and he ranked third in receiving success rate among 2024 TEs (sixth in the NFL).

 

 

8) Travis Kelce

Whether it was the eye test or statistics, it was obvious Travis Kelce stepped back harder in 2024 than Allen Iverson before he hit that shot over Ty Lue.

Kelce struggled to beat press coverage, didn’t explode off the line of scrimmage, dropped an unusual amount of passes, and didn’t seem to be the YAC maven he was once.

For instance Kelce ranked dead last (158th out of 158 players evaluated) on ESPN Analytics’ overall receiving score last season. When it came to ESPN’s catch rating, Kelce posted a score of zero out of 99, again tied for dead last.

He also had the third-most drops among 2024 TEs.

Maybe Taylor has his fingers tired.

However, Kelce might still be the most trusted pass catcher on a team that houses arguably the best quarterback in the league, is still one of the most experienced and smartest zone coverage beaters at his position, lines up as a WR on a regular basis, and still often acts as Mahomes’ security blanket.

In terms of last season’s fantasy TEs, Taylor Swift’s boyfriend ranked:

While Kelce did manage to accumulate a variety of top 10 TE stats, his advanced analytics and per route/target metrics were pretty terrible across the board.

He ranked among the four worst TEs in YAC over expectation (ranked 10th-worst in the NFL, for reference Tyler Lockett ranked last which is spot on for anyone who’s seen him play so I actually think that weird-sounding stat actually holds some credence).

Not to mention, his passer rating when targeted was also below 85, a far cry from the impressive numbers of say a Mark Andrews who had an 140 passer rating when targeted.

Besides, Kelce also had the second-lowest total EVE of any tight end (11th-lowest among all players) that Opta Analyst evaluated.

What keeps Kelce in that TE1 conversation is his consistently high target share and massive Mahomes trust.

When it came to last year’s TEs, Kelce accounted for 23% of all of KC’s targets, a target share that ranked third to only Bowers and McBride. He was second in TE air yard share as well while accounted for 24% of all of the Chiefs’ air yards last season.

In addition, he led the position in red zone targets with 25, ranked fourth in TE red zone target share with 25%, and played the third-most snaps of any tight end.

Couple that with the fact that Kelce ran the third-most routes among TEs last season, and he might just be a lock-it-in high-floor TE1 again in 2025 due to his involvement in the Chiefs offense even if his efficiency is absolute SHITE.

 

 

9) Evan Engram

Evan Engram was only able to play in nine games last season, two of which he was injured in, so many of his season totals are as unexciting as watching Bo Nix complete every pass within ten yards of the line of scrimmage.

Granted, when Engram was healthy he still showed the leaping ability, speed, and agility that make him one of the top five receiving mismatches at the position.

Evan Engram ranked, among last season’s tight ends:

The Jaguars released Engram in early March, about 11 weeks post labrum surgery.

According to ESPN, Engram “may not practice this spring but should be ready by Week 1”.

He also caught at least four passes in every game except for Week 1 against Miami when he got hurt.



Excluding the two games he was injured in and forced out of early, Engram impressively scored at least 10 fantasy points in five of his seven healthy weeks.

Moreover, Denver was reportedly thrilled to sign Engram this offseason and rumors are the Broncos had their eyes set on Engram this offseason to play a “joker” role that their head coach highly covets.

Remember, that little rat fuck some people call Sean Payton once went nuts lining Jimmy Graham up at receiver almost every play and turning him into one of the top TEs in the league with yards and touchdowns galore.

 

 

10) Dallas Goedert

In all honesty there is a significant drop-off after Evan Engram among fantasy TEs in terms of consistency and target share, but Goedert barely cracks the top 10 due to his performance once he got healthy, and the Eagles’ increased usage of the freakishly huge pass-catcher towards the end of the season and in the playoffs with TE screens, end-arounds, and as the first read off of RPOs.

Like Engram, Goedert has a size mismatch against any defensive back while possessing an athleticism/explosiveness mismatch against any linebacker with the unfortunate task of trying to cover the highly-efficient tight end.

And much like Engram, Goedert missed a significant chunk of the season (eight games) due to injury, so many of his season total aren’t exactly anything George Bush would label as a WMD.

In the face of those injuries, Goedert still ranked:

As evidenced by ranking among the top five TEs in a number of efficiency metrics, Goedert does have undisputed top-10 talent at the position, but that isn’t the question when it comes to his 2025 fantasy potential.

The question is if Goedert will stay healthy and also if he is able to maintain a fantasy-relevant target share even with Saquon carriers, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith siphoning targets, and Jalen Hurts scrambles and rushes.

But just to drive home just how elite Goedert is, it’s also worth noting he ranked fifth among TEs in yards per target, sixth in receiving yards per game, and I swear Goedert has a fetish for finishing fifth because he also ranked fifth in average EVE.

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