What's up RotoBallers. Welcome to our 2016 fantasy football tiered tight end rankings for dynasty leagues. You can read the rest of our 2016 dynasty league rankings. Modern-day fantasy football includes many different league formats. There are Standard Leagues, PPR Leagues, Half-PPR Leagues, Rookie Leagues, and arguably the most popular, Daily Fantasy Football. In this article, I will be taking you through my most recent Dynasty League Rankings.

Dynasty Leagues are one of the most difficult types of rankings to project. There are multiple aspects that need to be equally balanced while making the rankings. Each owner needs a mix of players that can produce this season along with players that have the potential to produce for years to come. These rankings take every aspect into consideration, as some younger players may be ranked higher than players that are ready to produce this season.

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Tier 1 – Dynasty Tight End Rankings

1. Rob Gronkowski

As many people would suspect, Gronkowski is in a tier of his own. He’s still only 27 years old, and he’s an elite tight end year-in and year-out. That's going to continue regardless of who his quarterback is. Aside from an injury, he’s a TE1 for at least five more years, which makes him an elite pick in dynasty leagues.

 

Tier 2 – Dynasty Tight End Rankings

1. Tyler Eifert
2. Travis Kelce
3. Jordan Reed
4. Greg Olsen

Eifert, Kelce, and Reed lead this tier, and they are all young tight ends with great upside. Kelce is the safest option of the group, as Eifert and Reed are both fairly injury-prone, but all three come with elite upside. They are all major factors in their offenses, and they are essentially receivers instead of in-line blockers. They will all be TE1s as long as they are able to stay healthy, and they are all great consolation prizes if you miss out on Gronkowski.

Olsen is a bit different than the other tight ends in this group because of his age. He’s 31 years old, but he hasn’t displayed any signs of slowing down. He fell so low because of his age, not because of his talent. He’ll continue to be a great tight end option until he retires, but that will be sooner than the other guys in this tier.

 

Tier 3 – Dynasty Tight End Rankings

1. Coby Fleener
2. Julius Thomas
3. Jimmy Graham
4. Ladarius Green
5. Zach Ertz
6. Eric Ebron
7. Delanie Walker
8. Austin Seferian-Jenkins

This is another tier of potential TE1s, but each of these players comes with risk, which is what separates them from the tier ahead of them. Walker is the only tight end in this bunch that is older than 30, but he seems to get better with time. Walker is in the prime of his career, and he’s an elite fantasy option right now. He is only in this tier because he may only have a couple good years left in him.

Each of the other tight ends in this tier have flashed the potential to be dominant, but they have also flopped in certain situations. They are all younger than 30 years old, which is a plus as well. This is essentially a tier filled with boom-or-bust dynasty prospects, which is the type of tier that will allow you to get an elite prospect later in the draft.

 

Tier 4 – Dynasty Tight End Rankings

1. Gary Barnidge
2. Hunter Henry
3. Martellus Bennett
4. Dwayne Allen
5. Jason Witten

Tier 4 features our first rookie of the group. Hunter Henry was the top tight end prospect coming out of this class, and he has the potential to become a TE1 once Antonio Gates retires. He’s locked into Tier 4 now, though, as he likely won’t be playing much behind Gates for the time being.

With the exception of Allen, who has never really made an impact in any fantasy season, this tier is filled out with older players that can contribute right now. Barnidge, Bennett, and Witten have shown the ability to produce, but they are all a bit older than ideal dynasty league prospects. If you’re drafting a team to win this year, these players could certainly help, but it would be wise to have a young player waiting for when they retire.

 

Tier 5 – Dynasty Tight End Rankings

1. Charles Clay
2. Antonio Gates
3. Benjamin Watson
4. Jared Cook
5. Clive Walford
6. Kyle Rudolph
7. Austin Hooper
8. Jeff Heuerman

The majority of these tight ends are guys that could help your team, but come with risk. It’s the first tier that is made up of almost exclusively risky players. Gates is that exception, as he will be a good option until he retires or gets injured. The rest of the options come with essentially no floor, but don’t have the type of ceiling that the elite guys do, especially for this season.

Walford, Hooper, and Heuerman are all interesting options that should be discussed. They are all young, which means they have time to continue to develop. They all also have a fairly clear path to the starting tight end spot at some point in their career. Walford is playing in an up-and-coming offense, which gives him much more upside than some other options this late in the draft. Hooper is another high-upside prospect, as he’s extremely athletic and will be playing in an offense similar to the one that Tony Gonzalez dominated in for years.

 

Tier 6 – Dynasty Tight End Rankings

1. Will Tye
2. Jordan Cameron
3. Jacob Tamme
4. Vance McDonald
5. Maxx Williams
6. Richard Rodgers
7. Jace Amaro

The tight ends in this tier can be had late in your draft. They don’t have elite upside, and they come with quite a bit of risk. That’s why they are ranked so low, but they can be valuable to your team. If you don’t have an elite tight end, sometimes waiting till the end of the draft and hoping one of these players produces can be a smart strategy.

 

Tier 7 – Dynasty Tight End Rankings

1. Josh Hill
2. Lance Kendricks
3. Zach Miller
4. Owen Daniels

If you're rostering one of these guys, you're in trouble. None of the players will ever be elite, and they likely won’t be able to contribute much this season. With that being said, they could find the field if a team is dealing with injuries, which is why they were put on the list.

 

Tight End Dynasty Rankings

Rank	Tier	Player Name	Overall Rank
1	1	Rob Gronkowski	10
2	2	Tyler Eifert	41
3	2	Travis Kelce	46
4	2	Jordan Reed	53
5	2	Greg Olsen	54
6	3	Coby Fleener	94
7	3	Julius Thomas	98
8	3	Jimmy Graham	100
9	3	Ladarius Green	102
10	3	Zach Ertz	106
11	3	Eric Ebron	107
12	3	Delanie Walker	110
13	3	Austin Seferian-Jenkins	113
14	4	Gary Barnidge	142
15	4	Hunter Henry	151
16	4	Martellus Bennett	156
17	4	Dwayne Allen	169
18	4	Jason Witten	172
19	5	Charles Clay	188
20	5	Zach Miller	190
21	5	Antonio Gates	199
22	5	Benjamin Watson	201
23	5	Jared Cook	203
24	5	Clive Walford	210
25	5	Kyle Rudolph	212
26	5	Austin Hooper	213
27	5	Jeff Heuerman	229
28	6	Will Tye	233
29	6	Jordan Cameron	235
30	6	Jacob Tamme	238
31	6	Vance McDonald	247
32	6	Maxx Williams	249
33	6	Richard Rodgers	256
34	6	Jace Amaro	258
35	7	Josh Hill	261
36	7	Lance Kendricks	271
37	7	Zach Miller	317
38	7	Owen Daniels	318

 

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Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.