PFF receiving grades: The best tight ends from the 2022 NFL season

With the 2022 NFL season in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look back at some of the top performers in various categories.

PFF receiving grade goes beyond basic metrics, encompassing the overall performance of a player running routes in the passing game. Here are the top 10 tight ends (with a minimum of 50 targets) in PFF receiving grade from the 2022 regular season and playoffs.

1. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

PFF RECEIVING GRADE: 91.6

Kelce was in a tier of his own at the position this past season. He forced 24 missed tackles over the campaign, 10 more than the next-closest tight end.

2. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

PFF RECEIVING GRADE: 87.8

Kittle didn’t see the volume that Kelce did, as he saw just 80 targets throughout the regular season. He made the most of them, however, pulling in 60 receptions and forcing 10 missed tackles.

3. Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles

PFF RECEIVING GRADE: 83.5

Goedert has been consistent since entering the NFL as a second-round pick in 2018, producing 70.0-plus receiving grades in all five of his seasons in the NFL. The 2022 season was his second-most productive season in terms of receiving yardage and receiving grade.

4. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens

PFF RECEIVING GRADE: 79.4

Lamar Jackson’s top target in Baltimore, Andrews was still one of the best tight ends in football in 2022, pulling in 73 receptions for 847 yards from 110 targets.

5. David Njoku, Cleveland Browns

PFF RECEIVING GRADE: 78.7

Njoku earned a career-high receiving grade this past season, producing 628 yards on 58 receptions and forcing six missed tackles.

6. Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers

PFF RECEIVING GRADE: 78.3

Freiermuth has been impressively consistent over his first two seasons in the NFL. In 2022, he forced 11 missed tackles from 63 receptions after forcing 11 from 60 as a rookie in 2021.

7. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons

PFF RECEIVING GRADE: 76.6

Injury and a lack of targets hampered Pitts’ overall production in 2022, but his work when he saw his share of the ball in Atlanta should give fans and fantasy football managers cause for optimism. Pitts averaged 12.7 yards per reception, third among tight ends.

8. T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings

PFF RECEIVING GRADE: 76.4

Hockenson switched teams within the NFC North during the 2022 season and still finished the year with a top-10 receiving grade at the position. Only Travis Kelce had more receiving yards than the 914 produced by the former first-round pick out of Iowa.

9. Austin Hooper, Tennessee Titans

PFF RECEIVING GRADE: 74.6

Hooper followed up a disappointing stint in Cleveland with one of the best years of his career with the Tennessee Titans. After dropping six passes with the Browns in 2021, Hooper spilled just one of his 42 catchable targets in 2022.

10. Gerald Everett, Los Angeles Chargers

PFF RECEIVING GRADE: 73.4

Only Travis Kelce forced more missed tackles as a receiver than the 14 Everett forced on just 58 receptions for the Chargers in 2022. Everett racked up 555 yards on those 58 receptions, coming on 82 targets in the Chargers offense.