Were now living in a fantasy football world without Rob Gronkowski which made doing my 2019 TE Rankings a wild experience. Even if he had returned for another season, he would not have been sitting atop the ranks as in previous years. For me, Travis Kelce sits on the Iron Throne of TE and the rest of the position is battling to take the throne. I expect even more from Kelce this season who could see even more targets if Tyreek Hill were to miss time due to a potential suspension.
George Kittle and Eric Ebron made tremendous leaps last season from borderline draftable players to fantasy sensations. Both players earned a spot in the top 5 of my rankings and are much closer to Kelce and Zach Ertz than the rest of position. As for the rest of my rankings, check them out below!
| Rank | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Travis Kelce | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 2 | Zach Ertz | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 3 | George Kittle | San Francisco 49ers |
| 4 | Eric Ebron | Indianapolis Colts |
| 5 | Evan Engram | New York Giants |
| 6 | Jared Cook | New Orleans Saints |
| 7 | OJ Howard | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 8 | Hunter Henry | Los Angeles Chargers |
| 9 | Trey Burton | Chicago Bears |
| 10 | Vance McDonald | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 11 | Ian Thomas | Carolina Panthers |
| 12 | Austin Hooper | Atlanta Falcons |
| 13 | TJ Hockenson | FA |
| 14 | David Njoku | Cleveland Browns |
| 15 | Jimmy Graham | Green Bay Packers |
| 16 | Kyle Rudolph | Minnesota Vikings |
| 17 | Noah Fant | FA |
| 18 | Jordan Reed | Washington Redskins |
| 19 | Dallas Goeddert | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 20 | Mike Gisecki | Miami Dolphins |
| 21 | Chris Herndon | New York Jets |
| 22 | Delanie Walker | Tennesse Titans |
| 23 | Jack Doyle | Indianapolis Colts |
| 24 | Hayden Hurst | Baltimore Ravens |
| 25 | Irv Smith | FA |
Rookie TE Options
Normally I am very anti rookie TEs as the position traditionally takes more time to adapt to at the NFL level and even with players like Greg Olsen and Delanie Walker, the breakout doesn’t happen for a few seasons and in a new situation. T.J. Hockenson, Noah Fant and to a lesser degree Irv Smith Jr. have the ability to make a year one impression assuming they land in the right situation. With landing spots not known at this point it wasn’t super easy figure out where they go in the rankings, Especially if you factor in teams like Tennessee and Green Bay could target these players. So not only could they rise in the ranks but Walker and Jimmy Graham could fall.
With the 2019 NFL Draft right around the corner, we will have much more clarity on what the expectations should be for these players in 2019 and beyond.
Did your favorite sleeper not make the cut? Make the case in the comment section and see if they can squeeze into the rankings post draft.
