The NFL’s 11 best tight ends

In the 2022 NFL season, quarterbacks attempted passes with two tight ends on the field 3,251 times, which was 17,1% of all dropbacks. Quarterbacks threw touchdown passes on 20% of their attempts (158) with two tight ends on the field, and interceptions on just 13:3% of their passes with two tight ends on the field. That’s reflective to a point that teams prefer heavier personnel in the red zone, but the ways in which teams are deploying multiple tight ends these days does create issues for enemy defenses all over the field.

Quarterbacks had three tight ends on the field on 2.6% of their passing attempts (479), and they threw 35 touchdowns (4.4%) to just 10 interceptions (2.2%). And it may surprise you to know that the Chiefs led the league in passes with three tight ends on the field with 68; the Texans ranked second with 42. In those instances, Patrick Mahomes had 67 of those attempts, and he completed 51 passes for 731 yards, 341 air yards, 11 touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 150.6.

So, it’s safe to say that tight ends matter a lot in the passing game — even and especially the most expansive and explosive ones. That obviously varies for each team, but when looking at the best tight ends in the NFL today, we see players that aren’t just important parts of their offenses; in many cases, they’re Option 1 for their quarterbacks.

And as we evaluated the 11 best tight ends in the league today, here were the necessities:

It’s a fascinating position in the NFL, and here are the 11 best to do it as we head into the 2023 season. You can also read our other position lists with the links below — all leading up to our list of the 101 best players in the NFL today.

The NFL’s 12 best interior offensive linemenThe NFL’s 11 best offensive tacklesThe NFL’s 11 best interior defensive linemenThe NFL’s 11 best edge defendersThe NFL’s 11 best linebackersThe NFL’s 11 best slot defendersThe NFL’s 11 best cornerbacksThe NFL’s 11 best safeties

And now, here are the NFL’s 11 best tight ends.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated).

(Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)

More has always been expected of Njoku since the Browns took him out of Miami with the 29th pick in the 2017 draft than Njoku has actually produced — since his rookie season, he ranks 18th among tight ends in targets (320), 21st in receptions (206), 17th in receiving yards (2,382), and 17th in touchdowns (17). He also ranks 16th in yards per reception (11.6) over that time, so even his explosive potential has not always shown on the field. Injuries have been an issue. Cleveland’s quarterbacks have been an issue. The bottom line is that Njoku has not reached the heights expected of him, and after six NFL seasons, it’s easy to approach him with the “bust” label as a result.

It’s also easy to overlook that in 2022, Njoku quietly had a good season. He caught 58 passes on 79 targets for 628 yards and four touchdowns, and last season, he may have been the team’s most consistent deep weapon. Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones had more catches of 20 or more air yards, but Njoku’s four deep receptions on just nine targets revealed a hit rate those other guys didn’t have. Does that justify his status as the NFL’s seventh highest-paid tight end on a per-year contract basis? Probably not, but we have to deal with what’s on the field here.

Njoku has always had a fearsome combination of size (6-foot-4, 246 pounds) and athleticism, and both showed up on this 21-yard catch against the Bills in Week 11, when he found the void in Buffalo’s Cover-4 on the crosser, and vaulted over safety Jordan Poyer for good measure.

Njoku can also create big plays as the iso guy to his side — he’s not necessarily reliant on others to create space for him. On this 33-yard catch against the Patriots in Week 6, Njoku gave safety Kyle Dugger fits as Dugger tried to cover him downfield.

(Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)

There are times when you wonder about coaches realizing what their players can do, even if they’re brilliant coaches. We heard through the 2022 season that Gesicki wasn’t an ideal fit for new head coach Mike McDaniel’s offense, and while I’m not going to impugn McDaniels’ offensive wisdom, this one had me shaking my head a bit. The doghouse was an obvious thing, though — Gesicki started just one game in 2022 after starting nine in each of his two prior seasons, and his productivity went down as a result. Last season, he caught just 32 passes on 52 targets for 362 yards — but he also scored five touchdowns. This was a major step down from his 2021 season of 73 receptions on 113 targets for 780 yards and just two touchdowns.

Bill Belichick, who knows a thing or two about how to use tight ends in his offenses, snapped Gesicki up on a one-year, $4.5 million deal with $4.5 million available in incentives. We’d bet on Gesicki making those incentives.

