Fantasy Football: Top 15 Tight Ends to Target In 2018

#1 Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce

Gronkowski and Kelce have long been fighting for the top tight end in the league. Considering the injury history of Gronkowski, it seems that Kelce is more reliable for Fantasy Football fans. They both share a scarce athletic ability that has yet to be matched by any other tight end in the league.

Kelce is coming off a second straight season surpassing 1,000 yards. Another season would mark him as the second tight end in history to have three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. A record that not even Chiefs great tight end Tony Gonzalez or Gronkowski have surpassed. The only tight end to achieve this record is Panthers Greg Olsen.

Kelce also established a career high of eight touchdowns in 2017. His increase in production inside the red zone was a major factor to his success with his 21 targets inside the 20. Another was Alex Smith having a career season.

Going into 2018, Kelce will be catching balls from a new and young quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Smith struggled tremendously inside the red zone where Mahomes will likely be more aggressive and willing to take shots. The switch in quarterbacks could strongly benefit Kelce in 2018 as he is likely to see more targets no matter where the offense is on the field.

While Kansas City has great weapons around the offense in wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins bolstered by a strong running back group of Kareem Hunt and Spencer Ware, Kelce still holds down as the number one tight end to grab. The ceiling is high for Kelce who will see some favorable matchups in 2018 considering the weapons around him. Look for Kelce early in your draft as the tight end market is not as deep as other positions.

Travis Kelce could be in for the best season of his career once again even with the talent surrounding him.

*All stats are from Pro Football Reference