Week 1 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings for Half-PPR: Mark Andrews, T.J. Hockenson, Dallas Goedert, Jake Ferguson, Tyler Warren, Kyle Pitts, Zach Ertz

September 4, 2025

RotoBaller's Week 1 fantasy football tight end (TE) rankings for half-PPR and 2025. Win more with our TE fantasy football rankings for Week 1 lineups.

Tight ends are always the trickiest position to navigate and analyze for fantasy football, so we're here to help with our Week 1 fantasy football tight end rankings for 2025. To help you set your Week 1 lineups at TE, check the rankings below to see the opening-week pecking order and where key pass-catchers like Mark Andrews, T.J. Hockenson, Dallas Goedert, Jake Ferguson, Tyler Warren, Kyle Pitts, and Zach Ertz stand.

Our tight end fantasy football rankings for Week 1 are put together by Nick Mariano. Below the rankings, you will also find a summary of the important TE fantasy football news for this week. There are always key injuries and developments to keep track of, so check back throughout the week for updates.

Be sure to bookmark our fantasy football rankings portal and check back regularly for updates. Most importantly, our free mobile app is a must-have - download it and configure your push notifications. We deliver all the top NFL news, injuries, and fantasy analysis 24x7 with our free push notification alerts... all for free!

Week 1 Tight End Rankings for Fantasy Football

Bookmark our PPR rankings, Half-PPR rankings, and standard (non-PPR) rankings 

Week 1 Fantasy Football Tight End News and Outlooks

Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars third-year tight end Brenton Strange is listed as the team's starting option on the official Week 1 depth chart. Strange appeared in all 17 games last season but played just 55.6% of Jacksonville's overall snaps. Even with ex-teammate Evan Engram missing a good chunk of the season (eight games), the 24-year-old never consistently impacted the field.

In 2025, Strange will get the opportunity to be more productive than his 40/411/2 line from last season, though he'll face stiff target competition in wide receivers Brian Thomas Jr. and rookie Travis Hunter. There is a way to go before the Penn State product reaches fantasy relevance (RotoBaller's PPR TE20 in Week 1), but he could provide some spike weeks this season as the potential third option in the Jags' passing attack. He's a more intriguing asset in best ball and dynasty formats for now.

Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton (groin) was listed as a limited practice participant on Wednesday, according to Brianna Dix of Buccaneers.com. Otton suffered a groin injury last week, which could make him questionable to play in the Week 1 regular-season opener this Sunday against the division-rival Atlanta Falcons. The 26-year-old also missed time early in training camp with a hamstring injury, so it hasn't exactly been a great summer for him.

When fully healthy, Otton has TE2 appeal in fantasy leagues in a pass-happy Buccaneers offense. He might need to upgrade to a full practice on Thursday or Friday to avoid a questionable tag heading into Sunday. If Otton is out or limited at all this weekend, Tampa is expected to roll with a committee approach at the TE position that would involve Payne Durham, Ko Kieft, and Devin Culp.

Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely (foot) was not seen practicing on Wednesday with the rest of the team, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Likely was on the field early and was talking with head coach John Harbaugh, but then he went inside early. The 25-year-old tight end has not practiced since having surgery to fix a small fracture in his left foot that he suffered near the start of training camp at the end of July, and he's not expected to be available for Week 1 this Sunday night against the Buffalo Bills.

However, the Ravens are still expecting Likely to be available early in the season, which is why he avoided Injured Reserve to start the year. Likely will likely be ruled out for Week 1 on Friday, which means fellow TE Mark Andrews should be a must-start TE1 in fantasy lineups to kick things off as one of quarterback Lamar Jackson's most trusted targets.

Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson has the potential to be a big-time contributor in fantasy football this season, but Week 1 might not be the week to start him. On one hand, there's merit behind the idea that Ferguson could benefit from the Cowboys throwing the football a lot, assuming they fall behind early. However, he still faces an uphill battle to produce against an Eagles defense that shut down the tight end position last year.

Through 17 games in 2024, Philadelphia's defense allowed the fewest receiving yards, third-fewest catches, and third-fewest fantasy points to tight ends. Ferguson likely doesn't have the top-tier talent that's required to buck that trend. After all, in his two games against the Eagles last year, he totaled seven catches for a measly 42 yards. Additionally, each of his two fumbles last season came against Philadelphia. He ranks outside the top 12 at his position this week.

Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans

The Houston Texans restructured tight end Dalton Schultz's $36 million contract for salary cap purposes on Tuesday, a league source told Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Sports. Schultz will make the same $11.508 million this year through a simple conversion of his $11 million base salary into a signing bonus that lowers his salary cap figure. He will be due $11 million in 2026 under the three-year extension he signed in 2024.

The 29-year-old had 53 catches on 85 targets for 532 yards and only two touchdowns in 17 regular-season games (13 starts) in 2024 in his second year with the team. It was a disappointing showing for fantasy managers, especially when considering the injuries to Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell. His numbers last year were his fewest since his second year in the league in 2019 with Dallas. Schultz enters Week 1 against the Rams as a low-end TE2 in fantasy.

Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert enters the 2025 season after a bumpy road last year. Goedert got just nine full games under his belt while dealing with injuries, racking up 496 yards and two touchdowns on 42 catches. His highlight performance was a 10-catch game for 170 yards in Week 3, but unfortunately for fantasy managers, he didn't see real consistency until the playoffs came around. Goedert's opponent on Thursday is the Dallas Cowboys, a team that held him to just 25 yards and two catches in the one meeting they had in 2024.

Goedert still has fantasy value; he had the third-highest target percentage inside the 10-yard line for the Eagles last season (behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith) and tied for the second-highest inside the 20. Given his looks in the red zone and his strong stretch towards the end of their Super Bowl run, Goedert lands as a high-end TE2 going into the season opener.

More Fantasy Football Analysis