Check out a breakdown of each position in 2017 here: Quarterbacks – Running Backs – Wide Receivers – Tight Ends
If your tight end caught a 10-yard touchdown and did nothing else, he was better than the average top-12 tight end in Fantasy in 2017. Last season, the average top-12 tight end put up 6.3 Fantasy points per game, 0.3 lower than 2016 and 1.3 lower than 2015!
That's kind of pathetic, but it's just kind of how tight ends are. You know how it is – Rob Gronkowski, Travis Kelce and Zach Ertz are the crown jewels. They averaged at least 8.0 Fantasy points per game in standard and five more points than that in full PPR.
Everyone else is more or less touchdown dependent. Only four tight ends averaged over 50 receiving yards per game – the three studs and Delanie Walker. Not shocking since tight ends, like their wide receiver counterparts, notched seven-year lows in receptions and receiving yards. Furthermore, no tight end averaged even eight targets per game and five had 7.0 or more targets per game.
| Player | GP | TGTS/gm | FPTS/gm | Consistency |
| Zach Ertz | 15 | 7.3 | 8.1 | 73.3% |
| Rob Gronkowski | 14 | 7.6 | 10.9 | 71.4% |
| Travis Kelce | 16 | 7.7 | 8.9 | 62.5% |
| Hunter Henry | 14 | 4.5 | 5.6 | 57.1% |
| Jimmy Graham | 16 | 6.1 | 6.7 | 50.0% |
| Evan Engram | 15 | 7.7 | 6.9 | 46.7% |
| Delanie Walker | 16 | 6.9 | 5.9 | 43.8% |
| Kyle Rudolph | 16 | 5.1 | 5.8 | 43.8% |
| Vernon Davis | 16 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 37.5% |
| Tyler Kroft | 16 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 37.5% |
| O.J. Howard | 14 | 2.8 | 5.0 | 35.7% |
| Jack Doyle | 15 | 7.2 | 5.5 | 33.3% |
| Eric Ebron | 16 | 5.4 | 4.3 | 31.3% |
| Cameron Brate | 16 | 4.8 | 5.5 | 31.3% |
If you want to download the full chart, go to this Google Doc spreadsheet and click "File + Download."
And here is how every tight end who scored at least 46 points – we snuck Austin Seferian-Jenkins in there – fared when looking at Fantasy points per game as well as consistency. The size of the bubble represents their total Fantasy points for the season (scroll over for more details):
Naturally, this bled into how consistent Fantasy tight ends were. Only five of them came through with seven Fantasy points in at least half of their games. Three others did it 40 percent of the time... which means that a strong majority of tight ends weren't even remotely reliable.
You'd think this means Fantasy owners either have to reach for a stud early or commit to streaming the position from week to week. But there's another way to look at tight ends that could be of interest.
Over the past two seasons the league has added a bunch of really promising pass-catching tight ends who we hope can develop beyond the realm of touchdown-or-bust lame-os who can't average 50 yards per game. Evan Engram, Hunter Henry, George Kittle, O.J. Howard and David Njoku will be popular draft targets, and even Adam Shaheen, Jonnu Smith, Tyler Higbee and Jake Butt have a shot to make an impact down the line.
You could certainly start your season with one or even two of these youthful players on your squad. In a best-case scenario, one breaks out and you have yourself a weekly must-start. At worst, you consider them streaming options and use them (along with whoever is available on waivers) as needed.
Bottom line: Sleepers and strategies are fun to daydream over, but obviously the best thing to do is just pay up for Gronkowski in early Round 2 or Kelce/Ertz in Round 3. Save yourself the headache of dealing with so many lightweight Fantasy point producers.
