Tight end has always been one of the trickiest positions to navigate in fantasy football. Do you pay up for a locked-in difference-maker, or wait and take your chances on a mid- or late-round option? In 2025, the landscape looks as dynamic as ever. Brock Bowers and Trey McBride have emerged as fantasy game-changers, George Kittle is proving he still belongs among the elite, and veterans like Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews remain in the mix.
Add in intriguing upside plays such as Colston Loveland and Dalton Kincaid, and fantasy managers have no shortage of choices. We break down the top 30 tight ends, their outlooks, and their value in your draft.
For more information on each of the following TEs, make sure to check out our recent fantasy outlooks for 150+ players.Â
Which Tight Ends Should You Draft in Fantasy Football?
1) Brock Bowers | Las Vegas Raiders
2) Trey McBride | Arizona Cardinals
3) George Kittle | San Francisco 49ers
4) Sam LaPorta | Detroit Lions
5) T.J. Hockenson | Minnesota Vikings
6) Evan Engram | Denver Broncos
7) Mark Andrews | Baltimore Ravens
8) David Njoku | Cleveland Browns
9) Travis Kelce | Kansas City Chiefs
10) Tucker Kraft | Green Bay Packers
11) Colston Loveland | Chicago Bears
12) Tyler Warren | Indianapolis Colts
13) Dallas Goedert | Philadelphia Eagles
14) Jake Ferguson | Dallas Cowboys
15) Dalton Kincaid | Buffalo Bills
16) Brenton Strange | Jacksonville Jaguars
17) Hunter Henry | New England Patriots
18) Mike Gesicki | Cincinnati Bengals
19) Isaiah Likely | Baltimore Ravens
20) Kyle Pitts | Atlanta Falcons
21) Zach Ertz | Washington Commanders
22) Jonnu Smith | Pittsburgh Steelers
23) Chig Okonkwo | Tennessee Titans
24) Cade Otton | Tampa Bay Buccaneers
25) Mason Taylor | New York Jets
26) Dalton Schultz | Houston Texans
27) Ja’Tavion Sanders | Carolina Panthers
28) Darren Waller | Miami Dolphins
29) Tyler Higbee | Los Angeles Rams
30) Elijah Arroyo | Seattle Seahawks
Sam LaPorta Fantasy Outlook
If there’s a profile I’m most worried about in this post Ben Johnson era, it’s LaPorta’s. Not that he isn’t a well-above-average player or capable of maximizing his looks, but his trajectory is far from bulletproof.
Last season, on a per-target basis, he was better in terms of fantasy points and EPA than his outstanding introduction to the NFL. Johnson’s creativity and the advantageous situations he put Jared Goff in resulted in a receiving corps that was profitable for fantasy managers.
The worry?
LaPorta’s on-field target share fell by five full percentage points in 2024, and if we are penciling in at least some regression from this offense, that reliance on efficiency is scary. This running game will continue to be as good as it gets, and Jameson Williams will continue to develop. If we take those as facts, LaPorta’s production last season (45 yards per game with a touchdown every 2-3 weeks) might be more of a best-case scenario than a blip on the radar.
For the record, LaPorta was more productive than you want to remember last season. He finished as PPR TE8 and had five finishes as TE8 or better. The problem isn’t what he’s going to give you. It’s the adjusting of expectations.
This time last year, we believed he could take the torch from Travis Kelce and be a true difference maker at a position that can be tough to fill. We no longer hold him to those expectations, with Brock Bowers/Trey McBride establishing themselves as the clear-cut top tier. As long as your projections are measured, he’s a fine pick in the middle third of your draft.
MORE:Â Free Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
I believe in elevating your weekly upside by getting exposure to the best offenses in the game (Detroit posted the third-best Offense+ season in the past six years in 2024), and LaPorta is a straightforward way to do that. I’m not reaching for him. If he comes off the board before I’m ready to address the tight end position, that’s fine because he has teammates being drafted in the same general range, and the TE pool is a bit deeper this year than in the past.
There’s risk in this profile, but as long as you believe this offense will continue to be among the best in the NFL, LaPorta has little competition at the position and is a fine pick at cost.
