Tight End Rankings
Updated as of 8/26/2013
Tight End is usually the one pick that is easiest to determine when you need to draft. I used to have the opinion that you never waste a pick in the first 4 rounds on one. I've had a change of heart because Jimmy Graham scores more points than most other players in the league. He is a TD machine. I would expect him to come off of the board in the mid-second to early-third round.
If you miss on Jimmy, then you shouldn't waste pick on a TE until the 5th or 6th round of the draft. Jason Witten and Tony Gonzalez are the next best of the field. I would expect that one or both of these Tight ends will be snatched up in the early to mid 5th round. Rob Gronkowski is great, but his injuries concern me. You will want to wait until the 5th or 6th round for him as well. This is the ideal time to get one of the elite Tight ends, if you are inclined to do so.
What you must avoid is missing out on the elite TEs and trying to compensate by drafting the best available TE left. If you miss out on all of the top 10 on this list, you are going to be in a little bit of trouble. None of the TEs after Antonio Gates is likely to put up anything resembling consistent numbers.
Dennis Pitta would have been the number 6 best Tight End on this list, but he is out for the year with an injury. You may want to look Ed Dickson as a reach since Joe Flacco likes to pass to the TEs in that offense.
If you don't get an elite Tight End in your draft, make sure that you have an adequate backup. Jared Cook, Jermichael Finley, Martellus Bennett and Jermaine Gresham have the potential to have a breakout game or two.
Here are the overall Tight End rankings
This is based off of the average points per game over the whole season.
2013 NFL Tight End Rankings
|
TE Rank |
Name | Team | Bye Week |
Average Overall |
| 1 | Jimmy Graham | NO | 7 | 20.81 |
| 2 | Jason Witten | Dal | 11 | 55.57 |
| 3 | Tony Gonzalez | Atl | 6 | 56.48 |
| 4 | Rob Gronkowski | NE | 10 | 56.24 |
| 5 | Vernon Davis | SF | 9 | 65.71 |
| 6 | Greg Olsen | Car | 4 | 92.38 |
| 7 | Kyle Rudolph | Min | 5 | 94.48 |
| 8 | Owen Daniels | Hou | 8 | 104.05 |
| 9 | Antonio Gates | SD | 8 | 108.71 |
| 10 | Jared Cook | StL | 11 | 112.57 |
| 11 | Jermichael Finley | GB | 4 | 111.81 |
| 12 | Brandon Myers | NYG | 9 | 124.38 |
| 13 | Martellus Bennett | Chi | 8 | 121.38 |
| 14 | Brandon Pettigrew | Det | 9 | 134.71 |
| 15 | Fred Davis | Was | 5 | 155.95 |
| 16 | Jermaine Gresham | Cin | 12 | 177.33 |
| 17 | Jordan Cameron | Cle | 10 | 194.19 |
| 18 | Dwayne Allen | Ind | 8 | 193.67 |
| 19 | Coby Fleener | Ind | 8 | 207.67 |
| 20 | Ed Dickson | Bal | 8 | 227.57 |
| 21 | Zach Sudfeld | NE | 10 | 235.43 |
| 22 | Tyler Eifert | Cin | 12 | 231.71 |
| 23 | Rob Housler | Ari | 9 | 230.95 |