RANKING NFL TIGHT END ROOMS GOING INTO THE 2024 SEASON

Tight ends are important. They can help provide protection, blocking for you quarterback or running back. Some provide receiver type stats essentially adding an elite weapon to your offense. We look more towards pass catching on this list, though blocking will be mentioned for some. The draft did not have many good tight ends, so not many additions. Let's look at the best tight end/tight end rooms for all teams.

32. Carolina Panthers (Ian Thomas & Tommy Tremble)

The Panthers do not have much at the tight end position. Thomas has never seen over 350 yards. Tremble has never gotten over 200. I expect to see Tremble take the starting job from Thomas based on targets alone.

31. Denver Broncos (Adam Trautman & Greg Dulcich)

Trautman is currently listed as the starter. I am curious what went into that decision. Trautman has never surpassed 300 yards in any of his 3 seasons. I do not care much for Dulcich either. He at least had a decent rookie campaign in 2022. Averaging 12.5 yards per reception, catching 60% of his targets for 411 yards. I kept them above the Panthers due to their cap situation.

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Cade Otton)

Otton has had a couple of decent seasons. He got the chance to play a full season last year and only had 455 yards. I was a little surprised the Buccaneers did not invest in a tight end from free agency.

29. Indianapolis Colts (Kylen Granson & Mo Alie-Cox)

Granson had his best season last year. He was targeted more, and did not perform too poorly. I believe he will only trend upward with another year under HC, Shane Steichen. Mo is always used in specific downs and situations, so you will not see him with the ball much. That being said his size does give him an opportunity to impact plays.

28. Miami Dolphins (Durham Smythe & Jonnu Smith)

The Dolphins do not use tight ends much. Primarily for blocking. Jonnu provides a nice target. Durham has never panned out for the Dolphins since drafting him. He is listed at TE1. I am curious to see if they have a plan to try and bring the best out of him, or to have him block primarily.

27. New Orleans Saints (Juwan Johnson, Foster Moreau, & Taysom Hill)

Johnson saw a decrease is usage last year. It was somewhat shocking considering the Saints offensive situation. I want to see if they start using him more. He seems to be more productive the more snaps he plays. Moreau had a couple of decent years in Vegas. He was primarily TE2, as I believe he will be here. He adds a nice target in case New Orleans wants to design plays with multiple TEs. Hill is who he is. He will be used for special plays and tends to deliver in most of them. He is listed as TE, but obviously is so much more than that.

26. New York Giants (Daniel Bellinger)

Darren Waller's retirement likely caught the Giants off guard going into the season. Although Waller was better player, I really like Bellinger. When Bellinger was on the field Jones seemed more comfortable making uncomfortable throws. You can tell he trusts the young TE. Bellinger consistently catches over 85% of his targets. I do not expect to see him make a jump into the top 10 necessarily, but I do think he surprises some people if Daboll gets him more involved in the offense than he was.

25. Tennessee Titans (Chigoziem Okonkwo)

Okonkwo saw a significant target increase with Levis under center. He tallied over 500 yards last season. I am not sure how involved he gets with the Titans newly stacked WR core, tight ends can really feel like a safe haven for young QBs. I am curious to see how many targets he gets now being surrounded by the great WRs.

24. Los Angeles Rams (Tyler Higbee)

No disrespect to Higbee. He has been hot and cold, and plagued with injuries throughout his career. Not to mention the Rams WR core took away over 35 targets from him last season. He is still capable of making big plays, I just believe his role continues to see a significant decrease. His contract comes up in 2026, I expect he signs one more or retires.

23. Green Bay Packers (Luke Musgrave)

With Packers receiving core looking as poorly as it does, I expected Musgrave to have a huge year last year. He was on the shelf a few weeks with two injuries, so we did not get to see him the full season. The 11 games he did play he was only able to get 352 yards. To his credit, he only averaged 4 targets per game. I would like to see him have a full season with a few more targets. If that happens, then maybe he breaks out this year.

