Chris Liss on Nostr: For those of you into fantasy football, check out @realmansports ...

For those of you into fantasy football, check out @realmansports

quoting note1sk9…g9gh

These are my very preliminary TE rankings, my only research being the [RotoWire depth charts](https://www.rotowire.com/football/nfl-depth-charts/) and player notes.

**Tier 1 **

**Sam LaPorta**

He gets his own tier because he’s the only TE for whom there are no red flags. Most TEs do very little as rookies, while LaPorta was a rare exception and should only get better. His competition for targets is perfect — a true No.1 receiver, a play-making field-stretcher and a speedy running back, i.e., defenses have to account for multiple threats, but it’s not too crowded for LaPorta to see 140-odd targets in Year 2.

**Tier 2 **

**Mark Andrews, Dalton Kincaid, Evan Engram, Trey McBride, Travis Kelce, George Kittle **

Kelce is the fantasy GOAT, but he turns 35 in October, and age catches up to everyone eventually. Andrews gets hurt a lot, but he should still be Lamar Jackson’s favorite target when healthy. Kincaid might lead the Bills in targets, and in Year 2 could take the leap to TE1. But unlike LaPorta, he hasn’t quite done it yet. Engram caught 114 passes last year, and Calvin Ridley is gone, so I don’t see his role diminishing much. McBride is a rising star in a good situation with only Marvin Harrison, Jr. to compete with for targets. And Kittle is a star when healthy and could see more looks if Brandon Aiyuk is traded.

**Tier 3**

**T.J. Hockenson, Kyle Pitts, Jake Ferguson, David Njoku, Cole Kmet, Brock Bowers**

There’s no doubt about Hockenson’s talent, but the downgrade to Sam Darnold or J.J. McCarthy could be steep. Pitts can *still* be the 1.1 with a competent quarterback, but at this point there’s *some* O.J. Howard risk (great athlete, average NFL player.) Ferguson is just in a great spot with the Cowboys and their thin group of pass catchers after CeeDee Lamb. Njoku looked like a guy who belonged in the first round seven years ago, and it’s not that unusual for TEs to take some time to peak. (Njoku took longer than most, but like Engram, some of that was probably due to poor QB play early on.) Kmet’s got a lot more competition for targets, but also a likely QB upgrade, and he’s still young and on the upswing. Bowers is a home run swing — he might do nothing as a rookie, but could also be the Raiders 1A to Davante Adams out of the gate.

**Tier 4 **

**Dalton Schultz, Dallas Goedert, Pat Freiermuth, Jonnu Smith**

If I were to get shut out from the top-three tiers, I’d be okay with any of these guys. Schultz will have a role in a top passing offense, even if it’s a secondary one. Goedert has never really put it together, but is still in a good spot in the Eagles top-heavy offense. Freiermuth is a good pass catcher and could see more opportunities with the trade of Diontae Johnson. Smith is a wild card. His floor is basically zero as he could be used to block, but his upside is Tier 2 if the Dolphins indeed make him the No. 3 option in their fast-paced offense.

**Tier 5 (scrubs) **

**Hunter Henry, Chigoziem Okonkwo, Tyler Conklin, Mike Gesicki**

You never know, one of them might bust out, and there are others not listed, but it would be hard to count on these guys. Gesicki intrigues me a bit since he used to be productive, and the Bengals are thin after their star receivers, but they never seem to use the TE much.