Fantasy Football Draft Prep: Ben Gretch's 2020 tight end rankings and tiers

It seems like we say tight end is deep every year for Fantasy football, but there's a reason for that. While not all late-round tight ends will hit, the position does have a strong historical rate of breakouts nearly every season. Darren Waller and Mark Andrews were 2019's biggest hits, 2018 had George Kittle and Eric Ebron, 2017 was Zach Ertz and Evan Engram, 2016 had Kyle Rudolph and Jimmy Graham, and 2015 was a huge season with Jordan Reed, Delanie Walker, and Gary Barnidge (as well as Tyler Eifert scoring 13 touchdowns). Every one of those players except Eifert finished in the top five at the position in that respective season, and all of them, including Eifert, was drafted no earlier than TE9 in their respective season, with the majority going outside the top 12 at the position.

So while yes, every season there are also plenty of upside plays that don't pan out, it's fair to look at late-round tight ends and try to identify the guys who will make their surge. And in 2020, that list is very long — I don't know that the position will finish historically great in 2020, but I do know that here in draft season, there is a deep list of players whose profiles I'm interested in.

But that doesn't mean I'll avoid the top names, and in fact, I think the perceived depth at the position is driving down the Average Draft Positions for Travis Kelce and George Kittle, both of whom are arguably late first round values on their own merits. Mark Andrews and Zach Ertz are also clear targets for me in Round 4 or Round 5, when I get that opportunity. And in TE-premium formats, I'm likely to further elevate the big four tight ends.

After those players, though, things get shaky across the board. I don't want to reach for a tight end if I don't have to, and while I like Engram and Waller next, I'm much less likely to take them where I have them ranked than the top options. Through the middle rounds of drafts, I want to grab one of my tight end targets behind ADP, or else I'll just continue to wait.

Below are my 2020 PPR tight end rankings as of today, split into tiers, which I always use when drafting. I'm fine heading into with any of the players I have listed through Tier 5 as my TE1. In shallower leagues, that can mean waiting until the very last round of drafts, although I don't typically go that route.

These rankings won't be updated between now and the beginning of the season, but you can always find Jamey Eisenberg's, Dave Richard's, and Heath Cummings' rankings for both PPR and non-PPR formats on the Draft Prep landing page, along with mock drafts, team outlooks, sleepers, breakouts, busts, and so much more. For more on the position, check out the Fantasy Football Today tight end preview, too: