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Tight End Rankings & Streamers for Week 1 Fantasy Football

Full tight end rankings and top streaming options for 2021 Week 1 fantasy football.

Week 1 of fantasy football means it’s time to grade the most versatile of weapons. It’s time for tight end rankings!

On one play a tight end is asked to be an offensive lineman, on the next play they’re asked to be inside receiver, and then, on the next, they can be a field-stretching deep threat. This versatility of duties carries over to a versatility in deployment in the NFL. For we fantasy nerds, that dynamic means we could be starting an extra wide receiver, a weekly WR1 in Travis Kelce, or we could end up starting a sixth offensive lineman. Offensive lineman don’t score a lot of points, as you may already be aware.

Later in the year we’ll have better matchup based information, but for now, these ranks are largely based on expected point totals and what we saw last year. So, here goes!

Make sure to check back here throughout the week as I will be making sure to update them as quickly as possible with any new information. As always, if you have specific rankings or starts & sits questions, drop them in the comments or reach out on twitter: @NFLClark.

Week 1 Standouts

Mark Andrews (TE2) – The Baltimore Ravens continue to be ravaged by injuries, and so an offense that was already going to rely on Andrews may have to force-feed targets to their star tight end. The Las Vegas Raiders were middle of the pack in terms of points allowed to opposing TEs in 2020, and I haven’t read many articles about how the team has improved their football team in the off-season. Expect Andrews to get off to a hot start on Monday Night Football.

Gerald Everett (TE4) – I’ve been hyping up Everett all off-season, and we should get an idea of how newly minted offensive coordinator Shane Waldron is going to deploy the versatile TE in a tough matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. The big question is not “Will Russell Wilson take advantage of the most athletic TE he’s played with since Jimmy Graham?”. Rather, I am asking if Everett will remain a top-3 tight end for the entire season.

Rob Gronkowski (TE8) – Oddly enough, Gronk has been a bit of a forgotten man in the run up to the 2021 season. I won’t waste any ink arguing that Gronk may return to sit on the TE1 throne, but even in limited work on this stellar Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense, Gronk is an odds on favorite to hand in 50 yards and a touchdown every week.

Sensible Streamer

Tyler Higbee (TE13) – The Chicago Bears gave up the second-most fantasy points to tight ends in 2020. Matthew Stafford has not traditionally targeted his TE heavily, but in a new offense, a new offense that let Gerald Everett walk in free agency, which has traditionally taken advantage of athletic tight ends, Higbee could eat in Week 1.

Long-Shot

Dan Arnold (TE20) – Arnold is heading into his fourth season in the NFL, and he comes to the Carolina Panthers by way of the Arizona Cardinals. The Panthers did not target the TE very often in the first year under offensive coordinator Joe Brady, but they did give Arnold a tidy $6-million over 2 years deal in the off-season. No team gave up more fantasy points to tight ends in 2020 than the New York Jets, and so taking a shot on the absolutely un-rostered Arnold may pay off as we gather more information about the best streaming matchups as the season wears on.

Week 1 Tight End Rankings

(% Rostered via Sleeper)

RankPlayerTeamOpp% Rostered
1Travis KelceKCvs CLE90%+
2Mark AndrewsBAL@ LV90%+
3Darren WallerLVvs BAL90%+
4Gerald EverettSEA@ IND40-49%
5George KittleSF@ DET90%+
6Mike GesickiMIA@ NE80-89%
7T.J. HockensonDETvs SF90%+
8Rob GronkowskiTBvs DAL90%+
9Robert TonyanGB@ NO90%+
10Blake JarwinDAL@ TB<30%
11Logan ThomasWASvs LAC80-89%
12Kyle PittsATLvs PHI90%+
13Tyler HigbeeLARvs CHI80-89%
14Dallas GoedertPHI@ ATL90%+
15Eric EbronPIT@ BUF<30%
16Noah FantDEN@ NYG90%+
17Zach ErtzPHI@ ATL40-49%
18Austin HooperCLE@ KC40-49%
19Kyle RudolphNYGvs DEN<30%
20Dan ArnoldCARvs NYJ<30%
21Jimmy GrahamCHI@ LAR<30%
22Jared CookLAC@ WAS40-49%
23Jonnu SmithNEvs MIA60-69%
24Jordan AkinsHOUvs JAC<30%
25Hunter HenryNEvs MIA70-79%
26Anthony FirkserTENvs ARI<30%
27Cole KmetCHI@ LAR<30%
28Chris Herndon IVMIN@ CIN<30%
29Dawson KnoxBUFvs PIT<30%
30O.J. HowardTBvs DAL<30%
31Jack DoyleINDvs SEA<30%
32Adam TrautmanNOvs GB<30%
33Hayden HurstATLvs PHI<30%
34Tyler ConklinMIN@ CIN<30%
35Evan EngramNYGvs DEN40-49%

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