The way-too-early but not too, too early top-12 TE rankings for 2025
It’s never too early to look ahead, and we’re already starting to plan for the 2025 Fantasy season. That’s right, it’s not even the Super Bowl yet, but we’re already getting ready for the next Fantasy campaign.
With that in mind, here is the first look at our early 2025 tight end rankings. We’re well aware that a lot could change with free agency and the NFL Draft.
But based on what just happened with the 2024 season, as well as what we think could happen this offseason, here are the top 12 tight end rankings for 2025 from members of our CBS Sports staff.
Jamey Eisenberg
1. Brock Bowers
2. Trey McBride
3. George Kittle
4. Mark Andrews
5. Sam LaPorta
6. David Njoku
7. Travis Kelce
8. Jonnu Smith
9. Jake Ferguson
10. T.J. Hockenson
11. Dalton Kincaid
12. Tucker Kraft
Toughest player to rank: Kelce finished the season as TE5 in total points and TE7 in PPR points per game (12.2). He had eight games with 9.5 PPR points or less and eight games with at least 12.2 PPR points. It was a solid season for a 35-year-old tight end, but we know he’s no longer the best player at his position. That said, if he returns in 2025, even though he’ll turn 36 in October, he’s still worth drafting as a No. 1 Fantasy tight end. And he will likely be a bargain on Draft Day, given that many managers will avoid him based on his age.
Player who just missed the cut: I’m anxiously awaiting to see what the Jaguars do with their coaching staff, and that will determine if Evan Engram returns to the top 12 in 2025. He’s coming off a disappointing 2024 when he dealt with injuries and inconsistent play, and he’ll turn 31 in September. Engram has been at his best with the Jaguars when someone in the receiving corps has been out, and the emergence of Brian Thomas Jr. could be a problem for Engram, along with the potential return of Christian Kirk. But the right coach can still make Engram a No. 1 Fantasy tight end, and hopefully, that happens in 2025.
Dave Richard
1. Brock Bowers
2. Trey McBride
3. George Kittle
4. David Njoku
5. Sam LaPorta
6. Travis Kelce
7. Mark Andrews
8. Jonnu Smith
9. Evan Engram
10. Tucker Kraft
11. Dalton Kincaid
12. Dallas Goedert
Toughest player to rank: This list was not easy to put together, and the toughest part was figuring out who would be the No. 4 tight end. I landed on Njoku because he’s been good for three seasons, especially when Deshaun Watson was not his quarterback (16.2 PPR points per game in eight games with Watson out or injured). I don’t think Watson will be his quarterback again in 2025. His role as a short-area and red-zone target should stick for his age-29 campaign. I wouldn’t take him anywhere close to the first three guys in my rankings, but he’s currently the best of the non-elite tight ends.
Player who just missed the cut: I wonder how T.J. Hockenson will fit into Minnesota’s offense next year. He should benefit from the full offseason after recovering from a torn ACL last offseason. The soon-to-be 28-year-old should have a shot at rebounding into a top-12 tight end again.
Heath Cummings
1. Brock Bowers
2. Trey McBride
3. George Kittle
4. Mark Andrews
5. Sam LaPorta
6. T.J. Hockenson
7. Travis Kelce
8. David Njoku
9. Dallas Goedert
10. Jonnu Smith
11. Evan Engram
12. Dalton Kincaid
Toughest player to rank: Kelce has to be the toughest player to rank. It’s partly because we don’t know if he’s going to play in 2025. But even if he does return Kelce is 35 years old and quite obviously taking a step back. The 2024 season was the worst efficiency of his career, with an average of 8.5 yards per catch and 6.2 yards per target. This is not a fluke, his second-worst year by those metrics was 2023.
Player who just missed the cut: Kyle Pitts will still be just 24 years old when the 2025 season starts. There aren’t many tight ends that age with a 1,000-yard season on their resume, even if it was four years ago. If he falls to the double-digit rounds I will be happy to draft him just based on his physical profile alone. It’s a much better bet than drafting him in the first six rounds like we have been the last four years.
Adam Aizer
1. Brock Bowers
2. Trey McBride
3. George Kittle
4. Sam LaPorta
5. Travis Kelce
6. Mark Andrews
7. Jonnu Smith
8. David Njoku
9. Evan Engram
10. T.J. Hockenson
11. Tucker Kraft
12. Jake Ferguson
Toughest player to rank: Smith averaged 24 receiving yards in the first 116 games of his career and 69 receiving yards in his last seven games prior to Week 18. I’m optimistic because he’s a talented guy who really just needed to be featured, and he finally got that opportunity in Miami’s ridiculous low-ADOT-super-frustrating-never-throw-downfield-ever offense. I’d prefer to see those targets go to the receivers, but I’m not sure the Dolphins do. For Smith’s sake let’s hope he is the next Njoku as a late breakout who continued to perform as opposed to the next Tyler Higbee.
Player who just missed the cut: I don’t want to give up on Dalton Kincaid yet. After all, he led the Bills in receiving in three of their last four games, including the postseason in 2023, before becoming the biggest bust at the position in 2024. I left him off the top 12 list because it’s hard to see him being second on the team in targets. I figure Kincaid will probably be around 100 targets in 17 games, which is fine, but will require a much more efficient season for him to really make a difference in Fantasy.
Dan Schneier
1. Brock Bowers
2. Trey McBride
3. Sam LaPorta
4. George Kittle
5. Travis Kelce
6. Mark Andrews
7. Dalton Kincaid
8. David Njoku
9. T.J. Hockenson
10. Jake Ferguson
11. Tucker Kraft
12. Kyle Pitts
Toughest player to rank: Njoku is a difficult player to rank because of uncertainty at the quarterback position, but he has been efficient and explosive in each of the last two seasons. He has also produced at times with subpar quarterback play.
Player who just missed the cut: I want to believe in Chigoziem Okonkwo, but I need to see it on a more consistent basis to rank him inside the top 12 at tight end. An offseason quarterback upgrade in Tennessee via the NFL Draft could boost his stock.
Jacob Gibbs
1. Brock Bowers
2. Trey McBride
3. Sam LaPorta
4. George Kittle
5. T.J. Hockenson
6. Jonnu Smith
7. Travis Kelce
8. Jake Ferguson
9. Dalton Kincaid
10. Tucker Kraft
11. Mark Andrews
12. David Njoku
Toughest player to rank: Kincaid was targeted on the highest percentage of his routes of any qualified tight end in 2024 (minimum 150 routes). He also had one of the highest average depths of target of anyone at the position (8.3 yards). So, lots of targets, many of which were coming down the field, which is often a formula for excellent efficiency. That was not the case for Kincaid, though, even with Josh Allen at quarterback. Kincaid ranked 12th in yards per route run, just behind Will Dissly. Kincaid is still young, but his career has thus far been a disappointment. His highest single-game yardage total in 2024 is 53. Since returning from a mid-season injury, Kincaid has yet to register a route rate above 60 percent in three opportunities. It’s possible that the Bills tried and failed to make him a featured part of the offense and move in a different direction in 2025.
Player who just missed the cut: The 2025 season will surely be the year that we all have finally learned our lesson, and no one will be drafting Kyle Pitts as a top-12 tight end, right? That probably means that 2025 (his age-25 season) will also be the year that Pitts becomes a high-level Fantasy producer. Nothing that I have noticed within his 2024 statistical profile or film suggests that Pitts has any sort of imminent breakout on the horizon.