Gesicki isn’t a burner, but he has a great understanding of how to get open in zones, and how to press man coverage. And in the red zone, those attributes seem to magnify. Gesicki had 14 red zone targets last season, and six of them went for touchdowns. Belichick probably remembered this Week 17 score against New England, when Gesicki went through about half of his defense on a scramble drill.

Gesicki also caught five passes of 20 or more air yards on nine targets for 121 yards and a touchdown, so again… we are not sure what Miami’s issue with him was. On this 32-yard reception against the Jets in Week 18, Gesicki ran through Gang Green’s Cover-6, and brought the ball in despite a serious hit from cornerback Michael Carter.

This is exactly what Belichick has done for years — taking the undervalued assets of other teams, and blowing them up in his own environs. You’d think the Dolphins might have learned from that whole Wes Welker thing…

(Syndication: Florida Times-Union)

The Giants selected Engram with the 23rd pick in the 2017 draft out of Mississippi, and while he showed potential in his five seasons with Big Blue, Engram was able to unleash new chapters of the story in his first year with the Jaguars after signing a one-year, $9 million contract with Jacksonville for the 2022 season. In Doug Pederson’s offense, and with Trevor Lawrence throwing him the ball, Engram set career highs in targets (114), catches (85), and receiving yards (890). His six touchdowns was only outstripped by the seven he scored in his rookie year.

Pederson certainly had a knack for deploying tight ends when he was calling the offensive shots for the Eagles, and Engram became his primary tool last season. Four of his catches and two of his touchdowns came on passes of 20 or more air yards, and on this 22-yard score against the Broncos in Week 8, Engram scalded Denver’s Cover-3 as the inside slot target in bunch left o a seam fade ball. Engram’s acceleration off the line and get-up speed downfield, and the route combination designed by Pederson and his staff, made life quite difficult for safety Kareem Jackson.

Engram isn’t primarily a blocker, but he’s not averse to throwing the occasional haymaker, as he did against the Jets in Week 16. You have to love a tight end who will take a defensive end (Micheal Clemons in this case) and level him with technique.

How important is Engram to the Jaguars’ 2023 season? He was first given the franchise tag, and then given a new three-year, $41.25 million contract, making him the sixth highest-paid player on a per-year basis at his position in the NFL.

(Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports)

Injuries cost Pitts seven games after his 1,000-yard rookie season in 2021, but that wasn’t the main thing holding back the kind of productivity you’d expect from a man with his freaky athletic gifts. The main problem with Pitts’ second NFL season was a quarterback situation starring Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder that game Pitts absolutely no margin for error. Pitts caught just 28 passes on 56 targets for 356 yards and two touchdowns in 2022, and nobody with his athletic profile should have just one catch on 14 targets of 20 or more air yards. That’s some historic futility for any tight end, and it’s tough to find a deep miss that was Pitts’ fault.

It was like watching Pitts’ Florida tape all over again, when Kyle Trask was throwing him helium balls, and Pitts had to do everything to make something out of nothing.

Why Florida TE Kyle Pitts will be even better in the NFL

I mean… come on, you guys. Get this man a quarterback.

When Pitts was given a fraction of a chance to get the ball and get upfield, he was still maxing out his opportunities, which is why he’s on this list. How long it will be before he’s allowed to be the player he can he is a point of conjecture, but the potential is obvious.

(Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports)

You don’t often see a team trade a primary offensive weapon to a division rival in-season, but that’s exactly what happened last November 1, when the Lions traded Hockenson to the Vikings for second- and fourth-round picks in 2023, and 2024 fourth-round and conditional fourth-round picks. Hockenson, selected with the eighth pick in the 2019 draft out of Iowa, had caught 26 passes on 41 targets for 395 yards and three touchdowns for Detroit, and then want on to nab 70 passes on 92 targets for 648 yards and three touchdowns for the Vikings. All told, it was Hockenson’s best season to date, and Vikings head coach and offensive shot-caller Kevin O’Connell was able to do all kinds of things with his new roving tight end.

The Giants threw some Quarters coverage at the Viking in the wild-card round of the playoffs, and though the Vikings lost that game, it seemed that every time Kirk Cousins faced Cover-4, the idea was to get the ball to Hockenson, and let him cook some poor defender who was in a bad place. This Stunt-Fu blitz from the mind of Wink Martindale gave Hockenson an opening over the middle if he could scald cornerback Darnay Holmes, and Hockenson accomplished that feat with little trouble.

If an NFL tight end went to Iowa, you can assume he’s got a lot of blocking experience, and Hockenson might be underrated in his regard. His work to seal the edge on this 14-yard Alexander Mattison touchdown run in Week 13 against the Jets proves the theory.

