Best NFL TEs In 2024

Ask any Kansas City Chiefs fan about the importance of having a quality tight end, and I am sure they will enthusiastically weigh in on the subject.

Not only are Chiefs fans blessed with Travis Kelce on their roster, but they also had the opportunity to watch maybe the game’s best tight end of all time play 143 regular season games before Kelce arrived.

Tony Gonzalez accomplished some incredible things on the field, ultimately leading to his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

However, Kelce is currently on pace to match or beat Gonzalez in several stat categories.

Tony Gonzalez vs. Travis Kelce – Chiefs All-Time Tight Ends

Player	Games Played	Receiving YDS	Career TDs
Tony Gonzalez	270	15,127	111
Travis Kelce	144	10,344	69

If Kelce can remain healthy and continue his current production for a couple more years, the Chiefs may end up with the two greatest tight ends in NFL history, having played for their franchise.

When it comes to the current crop of NFL tight ends, it is Kelce who is regarded by most as the best of the bunch.

However, he has a lot of competition for that top spot.

Best Tight Ends Right Now

Travis Kelce – Kansas City Chiefs

In 2021, Travis Kelce had an incredible year with 92 receptions and 1,125 receiving yards. Then, in 2022, he outperformed himself.

The Chiefs tight end had 110 receptions and over 1,300 yards receiving. In the Super Bowl, Kelce added another eight receptions and 81 receiving yards while winning a second Vince Lombardi Trophy with the Chiefs.

Those stats are good enough for Kelce to earn the honors of being the top-ranked tight end in the NFL.

The former 3rd round draft pick finished 8th league-wide in receiving yards last year.

Kelce is now 4th overall amongst all tight ends in receiving yards for his career.

Over the last four years, the Chiefs TE has over 400 receptions, and 2022 was the sixth time Kelce had over 1,000 yards receiving in his career.

Chiefs fans might have been concerned before the beginning of last year when KC lost Tyreek Hill to Miami. However, the loss of Hill turned into more opportunities for Kelce, and the rewards were a Super Bowl for KC.

Mark Andrews – Baltimore Ravens

As a rookie in 2018, Mark Andrews had 34 receptions on 50 total targets. Since that rookie season, here are the total targets Andrews has had each year:

• 2019 – 98 targets
• 2020 – 88 targets
• 2021 – 153 targets
• 2022 – 113 targets

In 2021, there was a strong argument to make that Andrews, and not Kelce, was the most valuable tight-end in the NFL simply because of the volume of targets he was getting.

Andrews had a very impressive 107 receptions and 1,361 receiving yards and was targeted 153 times in 2021. The 153 targets are 65 more than he had the year previous, 2020.

In 2022, he had 40 fewer targets, but 113 in a season is still a lot.

If Andrews had a weakness in his game, especially compared to some of his elite peers like Kelce and Kittle, it’s that he doesn’t break many tackles or pick up a lot of yards after the catch.

George Kittle – San Francisco 49ers

2022 was a little disappointing for George Kittle bettors because he averaged his lowest amount of targets per game.

Kittle has managed to play 29 of 34 games in the past two years, which is good for a player who has battled injuries in the past.

Last year, the 5th-round pick had 760 receiving yards on 60 catches. In 2021, Kittle put up 71 receptions and 910 yards receiving in just 14 games.

One of the biggest issues for Kittle is that the 49ers have some great offensive weapons, and he has to compete for touches.

Names like Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Christian McCaffrey, and others must also be fed the ball.

There is no doubt when Kittle is on the field, he makes a lot of plays. When the ball is in his hands, he is as tough to tackle as any TE in the game.

Watching how Brock Purdy and Kittle develop together moving forward will be interesting.

Kyle Pitts – Atlanta Falcons

It’s not very often tight ends are drafted at the top of the first round.

However, Kyle Pitts was so good at the University of Florida that he heard his name called when the Atlanta Falcons selected him with the 4th overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

As a rookie with a lot of hype, Pitts did an excellent job meeting expectations. In his first year, Pitts hauled in 68 receptions and had 1,026 yards.

Those numbers were good enough to land inside the top 25 in total receiving yards league-wide.

Unfortunately for Pitts and the Falcons, his second season in the league resulted in only ten games played and a disappointing 28 catches for just 356 yards.

Maybe more concerning than 28 catches in 10 games was that Pitts was targeted 58 times, meaning his catch percentage was only 48%.

Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke are battling for regular playing time at the Falcons QB spot.

There is no doubt that Pitts is one of the most athletic players in his position.

Whether he can develop a relationship with one of his QBs, so his stats start to reflect his potential will be interesting to watch playout.

Dallas Goedert – Philadelphia Eagles

In 2021, the Philadelphia Eagles started the season very comfortable with their number one tight end, Zac Ertz.

Then, as the year went on, Dallas Goedert began to make Ertz a tradeable commodity. Eventually, Ertz was sent to Arizona because Goedert had shown he was capable of being a number one TE in the NFL.

Goedert delivered an excellent year in his first full opportunity as the starting tight end in 2021. The former second-round pick in 2018 had 56 receptions and 830 yards receiving.

In 2022, Goedert put up another 55 catches but watched his receiving yardage drop slightly from 830 yards to 702.

If there was room for improvement for the Eagles’ tight end, it was with his ability to find space in the endzone.

Goedert has only seven touchdowns in two seasons as the Eagles’ primary pass catcher at the TE spot.

