2021 Top Tight Ends
3 min read
The 2022 NFL Draft is complete, the 2022 NFL Schedule (thoughts on the 2022 NFL Schedule) has been released! The fantasy football community is eager to start the upcoming 2022 Fantasy Football Season! Before that happens, I want to give a look at the Tight Ends and some key stats for the position from the 2021 Fantasy Football Season. I think it may be helpful as we look forward towards our Tight Ends of preference in 2022. Especially if we can compare previous years to see any trends.
Keep in mind a players Ability, Availability, Opportunity, Consistency, Advantage/Upside and Matchup. Feel free to review our position leaders in Targets and Touchdowns for the 2021 Fantasy Football Season as they are players that were most likely a top player at their position last year. I believe both statistics are helpful in finding opportunity for Fantasy Football production!
2021 Top Tight End – Targets
| Player | Team | Receptions | Yards | Total TDs | Targets | Games Played | Targets/Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Andrews | BAL | 107 | 1,361 | 9 | 154 | 17 | 9.06 |
| Travis Kelce | KC | 92 | 1,125 | 9 | 134 | 16 | 8.38 |
| Zach Ertz | PHI/ARI | 74 | 763 | 5 | 112 | 17 | 6.59 |
| Mike Gesicki | MIA | 73 | 780 | 2 | 112 | 17 | 6.59 |
| Kyle Pitts | ATL | 68 | 1,026 | 1 | 110 | 17 | 6.47 |
| Dalton Schultz | DAL | 78 | 808 | 8 | 104 | 17 | 6.12 |
| George Kittle | SF | 71 | 910 | 6 | 94 | 14 | 6.71 |
| Cole Kmet | CHI | 60 | 612 | 0 | 93 | 17 | 5.47 |
| Darren Waller | LV | 55 | 665 | 2 | 93 | 11 | 8.45 |
| Noah Fant | DEN | 68 | 670 | 4 | 90 | 16 | 5.63 |
| Rob Gronkowski | TB | 55 | 802 | 6 | 89 | 12 | 7.42 |
| Tyler Conklin | MIN | 61 | 593 | 3 | 87 | 17 | 5.12 |
| Tyler Higbee | LA | 61 | 560 | 5 | 85 | 15 | 5.67 |
| T.J. Hockenson | DET | 61 | 583 | 4 | 84 | 12 | 7.00 |
| Jared Cook | LAC | 48 | 564 | 4 | 83 | 16 | 5.19 |
| Pat Freiermuth | PIT | 60 | 497 | 7 | 79 | 16 | 4.94 |
| Dallas Goedert | PHI | 56 | 830 | 4 | 76 | 15 | 5.07 |
| Hunter Henry | NE | 50 | 603 | 9 | 75 | 17 | 4.41 |
| Evan Engram | NYG | 46 | 408 | 3 | 73 | 15 | 4.87 |
| Dawson Knox | BUF | 49 | 587 | 9 | 71 | 15 | 4.73 |
| Gerald Everett | SEA | 48 | 478 | 4 | 63 | 15 | 4.20 |
| C.J. Uzomah | CIN | 49 | 493 | 5 | 63 | 16 | 3.94 |
| Austin Hooper | CLE | 38 | 345 | 3 | 61 | 16 | 3.81 |
| Cameron Brate | TB | 30 | 245 | 4 | 57 | 17 | 3.35 |
| David Njoku | CLE | 36 | 475 | 4 | 53 | 16 | 3.31 |
Above are your Top 25 Tight Ends in Targets for the 2021 NFL Season. Referencing some history with this Targets category Targets TE – 2019 Regular Season gives you some insight at what we anticipated going into 2021.
2021 Top Tight End – Touchdowns
Using the above yearly Touchdowns rankings I was looking from one year to the next to see how many of the previous years Tight Ends made the following year list. As you follow the colors (Grey – 2015, Green – 2016, Red – 2017, Blue – 2018, Grey – 2019 and Electric Blue – 2020) it helps to pick out who stayed on the list from the previous year. In 2016, 8 tight ends from 2015 made it. In 2017, 7 tight ends from 2016 made the Top 20 list. While in 2018, 8 tight ends from 2017 made it. For 2019, 8 tight ends from 2018 made the Top 20 list. In 2020, 7 tight ends from 2019 made the list again. In 2021, 8 tight ends from 2020 made the list.
