Sometimes, fantasy point totals can deceive.
Case in point. Dallas Goedert finished 10th in fantasy points among tight ends this past season. That seems good, right? Well, he was a top-10 fantasy tight end in just 33.3 percent of his starts. What's more, he scored 44.3 percent of his points in just four games. That's a much bigger factoid than his overall finish.
So, who were the best players when it came to putting up solid totals on a regular basis, and who was more name than numbers? Here's a look at the tight ends who finished in the top 10 most often last season (minimum eight games), along with some interesting notes on players to watch as we look ahead to 2020.
Other positions: **Quarterbacks** | **Running Backs** | **Wide Receivers**
1. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs (75 percent): Kelce, who led the tight end position for the last four seasons, was also the most reliable. All of his top-10 finishes were top fives, and he led the position with 14 double-digit performances including five with 20-plus points. What's more, Kelce failed to finish outside of the top 20 in just one of his 16 games. He'll be a top-30 pick again in 2020.
2. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers (71.4 percent): Kittle missed two games in 2019, but he still tied Kelce for the most fantasy points scored per game (15.9). He finished second in double-digit performances 911) and only Kelce had more games with 20-plus point games. Kittle, who failed to produce top-20 numbers in just one game, will come off the board right around the same time as Kelce in 2020.
3. Evan Engram, New York Giants (62.5 percent): Engram missed half of the 2019 campaign due to injuries, but he was pretty reliable when he was out on the gridiron. He finished as a top-10 tight end in five of his eight games, and he ranked outside of the top-15 just twice. Talent has never been the question with Engram, but he needs to avoid injuries to re-emerge as a high No. 1 tight end.
4. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens (60 percent): Andrews' breakout season made him one of the top draft bargains of 2019. He ranked tied for fifth in points per game (13.8), and he tied Zach Ertz for the most top weekly finishes (3). He was also second in top-five finishes (6) and third in top 10s at the position. In an offense that leans on the tight end, Andrews will remain a top-5 option in 2020.
5. Darren Waller, Oakland Raiders (56.3 percent): Like Andrews, Waller was a massive draft bargain for owners last season. He went from a late-round pick to a top-3 tight end, averaging 13.8 points per game (tied for fifth-most). Waller scored in double digits 10 times, which tied for the third-most behind Kelce and Kittle, and his three games with 20-plus points were third behind Kelce and Andrews.
6. Austin Hooper, Atlanta Falcons (53.8 percent): Hooper was a fantasy star for much of last season, averaging 14.7 points per game (third-most among tight ends). In his first nine games, Hooper finished in the top 10 seven times and his worst finish was TE14. His numbers fell after he sustained a knee injury, but Hooper will remain a top-5 option in 2020. He's slated to be a free agent, however.
7. Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles (53.3 percent): Ertz finished fourth in fantasy points among tight ends, and he led the position in points three times during the season. He also tied Kittle for the most top-5 finishes, though he did fail to rank in the top 20 four times. Despite his success, Ertz's 2020 stock will take a slight hit with the emergence of Dallas Goedert in the Eagles passing game.
8. Hunter Henry, Los Angeles Chargers (50 percent): Henry ranked eighth in fantasy points per game (12.5) among tight ends, and he scored double-digit points in eight of his 12 games. Henry did miss some time due to injuries, but he still had career highs in targets, catches and receiving yards. A pending free agent, Henry should remain a top-8 fantasy tight end in Los Angeles or elsewhere in 2020.
9. Kaden Smith, New York Giants (44.4 percent): This one is a shock, but Smith was an underrated asset without Engram on the field. In fact, he finished as a top-5 tight end three times and had four top-10 ranks in his nine games. Between Smith and Engram, the Giants had a combined nine top-10 finishes at the position. That's good news for the latter's value, but Smith won't have much draft stock.
10. Jared Cook, New Orleans Saints (42.9 percent): Cook had a very slow start to the season, scoring fewer than six fantasy points in each of his first four games. He thrived afterward, though, scoring 10-plus points eight times including two games with over 20 points. The veteran, who finished with a career-high nine touchdowns, will be viewed as a low-end No. 2 tight end in 2020 fantasy drafts.
T-11. Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams (33.3 percent): Higbee did next to nothing in the first half of the season, but he went off starting in Week 13. Over his final five games, he finished in the top 5 in fantasy points in every single week while producing 100-plus yards four times. While Gerald Everett remains in the mix in 2020, Higbee has pushed his value up to the TE1 level in fantasy drafts.
T-11. Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles (33.3 percent): Like Higbee, Goedert was more productive for fantasy fans in the second half of the season. In fact, he scored double digits in four of his final five games. While his ceiling is lower with Ertz still the clear-cut No. 1 tight end in Philadelphia, Goedert's late surge does put him among the low-end starting fantasy tight ends for 2020.
Notes: Among the top-10 tight ends in terms of fantasy points scored per game, Ertz, Andrews and Cooks finished outside of the top 20 tight ends the most (4). ... Will Dissly missed 10 games last season due to injuries, but he was super reliable for fantasy owners when he was active. In fact, Dissly produced four top-10 finishes and averaged 12.3 fantasy points in his six games. His proneness to injuries will limit his 2020 stock, but Dissly will still be worth a late-round look in most drafts. ... If you're looking for a sleeper, take a late-round chance on Mike Gesicki. He finished last season with five top-10 performances, and he scored five times over his final six games. ... Ryan Griffin scored 10-plus fantasy points in four of his last seven games and finished as a top-10 tight end four times, three of which came from Weeks 8-12. He did require ankle surgery, however, and the presence of Chris Herndon does put Griffin's 2020 fantasy value in question.
Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on NFL.com and NFL Network and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. You can follow Michael on Twitter, Facebook, YouTubeand Instagramfor the latest fantasy football news and analysis!
