Talk about top-heavy. Our 2020 PPR Tight End Rankings were dominated by the same three names at the top. In fact, each of our analysts had those three in the same order and only one differed on the fourth-ranked tight end.
With so much consensus at the top, does that mean you need to reach for that relative safety, or is there value to be had later in the draft? That’s a question for our analysts. You can see more of their thoughts on the tight end position further down the page.
Meet the Rankers
Below are the analysts that will be pouring over our PPR Tight End Rankings for the next few months. We’ve included their initials so that you know who is who in the rankings table and also their Twitter handles so you can give them a follow and let them know what you think of their rankings.
- MC – Mick Ciallela – @themick23
- MS – Meng Song – @FFA_Meng
- CY – Corbin Young – @corbin_young21
- BL – Brent Langlois – @_FootballJesus_
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2020 PPR Tight End Rankings
Below you’ll find PPR Wide Receiver Rankings from four of our top analysts. They are ranked by the consensus now, but you can also sort by each analyst.
| Cons. Rnk | Player | MC | MS | CY | BL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Travis Kelce | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | George Kittle | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Mark Andrews | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Zach Ertz | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| 5 | Darren Waller | 5 | 8 | 4 | 6 |
| 6 | Evan Engram | 6 | 9 | 6 | 5 |
| 7 | Hunter Henry | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| 8 | Rob Gronkowski | 11 | 5 | 9 | 15 |
| 9 | Tyler Higbee | 15 | 6 | 13 | 7 |
| 10 | Austin Hooper | 9 | 17 | 8 | 8 |
| 11 | Jared Cook | 8 | 10 | 16 | 12 |
| 12 | Hayden Hurst | 12 | 13 | 10 | 14 |
| 13 | Noah Fant | 14 | 11 | 18 | 9 |
| 13 | Mike Gesicki | 10 | 19 | 12 | 11 |
| 13 | T.J. Hockenson | 13 | 12 | 11 | 16 |
| 16 | Dallas Goedert | 16 | 16 | 14 | 13 |
| 17 | Jonnu Smith | 18 | 14 | 15 | 18 |
| 18 | Jack Doyle | 17 | 15 | 19 | 22 |
| 19 | Blake Jarwin | 19 | 18 | 29 | 20 |
| 20 | Chris Herndon IV | 20 | 23 | 28 | 17 |
| 21 | Irv Smith Jr. | 23 | 28 | 20 | 19 |
| 21 | Eric Ebron | 21 | 21 | 24 | 24 |
| 23 | Gerald Everett | 25 | 22 | 26 | 25 |
| 24 | Greg Olsen | 24 | 26 | 25 | 28 |
| 24 | Jace Sternberger | 26 | 27 | 21 | 29 |
| 26 | Ian Thomas | 22 | 20 | 27 | NR |
| 27 | O.J. Howard | NR | 29 | 17 | 27 |
| 28 | Will Dissly | NR | NR | 23 | 21 |
| 29 | Tyler Eifert | NR | 25 | NR | 23 |
| 30 | Kyle Rudolph | 27 | 24 | NR | NR |
| 31 | Dawson Knox | 30 | NR | 30 | NR |
| 32 | David Njoku | NR | NR | 22 | NR |
| 33 | Cameron Brate | NR | NR | NR | 26 |
| 34 | Jimmy Graham | 28 | NR | NR | NR |
| 35 | C.J. Uzomah | 29 | NR | NR | NR |
| 36 | Darren Fells | NR | 30 | NR | NR |
| 36 | Devin Asiasi | NR | NR | NR | 30 |
Breaking Down the Position
Mick Ciallela
My tight end strategy for 2020 is clear. In PPR leagues, I want one of the top five tight ends on the board. The security and consistency those five provide will give you one less thing to worry about when setting your lineups. We often underemphasize the fact that fantasy football is a weekly game. You can have a tight end who finishes top-12 in yearly scoring but still whiff most weeks. That concern will largely be alleviated with the top five tight ends. Last season, the quintet of Travis Kelce, George Kittle, Mark Andrews, Zach Ertz, and Darren Waller finished as weekly top-12 PPR tight ends in 75 percent (57-of-76) of the games that they played.
If you get a tight end in the tier below this group, you could hit the jackpot. Or you could bust. It all depends on timing. If you started last season with Austin Hooper or Evan Engram and bailed on them in November and picked up Tyler Higbee, you did great. However, if you drafted Jared Cook and cut bait after he racked up just 17 PPR points in four September contests, or after he got injured in October, you probably missed out on his overall TE2 finish from Week 10 on. Drafting comes down to relative cost. I would rather draft Zach Ertz in the third round and Michael Gallup in the seventh than Amari Cooper in the third and Tyler Higbee in the seventh.
In non-PPR, however, I am more willing to take the discount on the second tier of tight ends. Last year’s TE8, Hunter Henry, finished just 1.9 points per game behind Travis Kelce in standard leagues. In those formats, I would rather draft Aaron Jones in the second round and a second-tier tight end than draft Travis Kelce and Sony Michel, for example. There are also several tight ends going even later who are potential breakout candidates. Again, if you want to hope to ride a hot start or think you can stream, go for it. One or two will surely hit. But who will it be? It could be Mike Gesicki or Hayden Hurst. Maybe it’s Noah Fant or Jonnu Smith. I don’t mind grabbing any of those guys as a backup. I just would not rely on any of them to provide consistent weekly value.
Corbin Young
After the first five tight ends, there’s a large group from 6-15 that are solid starting tight ends. I’m usually a wait on tight end type of person since I target running backs and wide receivers early. My favorite tight end sleepers are Hayden Hurst, Jonnu Smith, Dallas Goedert, and T.J. Hockenson. My super deep sleepers are Jack Doyle and Kaden Smith. There’s quite a bit of value in the TE6 – TE15 range, so target those guys in drafts.
Got a beef with our 2020 Consensus PPR Tight End Rankings? Let our analysts hear it in the comments below!
More 2020 Fantasy Football Rankings:
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