In the finale of this series, I’ll take a crack at predicting the top-12 fantasy tight ends for the 2021 season, complete with explanations for all my picks. This is the most notorious position in all of fantasy football because the production is unpredictable and values are often wildly inconsistent. Ranking tight ends often feels like the opening to Whose Line is it Anyway when Drew Carey says “…where everything is made up, and the points don’t matter,” but based on past performance, current opportunity, and a pinch of upside, I’ll do my best. Let’s get to the rankings!
Just Missed the Cut
Noah Fant (DEN)
I have a really tough time buying into Fant as more than a high-end TE2, though he’s surprisingly ranked TE7 in the latest ECR. In two seasons, he’s finished as TE16 and TE12 while scoring just six total touchdowns. There’s reason to be optimistic in 2021 if Drew Lock or Teddy Bridgewater can get this offense humming, but the fact remains that there are a lot of mouths to feed in Denver. If you’re looking for a boring option at TE with potential top-12 upside, Fant is your man, but even at TE11 or TE12, you’re drafting him at his ceiling.
Dallas Goedert (PHI)
Goedert is still being drafted as a TE1, but as long as Zach Ertz is on the team, can we really count on top-12 production? We’ve seen Goedert produce with Ertz in the lineup, but that was with Carson Wentz and Doug Pederson. Heading into the season, there are too many question marks about Goedert’s usage and volume for me to feel comfortable drafting him as a TE1, which is why he falls just outside that range.
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Zachary Hanshew is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Zachary, check out his archive and follow him @zakthemonster.