To compare his TD stats to the game’s best player at this position, Kelce had 16 TDs in 20 games for the Chiefs last year, including the playoffs.

Goedert has 7 TDs in his last 27 games for the Eagles.

TJ Hockenson – Detroit Lions

Of all the tight ends we have listed, TJ Hockenson is one of two players drafted in the first round.

Kyle Pitts was a fourth overall pick for Atlanta in 2021, and Hockenson was selected 8th overall by the Detroit Lions in the 2019 draft.

When you are drafted as a tight end in the top 10 of your draft class, it is safe to assume a team has high expectations for you.

Player	Games Played	Receiving Yards	Yards / Game
T. Kelce	144	10,344	71.8 yards / game
TJ Hockenson	57	2,587	49.2 yards / game

Hockenson has been a very good player in his career, averaging almost 50 receiving yards per game.

However, when you stack his numbers beside greatness and see that Kelce is averaging almost 22 receiving yards more per game, you understand Hockenson is not on Kelce’s level.

Last year, the former Iowa Hawkeye was traded to the Minnesota Vikings. You rarely see a quality player traded within the division during the season, but it happened with Hockenson.

In Minnesota, his receiving totals were very similar to what he was doing in Detroit.

In 2023, we will see if Hockenson is a good tight end, or if he can take that leap to a great one.

Tight Ends All-Time Receiving Yards Leaders

Player	Total Receiving Yrds	Games Played
Tony Gonzalez	15,127 yards	270
Jason Witten	13,046 yards	271
Antonio Gates	11,841 yards	236
Travis Kelce	10,344 yards	144
Shannon Sharpe	9,961 yards	188

Travis Kelce is on another planet compared to even the best tight-ends of all.

Tony Gonzalez finished with an average of 56 receiving yards per game played. That is a higher average than Jason Witten, Antonio Gates, and Shannon Sharpe.

Meanwhile, Travis Kelce is averaging almost 72 yards per game. Well above what everyone else was able to accomplish.

Betting On NFL Tight Ends

A sports bettor can use their knowledge of NFL tight ends from a betting standpoint in several ways.

All regulated sportsbooks in your state/province will offer a significant amount of season-long Player Props.

The season-long Player Props are an opportunity for a bettor to focus on one individual player and make some bets according to how they believe that player will perform over an entire year.

2023 Player Prop Totals – Receiving Yards

Player	2023 Rec. Total	2022 Rec. Total	Team
Travis Kelce	+1075.5	1,338 yards	Chiefs
Mark Andrews	+800.5	847 yards	Ravens
TJ Hockenson	+750.5	914 yards	Vikings
George Kittle	+675.5	765 yards	49ers
Kyle Pitts	+675.5	356 yards	Falcons

Our table above allows us to bet an Over or Under on the total amount of receiving yards for five of the game’s best tight ends.

• Kyle Pitts played in just ten games for the Falcons last year, who enter 2023 with Desmond Ridder listed as their starting QB
• George Kittle had over 900 yards receiving two seasons ago, in just 14 games. Last year, he played an extra game, but didn’t get to 800 yards receiving.

Bettors who can accurately predict how Pitts and Kittle will perform in 2023, can take advantage of their receiving yards totals set by the sportsbooks.

NFL Tight Ends – Receiving Yards Leaders

2022 Tight Ends – Total Receiving Yards Leaders

Player	Receiving Yards	Team
Travis Kelce	1,338	Chiefs
TJ Hockenson	914	Lions
Mark Andrews	847	Ravens
Evan Engram	766	Jaguars
George Kittle	765	49ers

The 2021 NFL draft is best remembered for three quarterbacks selected with the first three picks of the draft.

The fourth player selected that year was Kyle Pitts, the first non-QB drafted.

Pitts made an immediate impact in Atlanta, with over 1,000 yards receiving in his rookie season.

Year two wasn’t nearly as productive. It will be interesting to see if Pitts can return to the elite level of play in 2023 and justify that fourth overall selection.

2023 Odds To Lead NFL In Receiving Yards

Player	Odds	Team
Travis Kelce	FanDuel +3000	Chiefs
Mark Andrews	FanDuel +8000	Ravens
TJ Hockenson	FanDuel +10000	Falcons

No NFL tight end has ever led the league in receiving yards, but as the league continues to become more passing-oriented, tight ends continue to see more targets.

A wide receiver will likely end up with the most receiving yards this year.

• At +30/1, Travis Kelce is an interesting option.
• TJ Hockenson at 100/1 might be worth a tiny sprinkle as well.

Always Shop Around

Many sports bettors enjoy researching stats, developing strategies, and trying to beat the sportsbook with their betting knowledge.

However, it is important to point out that a bettor’s greatest edge over the house is their ability to shop around and choose only the Best Odds available.

Let’s compare the odds for three tight ends to lead the league in receiving yards with three different sportsbooks as an example.

2023 NFL Receiving Yards Leader Odds

Player	Caesars	DraftKings	FanDuel
Travis Kelce	+2500	+2200	+3000
Mark Andrews	+8000	+10000	+8000
TJ Hockenson	+8000	+10000	+10000

Considering that no tight end has ever led the league in receiving yards, these players would have to be considered long shots to win this bet.

Travis Kelce at 22/1 odds is okay, but at 30/1 with FanDuel, I like the bet much better.

There are even more significant discrepancies with the odds for Mark Andrews and TJ Hockenson.

Getting a chance to bet those players at 100/1, instead of 80/1 is a significant difference when it comes to profit margin and ROI.