Week 1 of fantasy football brings top tight ends ready to deliver, with Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, and George Kittle leading expert consensus rankings for dependable targets and big-play potential as the season starts. Choosing the right TE is crucial, and this guide delivers strategic rankings to help managers secure early wins and set a championship foundation in 2025.
Who Are the Best TEs in Fantasy Football in Week 1?
1) Brock Bowers | Las Vegas Raiders (at NE)
2) Trey McBride | Arizona Cardinals (at NO)
3) George Kittle | San Francisco 49ers (at SEA)
4) Sam LaPorta | Detroit Lions (at GB)
5) T.J. Hockenson | Minnesota Vikings (at CHI)
6) David Njoku | Cleveland Browns (vs. CIN)
7) Mark Andrews | Baltimore Ravens (at BUF)
8) Tucker Kraft | Green Bay Packers (vs. DET)
9) Travis Kelce | Kansas City Chiefs (at LAC)
10) Dallas Goedert | Philadelphia Eagles (vs. DAL)
11) Jake Ferguson | Dallas Cowboys (at PHI)
12) Evan Engram | Denver Broncos (vs. TEN)
13) Brenton Strange | Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. CAR)
14) Hunter Henry | New England Patriots (vs. LV)
15) Colston Loveland | Chicago Bears (vs. MIN)
16) Dalton Kincaid | Buffalo Bills (vs. BAL)
17) Kyle Pitts | Atlanta Falcons (vs. TB)
18) Zach Ertz | Washington Commanders (vs. NYG)
19) Jonnu Smith | Pittsburgh Steelers (at NYJ)
20) Chig Okonkwo | Tennessee Titans (at DEN)
21) Cade Otton | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at ATL)
22) Mike Gesicki | Cincinnati Bengals (at CLE)
23) Ja’Tavion Sanders | Carolina Panthers (at JAX)
24) Dalton Schultz | Houston Texans (at LAR)
25) Pat Freiermuth | Pittsburgh Steelers (at NYJ)
Brock Bowers (at Patriots)
My wife says I play the Devil’s Advocate side too often.
I disagree and fight her on that point weekly.
So yeah, maybe she’s right.
Every fiber in my being wants to build an iron-clad case against Brock Bowers this season. I’m sure he’s a lovely person and a helluva football player, but there has to be some regression to be assumed after a historic rookie campaign, right?
Maybe, if I pick up enough rocks, I can stumble upon a tie to Kyle Pitts and warn you guys about the headache that is about to come for half a decade (and counting) as a result of an excellent first impression. Maybe the NFL will catch up to what the former Bulldog does well, and his production will fall flat now that high-end expectations are being heaped upon him.
Or maybe not.
The Raiders upgraded at the quarterback position and should be in a better overall offensive environment with Ashton Jeanty coming with the potential to give them a level of balance that wasn’t on the Bingo card last season.
MORE: Free Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
In Week 1, Vegas faces a New England defense that saw opposing TEs post the third-highest average target depth and the eighth-worst red zone defense. This week, as will be the case most weeks, Bowers could catch 10 balls, break the slate with a single catch, or find the end zone.
There are too many ways for him to win and take the opposite side of any Bowers’ argument. Go for it if you want to build DFS lineups elsewhere because of price flexibility. I’ve learned my lesson in that regard during golf season, as I’ve been fading Scottie Scheffler for 20 months and burning entries as a result.
Cade Otton (at Falcons)
In the financial world, it’s a Ponzi scheme.
In the weight loss world, it’s dehydration.
I’m not going to say that in the fantasy football world, it’s Cade Otton, but I’m not going to deny such a train of thought.
I’m as guilty as anyone in highlighting volume, saying things like “the best way to not score fantasy points is to not see the field”. And that’s true, you can’t score fantasy points from the sidelines, but that doesn’t mean the inverse is true 100% of the time.
That is, simply being on the field doesn’t make you a fantasy asset; it simply increases your odds of being labeled as such. Travis Kelce, Tyler Conklin, and Cade Otton are the only tight ends to run 450 routes in each of the past three seasons, a list that alone gives you an idea of what I’m talking about.
Not all routes are created equal.
Despite all those routes, did you know that Otton has never cleared 100 receiving yards in a game? How about the fact that he’s managed two or fewer receptions for most of his games as a pro?
Getting your hands on the Buccaneers isn’t a bad move, and, for the most part, if you have someone from this offense, you’re playing them in a spot like this. But Otton doesn’t rank as a TE1 this week for me and won’t approach that territory until I see sustained change in how he is deployed, something I’m not overly optimistic about happening in 2025 due to the surrounding talent.
Before I step off this soapbox, Otton also has leg and hamstring issues.
OK, I’m done now.
