Fantasy: 2017 Rankings - Tight Ends
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theScore's Justin Boone has finished in the top 10 of FantasyPros' Most Accurate Expert Competition in four of the last five seasons.
Scroll down to get an early look at his rankings for 2017, including analysis below. Defenses and kickers will be published after free agency, while rookies will be added following the NFL draft.
Standard Rankings
QB | RB | WR | TE | Top 150
Tight Ends
| Rk | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rob Gronkowski | NE |
| 2 | Travis Kelce | KC |
| 3 | Jordan Reed | WAS |
| 4 | Greg Olsen | CAR |
| 5 | Tyler Eifert | CIN |
| 6 | Jimmy Graham | SEA |
| 7 | Delanie Walker | TEN |
| 8 | Cameron Brate | TB |
| 9 | Eric Ebron | DET |
| 10 | Zach Ertz | PHI |
| 11 | Hunter Henry | LAC |
| 12 | Kyle Rudolph | MIN |
| 13 | Ladarius Green | PIT |
| 14 | Zach Miller | CHI |
| 15 | Martellus Bennett | NE |
| 16 | Antonio Gates | LAC |
| 17 | C.J. Fiedorowicz | HOU |
| 18 | Vance McDonald | SF |
| 19 | Jason Witten | DAL |
| 20 | Dennis Pitta | BAL |
| 21 | Coby Fleener | NO |
| 22 | Jared Cook | LAR |
| 23 | Austin Hooper | ATL |
| 24 | Dwayne Allen | IND |
| 25 | Julius Thomas | JAC |
| 26 | Tyler Higbee | LAR |
| 27 | Charles Clay | BUF |
| 28 | Gary Barnidge | CLE |
| 29 | A.J. Derby | DEN |
| 30 | Jack Doyle | IND |
| 31 | Clive Walford | OAK |
| 32 | Vernon Davis | WAS |
| 33 | Dion Sims | MIA |
| 34 | Austin Seferian-Jenkins | NYJ |
| 35 | Ben Watson | BAL |
| 36 | Jesse James | PIT |
| 37 | Will Tye | NYG |
| 38 | Ryan Griffin | HOU |
| 39 | Jermaine Gresham | ARI |
| 40 | Lance Kendricks | LAR |
| 41 | Stephen Anderson | HOU |
| 42 | Josh Hill | NO |
| 43 | Garrett Celek | SF |
| 44 | Mychal Rivera | OAK |
| 45 | Jacob Tamme | ATL |
- Notable Free Agents - Martellus Bennett, Jared Cook, Jack Doyle, Dion Sims, Jermaine Gresham
- Rob Gronkowski - The 27-year-old is coming off his third back surgery, but all signs point to him retaking his title as the game's best tight end.
- Jordan Reed - We have to accept at this point that Reed isn't going to play the full 16-game slate. If he did, he could challenge Gronk for the top ranking. As is, we need to factor in Reed's concussion history and the risk that he may miss significant time if he suffers another. That may cause some owners to shy away, but I'm still willing to take him high.
- Jimmy Graham - Few people anticipated a 923-yard, six-touchdown season from Graham, coming off a torn patellar tendon. He says he barely practiced in order to be ready for Sundays, which means there might be another gear for him to find in 2017.
- Eric Ebron - After fighting through several injuries last season, Ebron managed to post a career year with 61 receptions and 711 yards. Unfortunately, he was non-existent around the end zone, scoring just two touchdowns, one through the air and one on the ground. Ebron has the physical qualities of a player who could take over games, he just needs to stay off the trainer's table.
- Hunter Henry - The apparent heir to Antonio Gates proved he's up to the task with eight touchdowns in his rookie season. Henry is expected to assume the lead duties over Gates moving forward, which makes the young Charger a highly coveted fantasy target.
- Dennis Pitta - It's tough to decide what's more shocking, that Pitta was able to overcome a career-threatening injury to post 86 receptions in 2016 or the fact that with all those catches he only found the end zone twice. The Ravens might let Pitta go in a cap-relieving move, but he proved he's still a capable tight end, assuming he remembers how to get over the goal line.