Fantasy Football Rankings 2021: Top 5 rookie tight ends
By Drew DeLuca
Examining the top five rookie tight ends to target in fantasy football for dynasty leagues and otherwise in the 2021 season.
Earlier this offseason, we reviewed and ranked the top fantasy football quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers from this year’s rookie class. Now that the dust has settled from the 2021 NFL Draft and free agency, we highlight the top rookie tight ends.
Unless you’ve spent the last several months hibernating in a cave along the Arctic Coast, you know that Florida’s Kyle Pitts is the top-rated tight end in this class. We’re not spoiling the reveal of our top-ranked tight end by telling you this, just assuring perfectly sane dynasty fantasy football enthusiasts that we’re not trolling for attention with an obscene “hot take.”
But which other rookie tight ends might deserve a look from fantasy football managers?
Fantasy Football Rankings: Other rookie tight ends just missing the top 5
Before we break down fantasy football’s Top 5 rookie tight ends for the 2021 season and beyond, we’ll examine two under-the-radar options at the position. We start with Kenny Yeboah, a transfer from Temple, who has the frame to be an every-down tight end if he can improve his below-average blocking skills.
Signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Jets after the 2021 NFL Draft, the 6-4, 250-pounder from Allentown, PA opened a lot of eyes with a productive 2020 season at Ole Miss, averaging over 19 yards per reception while finding paydirt six times (27-524-6). Yeboah joins a tight end room led by perennial disappointment Chris Herndon, a collection that also features unspectacular veterans like Tyler Kroft and Ryan Griffin.
Meanwhile, Tre’ McKitty (6-4, 246 pounds) has shown flashes as a receiver and offers decent size and speed at the position. According to Bob McGinn of The Athletic, McKitty also impressed scouts this spring with both the size of his hands (biggest in class) and strength; his 23 reps in the bench press were tops among all rookie tight ends.
After three somewhat productive years at Florida State, McKitty transferred to Georgia, where he caught only six passes in his final collegiate campaign. McKitty, a Round 3 selection by the Los Angeles Chargers, should immediately see work on running downs as a blocking tight end.
The rookie’s development should be aided by the presence of veteran Jared Cook, who inked a one-year deal with the Chargers earlier this season. Cook should serve as a positional leader and mentor for both McKitty and second-year Gigantor Donald Parham; both young players offer intriguing upside and represent the future of the tight end position for the Chargers.