22. Seattle Seahawks (Noah Fant & Pharaoh Brown)

Noah Fant felt disappointing in his move to Seattle. When he was drafted, he was believed to be a TE who would bring receiver type production. When he was traded to Seattle many believed he may become that getting out of the poorly ran Bronco's system. In his two years in Seattle, he has yet to bring in 500 yards. With DK being the size of a tight end, I am sure that plays a factor is how much Fant sees the field. We will see if new HC, Mike Macdonald have a new plan for Fant. As far as Pharaoh, I am a Browns fan, so I got to see the upside of him. He may not be a bonified starter, but he can make a small impact.

21. Los Angeles Chargers (Will Dissly & Hayden Hurst)

The Chargers may not have a great receiving corps, but they have a solid duo at the tight end position. You have Will Dissly, who can make a difference in the passing game, but is one of the better blockings TEs in the league. As well as Hurst, who might be one of Herbert's favorite targets this season.

20. Cincinnati Bengals (Mike Gesicki & Drew Sample)

Mike Gesicki was a mainstay in Miami until McDaniel took over. He changed the system entirely cause a huge downfall for Gesicki. He went from 100+ targets to 52 and 45 in his last two seasons. I believe with the Bengals offense; he will start seeing targets like he was years ago helping his production. Sample similar to Pharaoh Brown, won't be anywhere near a TE1, but can make a small impact.

19. Pittsburgh Steelers (Pat Freiermuth)

Freiermuth was a light in a not so bright offense of the Matt Canda era. He had a injury riddled season last year, but I believe things start to look up for him with a healthy season, fresh play calling, and new QB play.

18. New York Jets (Tyler Conklin)

Tyler Conklin has had a few great years with not-so-great QBs. This year he should get the opportunity to show off what he can do with a great QB under center. The Jets have a good receiving core, but I would not be surprised to see Conklin be 2nd in targets. I think Rodgers will grow to like him a lot down the field. Let's see if he can turn those 500 - 600 yard seasons to 800+.

17. New England Patriots (Hunter Henry & Austin Hooper)

Hunter Henry took a drop off in production moving to the Patriots, but with a new look offensively, I believe we can see him get back to where he was. There are still some concerns at QB, so that will still play a factor. Hooper also took a dip in production moving teams. He hopes to find stability and land back on his feet with a stint in New England. He can still be very productive for this team.

16. Las Vegas Raiders (Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer, & Harrison Bryant)

I am very high on the 13th overall pick, Brock Bowers. He is one of the few tight ends in years that I believe is a sure thing in the NFL. He can make a difference in passing and blocking. Mayer had moments that made him look like a solid tight end, though I do not believe he would have been this elite TE1 like most seemed to believe. Harrison Bryant makes some big plays. Similasr to the Chargers, Vegas certainly has the manpower to run a 3 TE system.

15. Washington Commanders (Zach Ertz)

Ertz has taken a dip in production moving from Philadelphia to Arizona. To be fair, Murray was injured for a majority of that time. I am not saying the Commanders will be more stable, with a rookie QB, but I feel Dan Quinn will encourage his young QB to target the big man. I believe Zach maybe in the book for an 800+ yard season.

14. Dallas Cowboys (Jake Ferguson)

Ferguson had a great year last year. There is no reason to believe he does not have an even bigger year this year. He should be Dak Prescott's favorite target behind CeeDee Lamb.

13. Chicago Bears (Cole Kmet & Gerald Everett)

The Bears offense looks very good. Kmet has been a solid playmaker for the Bears, and I have no reason to believe that changes. Everett was used incorrectly in Los Angeles. Similar to Donald Parham, he was used as a redzone target. I believe Everett has a chance to break out as a pass catcher and not just a redzone target.

12. Houston Texans (Dalton Schultz & Brevin Jordan)

Stroud likes to pass the ball around. Everyone gets a fair number of targets including these two tight ends. Schultz averaged the most yards per reception of his career. Brevin was not used much only getting 21 targets, but when he got the ball, he averaged almost 13 yards per play.

