Tight end is a disaster year in and year out with only a handful of players producing at a high enough level that you can trust them each week. This year there appear to be two tiers but I’d argue those tiers are much different than most would figure. The majority of analysts are placing George Kittle and Zach Ertz in the top tier with Travis Kelce, but as far as I’m concerned, Kelce is in a class of his own and last year’s top performers (Kittle and Ertz) should be expected to perform much closer to O.J. Howard, Hunter Henry and Evan Engram this year. Kittle does not see as many targets with Jimmy G is under center, plus they added Deebo Samuel and Jalen Hurd. The Eagles have said they’ll trim down on Ertz targets, plus they added DeSean Jackson and want to get Dallas Goedert on the field more.

With all that in mind, it seems to me that potential breakout stars, Howard and Henry, are the best values at their current ADP. If Howard drops to the 5th or Henry to the 6th, I’m pulling the trigger every time and I may even reach a round above those marks to ensure I get one of my guys. If I don’t land them, I’m passing on Engram who saw a load of targets as a rookie, but because Odell Beckham, Brandon Marshall and Sterling Shepherd were all hurt. Now he has Saquon Barkley and Golden Tate to fend off too. After Engram, the drop off is cataclysmic so I’m waiting until near the end of my draft and nabbing whoever is left between Austin Hooper, Jimmy Graham and Jordan Reed. In fact, you don’t even have to draft a tight end (I get into the logic here). Instead, you can just pick up Geoff Swaim off the waivers an hour before kickoff and take a flier on a high-upside piece like Tony Pollard or Chase Edmonds with your last pick. Swaim is the best Week 1 streamer with Dede Westbrook dealing with a groin, Marqise Lee with his knee, and a Chiefs defense opposing him that allowed the most fantasy points to the position last year.

Beyond reading notes and looking at rankings, I’d encourage you to take a moment to look at all the tools on our website (that some on Reddit have deemed “cheating”) as they will assuredly give you an upper hand over your league-mates. Our Draft Simulation Software is my personal favorite, followed by customizable cheat sheets, our auction calculator and the expert consensus rankings that most know our site for. Make sure to quickly import your team for free into MyPlaybook, which is like having a team of experts in your war room, and while you’re at it, give my podcast a listen if you’d like. Thanks for visiting FantasyPros; we look forward to helping you win a few fantasy championships this season! Now let’s get onto the rankings.

• Some of my other 2019 Fantasy Football articles
  • Cheat Sheet for Family & Friends
  • QB Rankings and Notes
  • RB Rankings and Notes
  • WR Rankings and Notes
  • 50 Stats for Draft Day
  • Top 10 Sleepers
  • Perfect Fantasy Football Mock Draft
  • Auction Values
  • Overall Rankings
  • Dynasty Rookie Rankings
  • Cheat Code: Don’t Draft a Kicker
  • Cheat Code: How to Maximize D/ST Value

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