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The tight end rankings in recent years had one thing in common, which is that it was Travis Kelce at the top by a notable margin that sometimes reached ridiculous proportions, but that has since changed, as Kelce is now considered one of multiple topflight players at this position.

That makes this position more challenging than usual, and this review aims to assist with that by providing rankings for the four elite tight ends and the 14 other players who could have a starter-caliber point total at the end of the 2024 fantasy football season.

As noted in the QB rankings article that initiated this series, there are five color-coded tiers the rankings system used in my draft guide (which can be found here). Blue indicates the player is among the elites at this position. Green designates someone as a strong starter candidate. Yellow indicates the player is a quality backup in most leagues. Orange-rated players can be solid backups in deep leagues but shouldn't be rostered in moderate or shallow leagues. Red players should not be rostered outside of ridiculously deep leagues.

Let's navigate the tight end rankings by starting with the blue-rated players.

Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens

Sam LaPorta is one of the few players at any position to get across the board 100 grades in my system (which is on a 1-100 scale, with 100 being the best grade). He isn't quite up to the level that Kelce used to be at, but LaPorta can justify a second- or third-round draft slot. Kelce is only a small step behind in these rankings, so he can provide strong ROI for a third-round selection.

Kittle and Andrews are in the elite class at this position and thus can be difference makers here, but they aren't at the level of LaPorta or Kelce. This means Kittle and Andrews will be available in Rounds 4 or 5 in most draft rooms, but they may not provide quite enough value to strongly justify taking a tight end in those rounds, especially with the amount of quality depth here.

This shows up in the green-rated tier.

Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys
Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints
Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens

This is more depth that has been available at the tight end position for many years, and it is a reason fantasy managers can wait to draft tight ends if they don't wish to make the necessary second- or third-round investment in LaPorta or Kelce.

Bowers is the wildcard of this group, as he has mid-tier TE1 upside grades if all goes well. Pitts could also be a superb value pick given the quarterback upgrade the Falcons made with Kirk Cousins. Hill is the most hit-miss of this group given his gadget usage, but his ability to post a 20-point game out of nowhere makes him a strong depth candidate for those leagues that allow him to be rostered as a tight end. Hockenson is another potential value candidate if he is able to hit the ground running once he returns from injury in late October or early November.

The volume of blue- and green-rated tight ends does reduce the volume of yellow-rated players at this position. Here's the list.

Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
Tyler Conklin, New York Jets
Noah Fant, Seattle Seahawks
Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints

These are definitely not tight ends fantasy managers will want in a starting lineup, but Conklin could end up as the surprise here if Aaron Rodgers returns to form, as Conklin ranks 11th in TE PPR points since 2022 despite dealing with subpar QB play and may spike that pace with a better passer.