In theory, adding a phenom like Kyle Pitts should make the tight end position seem deeper. In practice, it appears to have had the opposite impact. The problem is that another potentially great tight end makes the other ones look that much less desirable. Even Mark Andrews lost a little bit of luster in light of Pitts' arrival.
A fair question at this point is whether we're over-hyping Pitts as an elite tight end. The truthful answer is probably yes. As the projections guy, I'm always wary of crowning a player before they've done anything in the league. That appears to be exactly what some have done, placing Pitts at No. 1 in their Dynasty tight end rankings. I'm not there yet, but I'm not far behind. I believe the correct definition of this phenomenon would be Fear Of Missing Out, or FOMO.
Pitts is arguably the best tight prospect ever, his measurables are off the charts, he averaged nearly 100 receiving yards per game his final year in college, and he still hasn't turned 21 years old. If he hits, you may not have to worry about tight end for the next decade-plus. It's unfair to say he could be what Travis Kelce has been, but that doesn't stop us all from saying it.
Maybe the more interesting part of the tiers is Tier 3. I still believe in the long-term upside and stability of both T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant. They are both still very young and they've both shown top-five flashes earlier in their career than most tight ends do. That makes them an excellent bridge from the current top five to the guys you settle (or hope) for.
If I'm in a Dynasty startup right now, I want a top seven tight end. I'll start looking at the Tier 1 options in Round 4, I'm thrilled with the second tier in Round 6, I'll pounce on the next tier in Round 8. After that, I'm willing to wait and settle for whoever comes to me in the double-digit rounds. You're just as well streaming as reaching for anyone outside of the top-seven, through Irv Smith and Cole Kmet have the long-term upside to change that.
Here are the updated Dynasty Tight End Tiers:
