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John's fantasy football best ball rankings for the tight end position ahead of the 2025 NFL season. Which players are the best value in best ball leagues at TE.
In best ball formats, unlike other fantasy football league setups, you never have to hope the players you put in your starting lineups outscore those on your bench, and won't be annoyed when they don't. This is because, in this format, you don't really have a lineup to set.
Instead, you'll always get the maximum number of points you could have because your starting lineup will automatically include your top-scoring players. For tight ends, who don't have quite the scoring ceilings that wide receivers or some running backs do, this isn't quite as impactful in rankings.
Still, the nature of best ball leagues lends to players with higher ceilings getting drafted earlier. Other than that, things are mostly the same, but that doesn't make the format completely boring! So, let's dive into the best ball TE rankings for the 2025 NFL season.
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10. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Kelce was absolutely horrible last season as a receiver. Sure, he had some solid weeks for fantasy, but he's just too old and beat up to be a good pass-catcher anymore. ESPN Analytics gave him the single worst receiving grade of any player in the league in 2024.
Travis Kelce ESPN Analytics Receiving Grade (among TEs AND WRs):
+ 2017: 62 (23rd in NFL)
+ 2018: 64 (17th)
+ 2019: 68 (15th)
+ 2020: 61 (26th)
+ 2021: 65 (30th)
+ 2022: 75 (10th)
+ 2023: 61 (32nd)+ 2024: 17 (158th - DEAD LAST IN NFL)
Kelce seems to have reached the age cliff
— Dataroma (@ffdataroma) April 7, 2025
Kelce's athleticism has quickly faded, and while his shrewdness at dissecting zone coverages is still impressive, he's just not sudden and doesn't play with great strength. He looks like he should have retired a year ago already, yet he wants to play for another season. I wouldn't draft him.
9. David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
It's hard to evaluate Njoku for fantasy purposes. On one hand, he's very talented. But on the other hand, he's on the team with possibly the worst quarterback room in the entire NFL, and the team just added the hyper-productive Harold Fannin Jr., a rookie TE from Bowling Green, in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Throwback to the #Browns' 31-27 win over the Jags on 12/10/23. The Flacco-Njoku connection 🔥 capped off by a gutsy 41-yd. TD pass to David Bell on 4th&3 in the 4th quarter
🔸Flacco: 26/45, 311, 3TD, Int
🔸Njoku: 6/91/2TDThe Browns can be fun. Let's get back to business in '25 pic.twitter.com/FJp46zlQdK
— SleeperBrowns (@SleeperBrowns) May 6, 2025
If you draft Njoku, you're really hoping quarterback Joe Flacco starts, despite his age. Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, and Kenny Pickett are just not good QBs.
8. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
Andrew's 2024 season was completely propped up by touchdown volume. His inexplicable goose eggs in Week 3 and Week 4 were forgotten (mostly) by fantasy football managers, as he went on to have a career-high in touchdowns. There are trade rumors swirling around him right now, but nothing has come to fruition yet.
The two-point conversion is no good 😳
📺: #BALvsBUF on CBS
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus and Paramount+ pic.twitter.com/s1DAo0tdm1— NFL (@NFL) January 20, 2025
Part of that has to do with his absolute inability to perform in the playoffs. Andrews' value could change massively on another team, depending on who it is. With the Ravens, he's very risky. You're counting on 10 or more TDs for him to return value.
He doesn't get enough playing time as a route-runner and doesn't have enough target volume to support a huge season right now.
7. Jonnu Smith, Miami Dolphins
Smith is another player whose value makes sense at his spot. He had a breakout season with the Miami Dolphins, often overshadowing both wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, in what was one of the biggest surprises in fantasy football in 2024.
Smith (Jonnu) is yet another case study in how Smith (Arthur), the former Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator and current Pittsburgh Steelers OC, ruins the fantasy values of his players. His resurgent 2024 year was tied to... getting away from Smith (Arthur). He's solid value here.
6. T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
Hockenson's additional time off will have helped him recover more from the ACL tear he suffered in January 2024 during the 2023-2024 NFL playoffs. Hockenson returned ahead of schedule last season but didn't make too much of a splash, which is reasonable.
He had quarterback Sam Darnold, who is just bad, throw it to him while he was recuperating from a serious ailment.
This was an impressive route from TJ Hockenson to convert on third and long last night: easily beats press with the burst to stack the DB and a sharp break out of the route. Rare skillset to be able to do this as a 6'5" TE. Great throw too: pic.twitter.com/d7ROAfZqjP
— Nick Olson (@NickOlsonNFL) November 25, 2022
Hockenson will turn 28 soon, and if his knee heals up nicely (and it appears that it is), he should have a nice few years ahead of him. In addition, the Vikings will get a huge upgrade at quarterback, as J.J. McCarthy will be the starter in 2025. Hock should have a great bounce-back season and could end up with his best career marks.
