Who are the most consistent fantasy TEs? Find potential sleepers, busts in 2022 tight end rankings

Bob Lung

Who are the most consistent fantasy TEs? Find potential sleepers, busts in 2022 tight end rankings image

Do you try to factor "consistency" into your preseason fantasy football rankings, breakout picks, and draft strategies? It's difficult to do at tight end, which is notoriously "touchdown or bust," but it's worth taking a little extra time to try. Having a consistent TE can go a long way toward a winning fantasy season. 

You don't need to have played fantasy football for more than a season to know how frustrating it is to have tight ends who go off for 20 points one week and just four or five the next. The majority of fantasy leagues still operate in a head-to-head fashion, so winning your weekly matchup is more important that being top three in total points. "Luck" certainly plays a role in wins and losses, but winning fantasy owners should always try to make their own luck. Putting in extra effort to find consistent TEs is worth your time.

DOMINATE YOUR DRAFT: Ultimate 2022 fantasy cheat sheet

The Tools section of BigGuyFantasySports.com features a "Clutch Report" that calculates the "Clutch Factor" that player must hit every week to get credit for a "Clutch Game." Clutch Factor is based on the total number of teams in your league and the scoring method. For example, in a 12-team PPR format, a tight end needs over 8.5 fantasy points each week to earn a "Clutch Game."

2022 CONSISTENCY RATINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver

We lay it all out for you at BigGuyFantasySports.com. A highly consistent fantasy player will have a "Clutch Rating" of more than 70 percent. The elite fantasy contributors will typically be between 80-90 percent.

2022 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers | Top 200 | Superflex

Highlighting undervalued, consistent players is important as you hunt for sleepers and even high picks. In addition, BigGuyFantasySports.com helps you spot potential busts by projecting potentially overvalued players based on their lack of consistency.

Below is a preview of how we rank/tier off TEs based on projected consistency and overall potential.

2022 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers | Top 200 | Superflex

Consistency Ratings 2022: Rankings, tiers for most consistent fantasy TEs

Rank Tier Sub-tier Player Team

1

TE1

A

Travis Kelce

KC

2

TE1

A

Mark Andrews

BAL

3

TE1

A

Kyle Pitts

ATL

4

TE1

B

George Kittle

SF

5

TE1

B

Darren Waller

LV

6

TE1

B

Dalton Schultz 

DAL

7

TE1

B

Zach Ertz

ARI

8

TE1

B

Dallas Goedert

PHI

9

TE1

B

Tyler Higbee

LAR

10

TE1

B

T.J. Hockenson

DET

11

TE1

B

Dawson Knox

BUF

12

TE1

B

Mike Gesicki

MIA

2022 RANKINGS TIERS & DRAFT STRATEGY:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs

A designation of TE1A means I expect these TEs to earn a 70 percent or higher Clutch Rate in 2022. Unsurprisingly, Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, and Kyle Pitts are the only TEs I expect to reach that level. The remaining nine tight ends are all ranked as TE1Bs. This means I expect them to earn a Clutch Rate between 55-70 percent. Obviously, the higher-ranked tight ends, such as George Kittle and Darren Waller, are expected to earn much higher than a 55-percent CR, but they probably won’t exceed 70 percent. The lower-ranked tight ends certainly could exceed the 55-percent CR, but the lower ranking means they're less likely.

The big question every year is whether elite tight ends -- this year, Kelce, Andrews, or Pitts -- are worth drafting in the first three rounds. Last year, it didn’t work out so well for Kelce. He was still one of the top tight ends, but his consistency was its lowest in years at just 75 percent. For most tight ends, that’s outstanding. However, for Kelce, it was not. You can always draft consistent, undervalued tight ends later to fill the gap.

2022 AUCTION VALUES (Standard & PPR):
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers | Overall

Let’s look at a couple of these tight ends and see which are undervalued or overvalued based on their current ADPs.

Undervalued: Dalton Schultz, Cowboys

I picked up Schultz off the waiver wire in most of my leagues last year after injuries struck my squad. He had an amazing season for a relative no-name. He ended the year ranked in the top three in both total PPR points and consistency. As we move into 2022, many fantasy owners are not expecting a repeat of last year even though the Cowboys lost two key WRs and Michael Gallup (left knee) will likely miss a few games. Schultz's current ADP is TE8 in the early-middle rounds. I certainly have no problem drafting there and getting even 80 percent of last season’s numbers.

Overvalued: George Kittle, 49ers

Kittle is certainly a beast when he’s on the field. However, his beast mode gets him injured quite a bit, and 2021 was no different. He missed three games but was often playing injured, which led him to his worst consistency rating in years at just 57 percent. With Trey Lance at quarterback, we have no idea what to expect. Kittle’s current ADP is TE5 in Round 4. There are plenty of reliable and healthy TEs available later in most drafts, so I would pass on Kittle this year.

2022 FANTASY SLEEPERS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | One from each team

Consistency should be factored into your fantasy draft strategy every year. It’s fun and potentially profitable to draft players who score a lot of total points, but if they don’t do it every week, then you still might miss the postseason.

For more Clutch Reports and Consistency Ratings ahead of your fantasy draft, check out our award- winning Fantasy Football Consistency Guide for 2022. You can also follow me on Twitter @bob_lung.

Don’t miss out on the 2022 Fantasy Football Expo during the weekend of Aug. 12-14, 2022 in Canton, Ohio! Go to The Fantasy Football Expo for tickets!

Bob Lung

Bob Lung Photo

Bob Lung is a fantasy sports contributor for The Sporting News.