- George Kittle cashes in after another excellent season: The 49ers' star tight end is now the highest-paid player at the position — and comes in at No. 1 on this list of the top 32 tight ends ahead of the 2025 season.
- Is Brock Bowers coming for the top spot? The 2024 first-round pick put together a historic rookie season and is poised to continue to do damage this season.
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Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes
A year ago, the top four tight ends on this list were all on teams that reached the conference championship games. This year, none of the top six tight ends' teams accomplished the feat. Regardless, the position remains one of the most valuable to team success and is generally one of the most difficult to develop at the NFL level. A top-tier receiving tight end can transform any NFL offense and is a nightmare matchup for defenses.
Here are the top 32 tight ends for 2025.
Click below for PFF's other rankings:
QB | RB | WR | TE | T | G | C | DI | EDGE | LB | CB | S
1. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
Kittle has been one of the best tight ends in the game for nearly a decade and was handsomely rewarded by the 49ers this offseason with a big contract extension. The NFL's highest-graded tight end over the past two seasons (92.0), Kittle is the most complete player at his position in the NFL. He has earned an 84.7 PFF overall grade or better in seven straight seasons.
2. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
You might argue that this is a generous ranking for Bowers after one season in the NFL, but a changing of the guard may be near after what he accomplished as a rookie. The Georgia product ranked second in PFF WAR and third in PFF overall grade in 2024. Despite dealing with arguably the worst quarterback room in the NFL, he produced an all-time rookie season.
Highest-Graded Tight Ends in 2024
3. Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
After a slow start to his career, McBride broke out in Week 8 of 2023 against the Ravens for 10 catches and 95 yards. It was only a taste of what was to come, as he’s graded as the second-best tight end in the NFL since then (87.5). With quarterback Kyler Murray healthy, McBride has been a favorite target and has generated the third-most PFF WAR over the past two years.
4. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
While the final impression Andrews left in last season's playoffs was not good, he remains one of the best tight ends in the NFL when healthy. Andrews entered the NFL and shined in a limited role as a rookie and has not posted a sub-80.0 regular-season PFF overall grade since.
5. Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
After a fantastic rookie season in which LaPorta turned 118 targets into 86 catches, 889 yards, 10 touchdowns and an 81.0 PFF receiving grade in the regular season, the Lions‘ offense spread the wealth around more and the tight end's numbers dipped in a perceived down second season. The reality is that he played at a similar level, earning a 79.1 PFF receiving grade and remaining one of the best tight ends in the game.
6. T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
After missing the first eight weeks of the season, Hockenson picked up right where he left off, producing the second-highest PFF receiving grade of his career (78.9). Fantasy football managers were disappointed he found the end zone just once, in the playoffs, but despite missing half of the 2024 season, Hockenson has generated the ninth-most PFF WAR over the past two seasons among his peers.
7. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
While Kelce has been the second-most-valuable tight end over the past two seasons, per PFF WAR, 2024 represented the lowest-graded season of his career (71.7). Age looks to be catching up to the future Hall of Famer, as his 91.4 PFF overall grade from 2022 appears to be a thing of the past.
8. Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
Goedert’s PFF grades have dipped in the past two years compared to the first five seasons of his career, but he remains one of the best in the game. Competing for touches in the Eagles‘ offense, Goedert earned a 75.8 PFF receiving grade in 2024 and is tied for 12th in PFF WAR across the past two seasons.
9. Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens
With Mark Andrews struggling to return from injury at the beginning of the 2024 season, Likely stepped up to provide a security blanket for Lamar Jackson and the Ravens' offense. As Andrews worked his way to 100%, Likely became less of a focal point but still showcased true top-tier skills and talent at the position, earning a career-high 77.0 PFF receiving grade in 2024.
10. Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
Kincaid is another second-year tight end whose production declined from his rookie season, but he has still generated the ninth-most PFF WAR across the past two seasons. His 71.1 PFF receiving grade in 2024 was actually better than his rookie-season mark, but he saw 20 fewer targets and caught 31 fewer passes.
11. Evan Engram, Denver Broncos
Engram missed multiple games due to injury in 2024, and the Jaguars as a whole disappointed, resulting in roster and coaching changes. But Engram is just one season removed from a monster 114-reception 2023 campaign in which he earned a 73.2 PFF receiving grade. He now gets paired with one of the best play-callers of the 21st century in Sean Payton.
12. Jonnu Smith, Miami Dolphins
After moving around the NFL over the past five years, Smith found a home in Miami in 2024. He posted a career-high 84.0 PFF receiving grade and caught a career-high 88 passes for 886 yards and eight touchdowns. If the Dolphins can avoid the injury bug in 2025, Smith should enjoy another top-tier season.
13. Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
Schultz has, perhaps surprisingly, produced the seventh-most PFF WAR over the past two seasons while serving as a reliable weapon for quarterback CJ Stroud. Schultz dropped two passes in 2024 and has just 20 drops in his seven-year career. He has gained 615 receiving yards in five straight seasons.
14. Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints
Hill is difficult to place on this list, as he’s less a tight end and more a do-everything player. And he's also coming off a torn ACL in 2024. When healthy, Hill has to be accounted for on every play: He’s a threat as a passer, a runner and a receiver. He has earned a 71.8 PFF overall grade or better in four straight seasons.
