Early 2022 Fantasy TE Rankings

The tight end position is the most “fun” to predict and anticipate, as it is very fluid from year to year, and our early 2022 fantasy TE rankings are here to look forward to next year.

Move over Travis Kelce, it’s time someone else got their turn. Mark Andrews made a strong enough case last year to warrant his consideration as the No. 1 TE overall, and with Kelce set to turn 33 next season, could this be the year he crashes? We’re not being overly dramatic as Kelce is still in our No. 2 chair, but Andrews is in his prime and ready to give him a huge positional advantage.

EARLY FANTASY RATINGS 2022:
Field marshal | Corridor | Wide receiver | D / ST

Darren Waller and George Kittle will continue to rank among the elites, but after a promising rookie season, it’s time for Kyle Pitts to emerge as a game changer as well. After all, he was the TE5 in medium-PPR leagues, even though he only caught one touchdown for 17 weeks. Don’t be fooled by Dawson Knox or Dalton Schultz, Pitts is on another level of athleticism and dynamism.

Speaking of Schultz, he’s going to become a free agent and he’s asking for a lot of money. Are we sure Dallas will fork out? We think Schultz is a high-quality player, but does he have a special enough talent to guarantee the big payday on an already loaded team? We will see. If he goes all-in for a big paycheck and ends up in a spot with a mediocre QB, he could finish well outside of the top 12 TEs. Knox, on the other hand, could obviously be a solid tight end going forward, but we have to be careful when chasing down the sheer number of touchdowns in a season where he had limited volume.

FANTASY 2021: great value equipment | All bust team

It seems clear that Rob Gronkowski would rather retire than play someone other than Tom Brady at QB, so we expect him to stay in Tampa Bay (if Brady doesn’t retire) or hang up his shoes. Soon we will have clarity. Mike Gesicki, Evan Engram and Zach Ertz will also hit the open market this offseason, so their landing spots will affect the fantasy outlook. Gesicki has been largely productive with whatever quarterback he’s played with, so if he lands on top with an elite stud, he could climb back into the top eight. However, Ertz and Engram will be more complicated.

Darren Waller, Kittle and TJ Hockenson spent a lot of time on the sidelines this year due to injuries, but their lead here is too strong to ignore. It’s also worth noting that Irv Smith Jr. (knee) will be back in 2022, and we were very excited about him heading into 2021, so we’ll continue to promote him as one of the top 15.

As always, look for players who get big improvements from QB. If Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson head to Denver, we must like Noah Fant’s opportunity to stand out.

Rookie tight ends churning out high-quality fantasy numbers are rare, so don’t count any in our top 20 (although Pitts and Pat Freiermuth showed us it’s possible), but as always, rookies and veterans can emerge. as TE1 or TE2 in the correct situation.

Early 2022 Fantasy TE Rankings

Ratings are based on Semicircular PPR formats.