I like taking him as the TE6.
5. Evan Engram, Denver Broncos
Engram's move from the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Denver Broncos has sparked plenty of excitement in the fantasy community and rocketed him up fantasy draft boards. He has a chance to serve as the team's second-best pass-catcher behind wide receiver Courtland Sutton.
Evan Engram appreciation post.
114 catches in 2023 — 2nd most ALL-TIME by a TE in a single season.
Congratulations to the #Jaguars PRO BOWL tight end. pic.twitter.com/tp7hztETfI
— Andrew Gibson (@1010XLAG) January 30, 2024
I'm skeptical of Engram's worth as the TE5, though. Sure, the Broncos had a solid passing offense last season. Still, his TE2 season in 2023 was heavily propped up by massive target volume, and his route-running efficiency metrics (plus his poor receiving efficiency, at under 8.5 yards per catch) don't inspire a lot of confidence moving forward.
I'd probably have him a bit lower.
4. Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
LaPorta's skill set and play didn't regress in 2024 compared to his standout rookie season in 2023. Still, as the Lions' run-heavy offense accommodated wide receiver Jameson Williams more, LaPorta's target volume decreased, much to the chagrin of fantasy managers.
David Montgomery throws a TD to Sam LaPorta!
📺: #TENvsDET on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/HGuKPJbBTD— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2024
Williams and fellow WR Amon-Ra St. Brown remain with the Lions, and running back Jahmyr Gibbs will likely continue earning solid target volume. LaPorta has the talent to offer impressive upside, but you should expect plenty of mediocre games to come along with it.
I'd say he's a tad overrated at TE4, but that's not a surprise considering his talent. It's usually good to bet on talent over projected volume, too. With Ben Johnson, the former Lions offensive coordinator, now gone to the Chicago Bears, perhaps we could see LaPorta get more work this year.
3. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
Kittle had one of his best seasons ever in 2024 -- but that was primarily due to the absence of running back Christian McCaffrey for most of the season. McCaffrey is such a target hog, especially for an RB, that his presence leads to significantly reduced looks for the rest of the team's pass-catchers.
George Kittle is aging like fine wine. Tracking data route efficiency has improved every year of his career pic.twitter.com/bKXV6ffKW1
— Football Insights 📊 (@fball_insights) April 30, 2025
Still, even with slightly lower upside (if McCaffrey can manage to stay healthy), Kittle's game is nowhere near slowing down. He'll turn 32 this season, but elite tight ends have a long history of playing at a high level well into their 30s, so there isn't much to worry about here.
2. Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
McBride had a massive season in 2024. His breakout third-year campaign saw him targeted 147 times, and he caught 111 of those passes for 1,146 yards and two touchdowns. I'm not 100 percent sure he repeats these numbers in 2025, though.
Trey McBride is a 6’4 tight end and has hurdles in each of his last 2 games.
You don’t see this stuff often.#BirdGang pic.twitter.com/sohoYAGKRm
— Cardinals Muse (@CardsMuse) November 4, 2024
While McBride is good enough to earn a significant target share, the team also drafted WR Marvin Harrison Jr. last season, with the fourth overall pick. He was targeted 116 times, yet hauled in just 62 passes. It wouldn't be surprising to see Harrison's target share creep up in Year 2.
In a run-first offense, that could mean McBride has less of a chance of finishing as the TE2 than he did last season, especially if his touchdown luck doesn't improve -- and he's caught just six TDs in 49 career games.
1. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
Well, obviously. Bowers had a historic season with very little good quarterback play. Now, he'll get a massive upgrade in QB Geno Smith, who somehow made the Seattle Seahawks offense look competent, despite the fact that they didn't have a real offensive line.
After breaking the rookie reception record, the rookie tight end record for yards and a Pro Bowl nod, Brock Bowers was asked if he thinks he’s now “kinda good?”
His response: “I still feel like I suck sometimes. Lose a rep here and there…it just pisses me off.”
🎥: By… pic.twitter.com/868ohoZCWJ
— Vegas Sports Today (@VegasSportsTD) January 2, 2025
But Bowers said he sucks sometimes. It's great to have humility. Still, why would you pick anyone over him? Sure, there are other solid TEs to pick from, but Bowers was already TE1 in 2024, and no one would be surprised if he surpassed his numbers this season.
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