15. David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
After a breakout 2023 season in which he caught 88 passes for 975 yards, Njoku dealt with injuries and a shuffling quarterback room in Cleveland on his way to a career-low 64.0 PFF overall grade this past season. If he can stay healthy with stability at the quarterback position in 2025, expect the athletic big man to flirt with 1,000 yards for the first time in his career.
16. Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
Henry has been one of the most consistent tight ends in the game since entering the league. Since 2019, he has put together four seasons with at least 600 receiving yards and a 72.2 PFF receiving grade. Over his nine-year career, Henry has dropped just 18 passes.
17. Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys
Ferguson looked like a tight end on the cusp of cracking the top 10 a year ago before the Cowboys' struggles and injuries caused the decline in production and grading for the third-year Wisconsin Badger. While Ferguson should enjoy a bounce-back 2025 campaign, his 56.6 PFF receiving grade and four fumbles in 2024 are worrisome for his outlook.
18. Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers
A potential rising star at the position, Kraft broke out in 2024 with 55 catches, 733 yards and seven touchdowns, resulting in a 71.0 PFF receiving grade. Impressively, the young South Dakota State product has dropped just four passes to start his career.
19. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
It’s time to come to reality with Pitts. His 1,026-yard rookie campaign was not a sign of things to come, but merely a blip on the radar for the athletic phenom. While he has posted at least 600 receiving yards in each of the past two years, he ranks just 15th at the position in total yards during that time and competes for targets in an offense that will spread the ball around to multiple other top-tier options.
20. Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Otton's Achilles' heel is drops. He has the third most (11) at the position across the past two years. His 63.1 PFF receiving grade in 2024 was a career high and also marks the first time he generated more than 1 yard per route run (1.31). If he can hang on to the ball (also three fumbles the past two years), Otton has the skills to rise on this list.
21. Josh Oliver, Minnesota Vikings
If there were a fantasy football league that prioritized run blocking, Oliver would be one of the first off the board. His 76.5 PFF run-blocking grade over the past two seasons ranks second at the position, behind George Kittle, and his 77.2 PFF overall grade ranks eighth.
22. Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
Freiermuth had a nice bounce-back season in 2024, logging a career-high 68 catches and seven touchdowns. He also dropped five passes and fumbled three times while breaking just six tackles. His 70.0 PFF receiving grade was good, but with uncertainty in the Steelers' quarterback room, his production might take another hit in 2025.
23. Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears
24. Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts
We're lumping the two first-round rookies together. Loveland and Warren were highly touted prospects and should be expected to produce immediately. Loveland was selected 10th overall after earning a 90.6 PFF receiving grade in 2024, while Warren went at No. 14 overall after posting a 93.4 PFF receiving grade. Time will tell how they adjust to the NFL.
25. Noah Fant, Seattle Seahawks
Fant has consistently generated yards throughout his six-year career, but his touchdown production has dropped off over the past two years. He earned a 70.2 PFF receiving grade in 2024 but could see a dip in his production if rookie Elijah Arroyo, Seattle’s second-round pick, is able to hit the ground running.
26. Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams
Higbee could be on his way out in a contract year after the Rams selected Oregon’s Terrance Ferguson in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He is coming off an injury-shortened 2024 season but has been productive when healthy. His 79.1 PFF receiving grade in 2024 shows he has good play left in the tank, but at 32 years old, his prime is behind him.
27. Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals signed Gesicki a year ago, and he earned his second-highest season-long PFF overall grade (71.5). With another season of catching passes from Joe Burrow, Gesicki is set to benefit from consistent quarterback play for the first time in his career.
28. Noah Gray, Kansas City Chiefs
Gray is reliable as a second tight end to Travis Kelce and is coming off a season in which he graded out better than his teammate. He notched a 73.2 PFF receiving grade in 2024 and set career highs in yards, touchdowns and catches.
29. Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
Kmet was great in 2023, recording a 77.7 PFF receiving grade, but his production and grading declined to his rookie levels in 2024. With the Bears drafting his presumed replacement, Colston Loveland, Kmet may see his production take an even bigger hit
30. Zach Ertz, Washington Commanders
While Ertz isn’t the same player we saw from 2013 to 2019, he enjoyed a resurgence while catching passes from Jayden Daniels in 2024. He hauled in 84 passes for 809 yards and eight touchdowns last season, and his 72.5 PFF receiving grade was his best mark since 2019, showing he still has good play left in the tank.
31. Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
Despite the Saints' bevy of injuries, including to quarterback Derek Carr, Johnson still managed 548 receiving yards and a 1.34 yards-per-route-run average in 2024. While New Orleans' quarterback situation doesn’t look any better in 2025, Johnson has shown to be a productive tight end regardless of his quarterback.
32. Will Dissly, Los Angeles Chargers
Dissly’s receiving profile is nothing to get excited about, but he is one of the best run blockers in the NFL at the position. His 72.3 PFF run blocking grade across the past two seasons ranks fourth among tight ends, helping him earn the 14th-best PFF overall grade. He did enjoy a career year as a receiver in 2024, catching a career-high 52 passes and 497 yards in his first season with the Chargers.
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