Over the past few years, it looks like the average of 8 players would be anticipated to make this list again in the 2022 NFL Season. Referencing some history with the Touchdowns category Tight End TDs – 2020 Outlook gives you some look at what we anticipated going into 2020 as well.
2021 Top Tight End – Receiving
| Player | Team | Receptions | Yards | Total TDs | Targets | Games Played | Targets/Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Andrews | BAL | 107 | 1,361 | 9 | 154 | 17 | 9.06 |
| Travis Kelce | KC | 92 | 1,125 | 9 | 134 | 16 | 8.38 |
| Kyle Pitts | ATL | 68 | 1,026 | 1 | 110 | 17 | 6.47 |
| George Kittle | SF | 71 | 910 | 6 | 94 | 14 | 6.71 |
| Dallas Goedert | PHI | 56 | 830 | 4 | 76 | 15 | 5.07 |
| Dalton Schultz | DAL | 78 | 808 | 8 | 104 | 17 | 6.12 |
| Rob Gronkowski | TB | 55 | 802 | 6 | 89 | 12 | 7.42 |
| Mike Gesicki | MIA | 73 | 780 | 2 | 112 | 17 | 6.59 |
| Zach Ertz | PHI/ARI | 74 | 763 | 5 | 112 | 17 | 6.59 |
| Noah Fant | DEN | 68 | 670 | 4 | 90 | 16 | 5.63 |
| Darren Waller | LV | 55 | 665 | 2 | 93 | 11 | 8.45 |
| Cole Kmet | CHI | 60 | 612 | 0 | 93 | 17 | 5.47 |
| Hunter Henry | NE | 50 | 603 | 9 | 75 | 17 | 4.41 |
| Tyler Conklin | MIN | 61 | 593 | 3 | 87 | 17 | 5.12 |
| Dawson Knox | BUF | 49 | 587 | 9 | 71 | 15 | 4.73 |
| T.J. Hockenson | DET | 61 | 583 | 4 | 84 | 12 | 7.00 |
| Jared Cook | LAC | 48 | 564 | 4 | 83 | 16 | 5.19 |
| Tyler Higbee | LA | 61 | 560 | 5 | 85 | 15 | 5.67 |
| Pat Freiermuth | PIT | 60 | 497 | 7 | 79 | 16 | 4.94 |
| C.J. Uzomah | CIN | 49 | 493 | 5 | 63 | 16 | 3.94 |
| Gerald Everett | SEA | 48 | 478 | 4 | 63 | 15 | 4.20 |
| David Njoku | CLE | 36 | 475 | 4 | 53 | 16 | 3.31 |
| Evan Engram | NYG | 46 | 408 | 3 | 73 | 15 | 4.87 |
| Dan Arnold | CAR/JAX | 35 | 408 | 0 | 52 | 11 | 4.73 |
| Austin Hooper | CLE | 38 | 345 | 3 | 61 | 16 | 3.81 |
The chart above is the Receiving Leaders at the Tight End position from the 2021 season.
2021 Top Tight Ends Final Thoughts
We are getting closer to the start of the 2022 Fantasy Football Season. Having the ranks for player positions and overall thoughts coming into focus is very exciting! Be flexible and look for value when drafting your Tight Ends this year. Most value will come from Targets, Touchdowns and Yards that a Tight End can accumulate through the course of the season. Who has opportunity for Targets? Who will have the chance for Touchdowns? If you believe a player is in line for either, you know I would be interested in them!
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Targets and TDs Fantasy Football
Find players that will have: Ability – Availability – Opportunity – Consistency – Advantage/Upside – Matchup
If your players are on an offensive team that can get many Targets and Touchdowns, you know I would be interested in them! Statistics courtesy of The Football Database, a great resource for your NFL players statistics. If you enjoyed the article, please share it with others (via the social media links).
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I hope everyone continues to stay safe and healthy! Enjoy the journey throughout the 2022 Fantasy Football Season!