The only question for the Vikings now is when they’ll pull the trigger on Hockenson’s second contract — he’s a bargain at a guaranteed $9,329 million in the last year of his rookie contract, but the price is about to go up.

(Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports)

The NFL is more of a passing league than it has ever been, and you have to adjust for eras when you do things like this, but still… it’s quite something that after just two seasons with the Steelers since the team selected him with the 55th pick in the 2021 draft, Freiermuth already ranks fourth among Steelers tight ends in targets (177), fifth in receptions (123), sixth in receiving yards (1,223). and sixth in receiving touchdowns (nine).

Not bad for a guy on a franchise that’s been around since 1933.

Last season, in a passing game that could generously be referred to as “restrictive,” Freiermuth caught 63 passes on 96 targets for 732 yards and two touchdowns. He was a big-play machine when big plays were allowed to happen, and in his case, we’ll drill down to his stats against zone coverage — 45 catches on 58 targets for 504 yards. Like all of the NFL’s top tight ends, Freiermuth has an instinctive understanding of how to open up zones, and as he showed on this 57-yard catch against the Falcons in which 48 yards came after the catch, he’s no picnic to bring down when he has the ball.

And if you need a tight end who can unravel a linebacker or safety up the seam, Freiermuth has no issue doing that, as he showed on this 21-yard skinny post against the Dolphins in Week 7. Here, Freiermuth also showed his knack for winning contested catches, and taking the ball even when he’s about to encounter contact.

(Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports)

Goedert has been an important part of the Eagles’ offense since the team selected him with the 49th pick in the 2018 draft out of South Dakota State, and that was the case again in 2022, when Philly ran one of the NFL’s most explosive and diverse offenses. With all the talk about the offensive line, and Jalen Hurts as a thrower and a runner, and the dynamic receiver duo of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith — all of it justified — Goedert fell a bit under the radar last season.

He caught 71 passes on 85 targets for 843 yards and four touchdowns, and while he wasn’t a deep receiver of import (one deep catch on three targets), he was quite effective at getting and staying open in intermediate situations — on throws of 10-19 air yards, he caught 18 passes on 23 targets for 324 yards and a touchdown.

Throwing Cover-3 at Goedert, as the Cardinals did in Week 5, was generally a recipe for disaster. Goedert has impressive acceleration off the snap, and he uses it to singe defenses at all three levels. It’s not that Goedert can’t roll deep — it’s more that those explosive targets generally went elsewhere.

And let us not forget this contested catch against the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, which a lot of Chiefs fans are still wondering about its catch status. Catch or not, Goedert’s ability to leverage safety Justin Reid on the crosser was top-tier.

You may not hear Goedert’s name as often as you should, but don’t be surprised when he makes multiple big plays for the Eagles’ offense in 2023, just like he has for the last half-decade.

(Syndication: The Record)

The Raiders traded Waller to the Giants in March for the 100th pick in the 2023 draft as part of Josh McDaniels’ “Well, what the hell is he doing now?” personnel strategy. Waller never fell on the right side of McDaniels’ doghouse, and while the Raiders did select Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer with the 35th overall pick as a more traditional tight end, there’s no way the offense won’t miss Waller’s athletic potential — and it’s quite exciting to see what Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka will do with him.

Last season, Waller played in just nine games, starting six, and he managed 28 catches on 42 targets for 388 yards and three touchdowns when hamstring issues weren’t getting in the way. Waller also tied with George Kittle of the 49ers for the most catches of 20 or more air yards with seven — again, in limited duty. He did so despite a quarterback situation that seriously devolved as the season went along.

Waller can be his own man-beater at times because of his combination of size and agility — on this 24-yard catch against 2-Man facing the Chiefs in Week 18, he bullied linebacker Darius Harris to get open, and then had Harris wheezing to catch up on the crosser.

Generally speaking, Waller is a Big Problem to deal with in any contested-catch situation because he can bend his 6-foot-6, 255-pound frame however he needs to in order to make the defender (or defenders) look silly. This Week 2 red zone touchdown against the Cardinals proves the point.

(Jessica Rapfogel-USA TODAY Sports)

Last season, Travis Kelce was the most prolific tight end against both man and zone coverage, because Travis Kelce is the best tight end of his era. (Spoiler alert: He’s No. 1 on this list). But against man coverage in 2022, Andrews was the second-most prolific at his position, with 32 catches on 45 targets for 392 yards and three touchdowns. Overall, and in an offense where three different quarterbacks (Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley, and Anthony Brown) took meaningful snaps, Andrews caught 78 passes on 119 targets for 920 yards and five touchdowns.

