Who is the best tight end in fantasy football? It’s been a mixed bag of results during the 2024 NFL season, with Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews letting down fantasy football managers while others are thriving. As we do every week, our Week 8 fantasy TE rankings take you through the NFL stats you need to know and provide matchup evaluations. Let’s jump into our fantasy TE rankings for Week 8, evaluating the 15 best fantasy tight ends this week.
15. Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – vs Atlanta Falcons
The last time Cade Otton faced the Atlantan Falcons, he pulled in 3 receptions for 44 receiving yards. It was his third consecutive game with 40-plus receiving yards. While he is relegated to being the third option in this Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense, what matters to us is the good matchup and the fact that Baker Mayfield still targets Otton 4-8 times per game.
Related: Week 8 fantasy rankings, best QB, RB, WR and TEs this week
14. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens – @ Cleveland Browns
Mark Andrews has settled in after a rough start to the 2024 season, but this matchup and the presence of Isaiah Likely drop him in our Week 8 fantasy TE rankings. In seven contests this year, the Cleveland Browns have surrendered just 34.6 receiving yards per game with 0 touchdowns to tight ends. In what figures to be a low-scoring game, Andrews’ opportunities will be limited.
13. Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers – vs New York Giants
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback change did nothing to help Pat Freiermuth’s target share, as he saw just 3 targets for the third consecutive game. He did make a big play downfield, forever, clearing 50 receiving yards and he’s gone over 30 yards four times this season. Freiermuth can get you a handful of points, maybe he finds the end zone, but he’s a low-ceiling starter.
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12. Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers – @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Tucker Kraft came through for his fantasy football managers with a touchdown against the Houston Texans, the fourth time in four games he’s found the end zone. We also have to note that he’s drawn 5 receptions total in the last two weeks, with consecutive 50-plus yard performances (Weeks 4-5) looking more like outliers. Still, Kraft offers upside and you could do much worse at tight end.
11. Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions – vs Tennessee Titans
A regular near the top of fantasy TE rankings in his rookie season, there’s just no reason to put Sam LaPorta in that territory anymore. He is a big-play threat, averaging 16 yards per reception this season. However, he’s caught 2 passes on 3 targets combined in the last two games. There’s also no real incentive for the Detroit Lions offense to change because everything is working right now. LaPorta is purely an upside play, but the floor is in the basement.
Related: Week 8 fantasy QB rankings: Evaluating stats, matchups for best fantasy QBs
10. Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills – @ Seattle Seahawks
In his first game with Amari Cooper on the field, Dalton Kincaid still drew 6 targets and turned those looks into his second consecutive game with 50-plus receiving yards. We do expect the Buffalo Bills to prioritize Cooper and James Cook in this matchup, with that said, the Seattle Seahawks are abysmal at linebacker and allowing nearly 60 yards per game to tight ends this year.
9. Hunter Henry, New England Patriots – vs New York Jets
Drake Maye set Hunter Henry free. In his first game post-quarterback change, the New England Patriots tight end turned 5 targets into 41 receiving yards and a touchdown. While he didn’t find the end zone this past week, he pulled in 8 receptions for 92 receiving yards. With the New York Jets defense taking a step back after Robert Saleh’s firing, Henry is one of the 10 best fantasy tight ends for Week 8.
Related: NFL Week 8 predictions
8. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons – @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After he failed to record a reception in Week 4, the Atlanta Falcons vowed to get Kyle Pitts more involved. Credit to the team, they actually delivered on it. Pitts is averaging 7.3 targets per game in the last three weeks, totaling 223 yards (74.3 per game) and averaging 13.1 yards per catch. As for the matchup, Tampa Bay has allowed 57 receiving yards per game including 88 to Pitts on Oct. 3.
7. Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys – @ San Francisco 49ers
Jake Ferguson is one of our favorite tight ends in fantasy football because of his consistency. In games he’s started and finished, the Dallas Cowboys’ second-best offensive weapon has cleared 49-plus receiving yards in three of four games. The outlier, a Week 6 blowout to the Detroit Lions. Unfortunately, the knock for Week 8 is that the San Francisco 49ers have covered tight ends well (see Travis Kelce), especially when that tight end is on a very limited offense.
Related: NFL defense rankings, Week 8 fantasy defense rankings
6. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs – @ Las Vegas Raiders
There was little Travis Kelce could do on Sunday against a San Francisco 49ers defense that was perfectly suited to blanket him (17 receiving yards on 4 targets). Although, it came after a two-game stretch where he had 16 receptions for 159 receiving yards. With our NFL stats projections for Week 8, against an underrated Las Vegas Raiders pass defense (39.57 receiving yards per game allowed to TEs), we’re seeing 30-50 yards for Kelce, with small odds of a touchdown.
5. Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears – @ Washington Commanders
As Caleb Williams started blossoming before the Chicago Bears’ bye week, tight end Cole Kmet became more involved in the Chicago Bears offense. In his last four games, Kmet has averaged 5.3 receptions and 64.5 receiving yards, also scoring 3 touchdowns with a 12.3 yards per catch average over that span. Facing a bottom-10 Washington Commanders defense, Kmet should be one of the best fantasy tight ends in Week 8.
Related: Week 8 fantasy kicker rankings
4. Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars – vs Green Bay Packers
Evan Engram’s target share took a massive hit in his second game back, going from 10 receptions on 10 targets (Week 6) to 5 receptions for 35 receiving yards on 5 targets this past week. Fortunately, in a game where the Jacksonville Jaguars will need to score a lot, he faces a Green Bay Packers defense that has surrendered the eighth-most fantasy points to tight ends this season, allowing approximately 55 receiving yards per game. We’re banking on 5-7 receptions for 50-plus yards from Engram.
3. Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals – @ Miami Dolphins
With Kyler Murray simply not having the rapport everyone hoped for with Marvin Harrison Jr., Trey McBride is thriving. The Arizona Cardinals tight end has pulled in at least 5 receptions in four of five games this year and he’s cleared 50-plus receiving yards in three of his last four contests. The Miami Dolphins have done a great job containing tight ends this season – 29.3 receiving yards per game allowed – but we can’t look past McBride given his athleticism and role in this offense.
Related: NFL Week 8 power rankings
2. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers – vs Dallas Cowboys
Get used to George Kittle sitting near the top of our fantasy TE rankings moving forward. The San Francisco 49ers tight end has pulled in at least 5 receptions in four of six games this season. In the last three weeks, he’s turned 25 targets into 19 receptions, 214 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns. There could be an even higher target share with Brandon Aiyuk (ACL) done for the year. Plus, while the Dallas Cowboys allow the sixth-fewest receiving yards per game (35.7), they have allowed 3 touchdowns to tight ends this year.
1. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders – vs Kansas City Chiefs
We couldn’t ask for a better matchup for one of the best fantasy tight ends this season. In Week 8, rookie Brock Bowers faces a Kansas City Chiefs defense that is allowing the most receiving yards per game (83.5) and the second-most fantasy points per game (10.35) to tight ends. Meanwhile, Bowers averaged 12 targets per game (Pro Football Reference) in the last three games, averaging 87 receiving yards per contest over that span on 27 receptions. He’s an elite fantasy starter with an elite matchup.
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