2013 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings – Early Bird Version

It wasn’t long ago that the tight end position was considered super-deep with stars aplenty. But here we are, looking at the 2013 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings, and we realize that many of the stars have faded quite a bit. Does that mean you can still invest a high draft pick in a tight …

Jason Witten, 2013 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings

It wasn’t long ago that the tight end position was considered super-deep with stars aplenty. But here we are, looking at the 2013 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings, and we realize that many of the stars have faded quite a bit. Does that mean you can still invest a high draft pick in a tight end like Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham? We’ll see.

(NOTE: Our very latest 2013 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings are posted here. We will update these rankings throughout the summer, as news and injuries occur.)

Starting back in 2009, the tight position took on a new look in Fantasy Football, as 10 different players scored over 100 Fantasy points in that season alone. That’s one of the highest marks in NFL history, and it began a string of seasons in which tight ends became much more important from a Fantasy perspective. In 2010, eight tight ends reached the century mark, and in both 2011 and 2012 – an amazing 11 tight ends scored 100 or more points.

So while the stars are fewer, it’s still a very deep position. Also, we’re seeing a lot of young tight ends start to develop into reliable Fantasy players, albeit not superstars like Graham and Gronk.

Jason Witten, 2013 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings
Jason Witten caught an NFL record 110 catches for a tight end in 2012. Photo Credit: JamesBoydPhotos.com
Quick thoughts on my 2013 Fantasy Football TE Rankings:

  • Despite missing five games due to injury, Gronk was still the second-highest scoring tight end in Fantasy, just behind Graham. Gronk will likely be taken in the second round of most drafts in 2013.
  • Tony Gonzalez enjoyed a renaissance, scoring eight touchdowns and catching 93 passes (second only to Jason Witten at the position). It’s unclear if he’s coming back in 2013, but our bet is he does.
  • Seven tight ends scored at least seven touchdowns. That’s just weird. Despite scoring seven touchdowns, Antonio Gates had one of his worst seasons, and you likely won’t own him next season, as one of your not-very-good opponents will draft him too high because of his name.
  • While it would seem some young up-and-comers were taking over the position, there were just five tight ends under the age of 27 in the top 15 scorers at the position last year. Veterans like Gonzalez, Heath Miller, Dennis Pitta, Brandon Myers and Owen Daniels littered the rankings.
  • Miller will likely miss some of the 2013 season after injuring his knee and having surgery after Week 16.

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2013 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings

 

Top 60 Overall | QB | RB | WR | TE | K | DST | Rookies

 

2013 Mock Draft Round ONERound TWO

 

Tony Gonzalez, 2013 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings
Tony Gonzalez turned in one of his best seasons of his NFL career — but is it his last? Photo Credit: Football Schedule

These 2013 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings shouldn’t change much between now and the start of the 2013 season. But it’s likely that you can wait and still get a good one after the early rounds.

David Gonos

David Gonos

David Gonos spent 5 years as a CBSSports.com Senior Fantasy Writer and three more years writing with SI.com. Over the past 17 years, his work has been published on NFL.com, MLB.com, FanDuel, FoxSports.com and USA Today. Since 2001, he has been tracking down the Top 50-plus Free Fantasy Football Draft Tools online. You can contact David Gonos here.

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Comments

  1. Zeke

    May 21, 2013

    With everything that is going on with “Gronk”, the shuffle for tight ends could be very interesting this year. Don’t ya think?

    • Gonos

      May 21, 2013

      Yep, and it definitely makes me want to wait a bit on the position, considering how much it’s in flux. In mock drafts so far, I’ve waited and picked up players like Greg Olsen and Kyle Rudolph.

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