One would hope that with a healthy Lamar Jackson, and a more explosive series of passing concepts under new offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Andrews can reach the heights he did in the 2021 season, when he set career highs with 107 catches on 149 targets for 1,361 yards. His nine touchdowns in 2021 fell short of his career-high 10 in 2019 campaign, but the point still stands — Andrews has become one of the best at his position, and that status should stand for a while.

There weren’t a lot of explosive plays for any receiver in Greg Roman’s offense in 2022, but Andrews did his best to create them, with four receptions on passes of 20 or more air yards. Whether he was beating defenses on intermediate or deep balls, Andrews’ ability to physically dominate defenders through the route and win contested-catch situations were quite important in that offense. Andrews drove the Bengals nuts with this stuff in Baltimore’s wild-card loss; this 25-yard catch had Andrews bodying safety Jessie Bates, and winning at the catch point.

And you weren’t going to get on the field much in Roman’s compressed, run-heavy playbook if you couldn’t block. Andrews qualified quite nicely in that regard, and however Monken changes the offense, Andrews has a lot of great blocking reps in his quiver, as was the case on this Kenyan Drake 30-yard touchdown run in Week 6 against the Giants.

(Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports)

Last season, the 49ers went 13-4 and made it to the NFC Championship game despite a quarterback situation that included Jimmy Garoppolo, Trey Lance, Brock Purdy, and Josh Johnson. That the team was able to go as far as it did without a defined elite starter is a testament to head coach and offensive shot-caller Kyle Shanahan’s vision, and it’s also a statement about how important George Kittle is to that offense. Kittle missed the first two games of the 2022 season due to injury and took a minute to get back on track, but in the end, it was another highly productive season — 70 catches on 90 targets for 929 yards and 11 touchdowns.

One underrated aspect of Kittle’s game last season was his ability as a deep receiver; he tied with Darren Waller for the NFL lead among tight ends with seven receptions on passes of 20 or more air yards. Kittle got those seven catches on just 10 targets; Waller took 15 targets to get his.

Two of those deep receptions came in the 49ers’ divisional round win against the Cowboys, and this 30-yarder was the most impressive. Kittle started the play blocking in the slide, saw Purdy drifting out of the pocket, and made up a route on the fly, concluding the play with an acrobatic catch.

Kittle also might be the best blocking tight end in the NFL today; certainly the best blocking tight end at his level of production. If you would like to know more, ask Maxx Crosby of the Raiders, who got himself pushed right out of the picture by No. 85 on this Week 17 rep.

(Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

Over the last five NFL seasons, Kelce hasn’t just been the league’s most productive tight end — he’s been just that by an absolutely crushing margin. He has 717 targets; Zach Ertz ranks second with 544. He has 507 receptions in that time; Ertz ranks second with 361. He has 6,444 recieving yards in that time; George Kittle ranks second with 4,739. And he has 47 receiving touchdowns in that time; Mark Andrews ranks second with 34.

So, it’s not just that Kelce has been the ultimate force multiplier at the position for a season or two; he’s been That Guy for years. Last season, the Chiefs had the NFL’s most passing snaps with 13 personnel (78 snaps); the Texans ranked second with 47, and Patrick Mahomes had 11 touchdowns and no interceptions with three tight ends on the field.

None of that would have worked without Kelce’s greatness. Kelce will turn 34 on October 5, and he’s not at all the speedster he once was, but he’s so good at exploiting matchups, it just doesn’t matter.

On this 39-yard touchdown against the Rams in Week 12, Kelce demolished half of Los Angeles’ defense, starting with the fact that he turned Jalen Ramsey completely around on an option route. This is one way to turn 13 personnel in to a real problem for any defense.

And if you want to beat quarters coverage (a must in today’s NFL), one of the best ways to do that is to have Kelce run right up the middle, and singe the gaps between linebacker and safeties. This 22-yard catch in Super Bowl LVII was a perfect example.

Kelce’s status as the best tight end in the game today is uncontested. His Hall of Fame credentials become more and more difficult to deny, and at this point, he’s playing for his space in the all-time Pantheon at the position.

(Syndication: Democrat and Chronicle)

Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills

Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears

Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans

Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams

Hunter Henry, New England Patriots

Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints

Sign up for the Touchdown Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning