We're starting our draft prep for the 2022 Fantasy season already, and this is the initial reveal of the tight end rankings from our staff. A lot will change between now and August when your Fantasy drafts are happening, but it's never too early to start planning ahead.
With that in mind, let's see what the tight end rankings could look like in 2022. But first, let's look back at what happened in 2021 with the Average Draft Position compared to the actual finish of the tight ends this past season.
CBS Sports Average Draft Position for tight ends:
1. Travis Kelce 9.9
2. George Kittle 25.9
3. Darren Waller 27.3
4. Mark Andrews 50.9
5. Kyle Pitts 53.3
6. T.J. Hockenson 64.3
7. Logan Thomas 80.2
8. Noah Fant 90.8
9. Mike Gesicki 101.2
10. Tyler Higbee 102.8
11. Dallas Goedert 107.2
12. Robert Tonyan 111.9
Final 2021 top 12 tight end based on PPR points per game:
1. Mark Andrews 17.7
2. Travis Kelce 16.4
3. Rob Gronkowski 14.3
4. George Kittle 14.1
5. Dalton Schultz 12.3
6. Darren Waller 12.1
7. T.J. Hockenson 12.1
8. Dallas Goedert 11.0
9. Dawson Knox 10.9
10. Zach Ertz 10.6
11. Kyle Pitts 10.4
12. Noah Fant 9.9
Four of the best tight ends last season were drafted after pick No. 122 overall, including Gronkowski, Schultz, Knox and Ertz. Thankfully, the Eagles traded Ertz to the Cardinals in Week 7, which allowed Goedert and Ertz to flourish in 2021.
Andrews had a magical season in 2021 with three different quarterbacks -- Laamr Jackson, Tyler Huntley and Josh Johnson -- and now Andrews has put himself in position to be the No. 1 tight end next season, as you'll see below. Kelce, Kittle and Waller, on a per-game basis, were still excellent last year, despite Kittle (14 games played) and Waller (11) missing time due to injuries, and it will be interesting how Fantasy managers approach these tight ends on Draft Day in 2022.
Early Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE
I'm also curious how Fantasy managers will feel about Hockenson and Pitts. Hockenson was good when healthy, but he battled injuries again in 2021 and was limited to just 12 games. Pitts had an excellent rookie season, but he only scored one touchdown. Still, his 1,026 yards was third among tight ends, and his 68 receptions were tied for seventh. He has the chance to be awesome in his sophomore campaign.
2022 Top 12 PPR TE Rankings
Jamey Eisenberg
1. Mark Andrews
2. Travis Kelce
3. Kyle Pitts
4. Darren Waller
5. George Kittle
6. Rob Gronkowski
7. T.J. Hockenson
8. Dallas Goedert
9. Dalton Schultz
10. Zach Ertz
11. Dawson Knox
12. Pat Freiermuth
Adam Aizer
1. Travis Kelce
2. Mark Andrews
3. Kyle Pitts
4. Darren Waller
5. George Kittle
6. Rob Gronkowski
7. T.J. Hockenson
8. Dallas Goedert
9. Zach Ertz
10. Noah Fant
11. Cole Kmet
12. Pat Freiermuth
Heath Cummings
1. Mark Andrews
2. Travis Kelce
3. George Kittle
4. Kyle Pitts
5. Darren Waller
6. Rob Gronkowski
7. T.J. Hockenson
8. Dalton Schultz
9. Dawson Knox
10. Dallas Goedert
11. Zach Ertz
12. Pat Freiermuth
Dave Richard
1. Travis Kelce
2. Mark Andrews
3. Kyle Pitts
4. George Kittle
5. Darren Waller
6. T.J. Hockenson
7. Dallas Goedert
8. Rob Gronkowski
9. Zach Ertz
10. Dalton Schultz
11. Pat Freiermuth
12. Dawson Knox
Dan Schneier
1. Travis Kelce
2. Mark Andrews
3. Kyle Pitts
4. George Kittle
5. Darren Waller
6. Rob Gronkowski
7. T.J. Hockenson
8. Dawson Knox
9. Pat Freirermuth
10. Dallas Goeddert
11. Dalton Schultz
12. Noah Fant
Chris Towers
1. Travis Kelce
2. Mark Andrews
3. George Kittle
4. Kyle Pitts
5. Darren Waller
6. Rob Gronkowski
7. T.J. Hockenson
8. Dallas Goedert
9. Dalton Schultz
10. Zach Ertz
11. Noah Fant
12. Pat Freiermuth
I don't think we'll see a tight end drafted in Round 1 in 2022, especially with the potential of two elite options like Kelce and Andrews. Most likely, both will come off the board early in Round 2, and you can see that we're split as a staff. Heath and I have Andrews at No. 1, while Adam, Dave, Dan and Chris are sticking with Kelce. It should be a fun debate this offseason.
The third tight end will also be debated between Pitts and Kittle. Adam, Dave, Dan and I have Pitts at No. 3, while Heath and Chris are sticking with Kittle. When you factor in Waller, who is ahead of Kittle for me and Adam, and Gronkowski, that's the consensus top six tight ends for all of us but Dave. He has Hockenson and Goedert ahead of Gronkowski, who is No. 8 for him.
Hockenson, Goedert, Schultz and Ertz are all ranked as No. 1 tight ends for all of us except Adam, who doesn't have Schultz in his top 12. Adam has Fant, Kmet and Freiermuth over Schultz.
Heath, Dave and I don't have Fant in our top 12, but that could change with what happens at quarterback for the Broncos this offseason. And quarterback could impact Freiermuth depending on who the Steelers get to replace Ben Roethlisberger.