11. Jacksonville Jaguars (Evan Engram)

Engram has been kind of under the radar. He is playing well despite two disappointing seasons for Jacksonville overall. He really got comfortable with the offense in year 2. He was close to 1,000 yards and targeted the most of any pass catcher on the team. He will serve as QB, Trevor Lawrence's safety blanket, as he should.

10. Atlanta Falcons (Kyle Pitts)

I believe Kirk Cousins gives Pitts the best chance to return to the 1,000-yard receiving TE he was his rookie year. He had poor coaching and QB play the last two years. That being said I am not fully convinced we see him return to form, but again, with Cousins, this is the best chance he has to do so.

9. Minnesota Vikings (TJ Hockenson)

Hockenson was on the trajectory to getting over 1,000 yards. You cannot ask for more. Hockenson, though did not get over 1,000 yards, would have had he started the last two games. Hockenson looks like he will miss some time this year, that likely dips into his production again, which is what lands him so low on this list. If he comes back and overcomes the ACL injury, he should be back in business and looking towards a 1,000-yard season in the near future.

8. Arizona Cardinals (Trey McBride)

McBride had an amazing back half of the season last year. He led the team in targets, despite Hollywood Brown being there. He will be Murray's go to this year. Maybe even more so than Marvin Harrison Jr.

7. Philadelphia Eagles (Dallas Goedert)

Goedert missed a few games late last season with a broken forearm. From what we saw of him, he was certainly misused in the Eagles depleted offensive play calling. When you look at Kellen Moore, he tends to like to use the tight ends, especially in the redzone, so I expect Goedert to have little to no issue returning to form.

6. Buffalo Bills (Dalton Kincaid & Dawson Knox)

Knox looked good his first few years with the Bills. He never really reached the ceiling fans thought he would after being drafted. He is still solid, and will help the Bills push downfield, but this team is now Dalton Kincaid's. Kincaid put up rather impressive numbers last season, and I expect no less this year with another off season under his belt. Kincaid was targeted second most next to former Bills WR, Stefon Diggs. There is a real possibility Kincaid leads the team in targets this season.

5. Cleveland Browns (David Njoku)

Njoku had a career year despite having five different starting QBs last season. He put up almost 900 yards with the following: a washed Deshaun Watson, 39-year-old Joe Flacco, rookie DTR, and career backups PJ Walker and Jeff Driskel. Njoku's claim to fame was his yards after catch. Njoku put up 882 yards. 609 were yards after the catch. Those are numbers you cannot make up. The Browns have a good receiving core but expect Njoku to get more than his fair share of yards.

4. Detroit Lions (Sam LaPorta & Brock Wright)

LaPorta might just be the next breakout tight end. He was targeted 120 times last season. He proved himself as a household name in Detroit. He was projected to play well, but not like the elite TE he did his rookie season. Wright is primarily going to be used for blocking, which he does very well. He may also get thrown in a few plays for trickery.

3. Baltimore Ravens (Mark Andrews & Isaiah Likely)

From a talent perspective, Andrews was always poised to be a star. He fell in the draft due to health concerns, and though he has seen his fair share of injuries in the NFL. He has been must-see when on the field. As long as he stays healthy, he is always a top 5 TE. Isaiah also helps contribute providing nice depth if Andrews goes down.

2. San Fransisco 49ers (George Kittle)

George Kittle gives receiver production and elite blocking. The best of both worlds in one tight end. He is arguably the best of both in the league. His downside is injuries. He seems to miss a couple of games per year due to minor injuries.

1. Kansas City Chiefs (Travis Kelce, Noah Gray, & Peyton Hendershot)

Kelce had a down year last year. In that we got to see the emergence of Noah Gray, who made some magnificent plays down the field. Hendershot also has the skills to make plays downfield. I would not be shocked to see the Chiefs run some 3 TE plays. I will not bet against Kelce, what Gray showed me last year, and Hendershot's upside, I slot them higher than Kittle just for the depth.

Thanks for checking out my list! You can check out my list for every position/position group from the homepage! If you can, please subscribe FOR FREE! All it will cost is a notification when I post on the website! Want to join the discussion? We have Facebook and Instagram! The links can be found at the bottom of the homepage!