Top 10 Fantasy TE Seasons of 2017
Kelce led all tight ends in 2017 for Kansas City, posting 234 points over 16 games, just ahead of Gronkowski (225) of New England and Ertz (202) of Philadelphia. The 2017 tight end class stands out for how completely Kelce separated himself from the field, a gap the rest of the top ten never came close to closing.
The complete 2017 tight end top ten
Below is the full list of the top 10 fantasy TE seasons of 2017, ranked by total fantasy points, with each player's team, games played, points, points per game, and best single week.
| Rank | Player | Team | Games | Points | Points Per Game | Best Week | | 1 | Travis Kelce | Kansas City Chiefs | 16 | 234 | 15 | 26 | | 2 | Rob Gronkowski | New England Patriots | 16 | 225 | 14 | 26 | | 3 | Zach Ertz | Philadelphia Eagles | 16 | 202 | 13 | 26 | | 4 | Delanie Walker | Tennessee Titans | 16 | 174 | 11 | 17 | | 5 | Evan Engram | New York Giants | 16 | 174 | 11 | 23 | | 6 | Jimmy Graham | Seattle Seahawks | 16 | 169 | 11 | 21 | | 7 | Jack Doyle | Indianapolis Colts | 16 | 169 | 11 | 30 | | 8 | Kyle Rudolph | Minnesota Vikings | 16 | 158 | 10 | 22 | | 9 | Jason Witten | Dallas Cowboys | 16 | 149 | 9 | 26 | | 10 | Cameron Brate | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 16 | 143 | 9 | 20 |
How far ahead of the pack was Travis Kelce?
The top of the 2017 board was really two tiers wearing one jersey group. Kelce recorded 234 points, with Gronkowski at 225 and Ertz at 202, while the other seven tight ends in the top ten each finished with fewer points than that trio. The drop after Ertz is the sharpest feature of the season: Delanie Walker and Evan Engram landed at 174, and from there the table slides in small steps down to Cameron Brate at 143. In other words, the distance between first place and third place was smaller than the distance between third place and fourth.
Kelce's per-game column backs up the ranking rather than complicating it. His 15 points per game led the position, Gronkowski followed at 14, and Ertz at 13, so the three players who dominated the totals also dominated the averages. For fantasy managers in 2017, the tight end decision at the top of drafts was essentially a choice among three names, with everything after that available at a similar level of production.
Where the middle of the 2017 tight end board bunched up
The middle of the 2017 table is defined by ties. Delanie Walker and Evan Engram posted identical totals at 174 points and 11 points per game, and Jimmy Graham and Jack Doyle matched each other exactly at 169 and 11. That clustering meant fantasy managers who missed on the top three were choosing among players whose season-long output was nearly interchangeable on paper, with best-week upside the only real separator.
Evan Engram's presence at number 5 as a member of the New York Giants is one of the more notable entries, and Jack Doyle of the Indianapolis Colts out-performed several bigger names from the number 7 slot. Kyle Rudolph of the Minnesota Vikings at 158, Jason Witten of the Dallas Cowboys at 149, and Cameron Brate of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 143 rounded out a bottom half where totals sat close together and no single player created separation.
The best weeks that defined 2017 at tight end
The best-week column gives the 2017 season its character. Jack Doyle posted the largest single week of any tight end, a 30-point outing that stood above even Kelce's best. Kelce, Gronkowski, Ertz, and Witten each peaked at 26, while Engram hit 23, Rudolph 22, Graham 21, Brate 20, and Walker 17. Doyle's 30 is the number that jumps off the page, because it came from a player who finished seventh in total points, not first.
That split between the biggest week and the best season is the lesson of 2017 for tight ends. Kelce won the year on week-to-week consistency at 15 points per game, while Doyle's season contained the highest spike at the position. Fantasy managers who chased the spike got one great week; fantasy managers who drafted the consistency got the number one season.
Common questions
Who had the best fantasy TE season in 2017?
- Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs had the best fantasy tight end season of 2017, finishing first at the position with 234 fantasy points in 16 games, 15 points per game, and a best week of 26.
How many fantasy points did Rob Gronkowski score in 2017?
- Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots scored 225 fantasy points in 2017, second among tight ends, with 14 points per game across 16 games and a best week of 26.
- Three tight ends topped 174 fantasy points in 2017: Travis Kelce at 234, Rob Gronkowski at 225, and Zach Ertz of the Philadelphia Eagles at 202. No other tight end in the top ten reached that mark.
Which tight end had the biggest single fantasy week in 2017?
- Jack Doyle of the Indianapolis Colts had the biggest single week among top ten tight ends in 2017 with a 30-point best week, even though he finished seventh for the season with 169 total points.
Was Evan Engram a top 5 fantasy tight end in 2017?
- Yes. Evan Engram of the New York Giants finished fifth among tight ends in 2017 with 174 fantasy points, 11 points per game, and a best week of 23, tied on points with Delanie Walker of the Tennessee Titans.
How did Jason Witten finish among fantasy tight ends in 2017?
- Jason Witten of the Dallas Cowboys finished ninth among tight ends in 2017 with 149 fantasy points, 9 points per game, and a best week of 26.