Best NFL tight ends 2025: Ranking the 10 best NFL tight ends right now

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Best NFL tight ends 2025: Ranking the 10 best NFL tight ends right now

Best NFL tight ends right now — Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Matt Johnson · Sportsnaut

Tue, Jun 17, 2025 ·

9 min read

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Who is the best tight end in the NFL? Travis Kelce has held the crown for years, establishing himself as one of the greatest players ever at his position. However, Father Time has now caught up to him and a new wave of talent at the position yields plenty of young players establishing themselves among the best NFL tight ends.

Let's dive into our list of the best NFL tight ends right now as we approach the 2025 season.

1. George Kittle , San Francisco 49ers

George Kittle is the best tight end in the NFL. He's earned All-Pro honors five times, most recently receiving second-team honors this past season. He remains an excellent blocker and a cog in Kyle Shanahan's outstanding ground game. Even in his age-30 season, Kittle had six games with 80-plus receiving yards and nine with 60-plus. While there are certainly better pass-catchers at the position than Kittle, his well-rounded skill set makes him the unquestioned king at tight end right now.

George Kittle stats (2024):78 receptions, 1,106 receiving yards, 8 touchdowns, 14.2 yards per reception, 50 first downs, 73.7 receiving yards per game, 11.8 yards per target on 94 targets

2. Brock Bowers , Las Vegas Raiders

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers joined the short list of NFL players to earn first-team All-Pro honors in their rookie season. His production started admirably, averaging 54 receiving yards per game on 20 receptions in the first four weeks. Over his next 13 contests, Bowers averaged 7.1 receptions and 75.2 receiving yards per game, both marks that outpaced George Kittle's production. While there's an argument that target share (25.8 percent, second among tight ends) inflated some of his production, that's mitigated by the fact that Las Vegas had some of the worst quarterback play in football. At a position that historically has a multi-year acclimation period, Bowers came in and broke the single-season rookie records for receptions (112) and receiving yards by a tight end (1,194).

Brock Bowers stats ( 2024 ):112 receptions, 1,194 receiving yards, 5 touchdowns, 10.7 yards per reception, 61 first downs, 70.2 receiving yards per game, 7.8 yards per target on 153 targets

3. Trey McBride , Arizona Cardinals

The 2022 NFL Draft produced a few of the best tight ends in the NFL, but Trey McBride is the cream of the crop. After a quiet rookie season, the 6-foot-4 tight end is responsible for 1,971 receiving yards over the last two seasons, not far behind Terry McLaurin (2,098). In 2024, McBride finished with the second-highest yards per team pass attempt (2.20), generating the third-most yards after catch (513) among tight ends. He doesn't find his way to pay dirt very often and he's not much of a blocker, but Arizona doesn't need him to be when he provides an exceptional weapon for Kyler Murray .

Trey McBride stats ( 2024 ):111 receptions, 1,146 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns, 10.3 yards per reception, 63 first downs, 71.6 receiving yards per game, 7.8 yards per target on 147 targets

4. T.J. Hockenson , Minnesota Vikings

After suffering ACL and MCL tears in December 2023, T.J. Hockenson didn't see the field for the Minnesota Vikings until Nov. 3, 2024. He needed to be eased back into action, but he did average 55.7 receiving yards per game and 12.8 yards per reception on a 66.4 percent offensive snap share from Weeks 12-17 . The year prior, before his injury, he averaged 64 receiving yards per game with the fifth-highest yards per route run (1.94) and the ninth-most yards after catch (336) in 15 games. Hockenson's season-long numbers might never match some of his peers, but that's because he has to share targets with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison . With a rookie quarterback under center in 2025, Hockenson has a shot at his third 900-yard season since 2022.

T.J. Hockenson stats ( 2024 ):41 receptions, 455 receiving yards, 11.1 yards per reception, 30 first downs, 45.5 receiving yards per game, 7.3 yards per target on 62 targets (10 games)

5. Mark Andrews , Baltimore Ravens

The lasting image of Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews right now is his costly miscues in the playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills . He does have a history of coming up short in January- 53.2 receiving yards per game in the regular season vs 39.4 yards per game in the NFL Playoffs – but he's still a very good player. Andrews showed he's still got plenty left in the tank last year, totaling 608 receiving yards (46.8 per game) with 11 touchdowns in the final 13 weeks of the regular season. Heading into his age-30, this might be the year we see Isaiah Likely take over, but that's just a testament to the Ravens' wealth of talent at tight end.

Mark Andrews stats (2024):55 receptions, 673 receiving yards, 11 touchdowns, 12.2 yards per reception, 39 first downs, 39.6 receiving yards per game, 9.8 yards per target

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6. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

Perhaps a slimmed-down version of Travis Kelce changes our assessment of the Kansas City Chiefs tight end. What we saw last season, though, suggests Father Time finally caught up to the 35-year-old. He ranked 21st among tight ends in yards per route run (1.67), placed 19th in target separation (1.96) and he finished 34th in yards per reception (8.5) Kelce simply looked like a player whose athleticism and ability to separate is largely gone, just leaving him with outstanding instincts and even better rapport with Patrick Mahomes . It's a testament to Kelce that those attributes alone still make him one of the best NFL tight ends right now.

Travis Kelce stats (2024):97 receptions, 823 receiving yards, 3 touchdowns, 8.5 yards per reception, 47 first downs, 51.4 receiving yards per game, 6.2 yards per target

7. Sam LaPorta , Detroit Lions

After a sensational rookie season with the Detroit Lions in 2023 – 86 receptions, 889 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns – Sam LaPorta's production was far more volatile in his second year. From Weeks 1-16, he averaged just 37.3 receiving yards per game and found the end zone once on 17 targets. In his final 10 games, LaPorta scored 6 touchdowns while averaging 50.2 receiving yards per contest. Those averages were nearly identical to his rookie season. LaPorta might never put up consistent stats on a weekly basis, but that's a reflection of the level of talent on this Lions' offense. In a few years, LaPorta could be one of the five best tight ends in the NFL.

Sam LaPorta stats (2024):60 receptions, 726 receiving yards, 7 touchdowns, 12.1 yards per reception, 39 first downs, 45.4 receiving yards per game, 8.7 yards per target on 83 targets

8. Dalton Kincaid , Buffalo Bills

Dalton Kincaid's numbers dipped compared to his rookie season – 73 receptions, 673 receiving yards and 29 first downs – but that's largely a product of time missed with collarbone and knee injuries. In his second season, Kincaid had the second-most deep targets (11) among tight ends and finished 13th in yards after catch (274) despite missing four games. Heading into his third year, we're predicting career-best numbers from Kincaid with a chance he clears 700-plus offensive snaps for the first time.

Dalton Kincaid stats (2024):44 receptions, 448 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns, 10.2 yards per reception, 23 first downs, 34.5 receiving yards per game, 6.0 yards per target on 75 targets (13 games)

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9. Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens

It speaks volumes about Isaiah Likely's talent that the Ravens considered moving on from Mark Andrews this offseason. That changing of the guard will likely come after the 2025 campaign. Likely, a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, had the ninth-highest yards per reception among tight ends with the 12th-most red-zone targets (13) and he didn't have a single drop on 58 targets (27th). Likely has already demonstrated the ability to create good separation (2.41 target separation, fifth in NFL) and with his snap count steadily increasing each year, he has a chance to become the Ravens' most productive tight end very soon.

Isaiah Likely stats (2024):42 receptions, 477 receiving yards, 6 touchdowns, 11.4 yards per reception, 26 first downs, 29.8 receiving yards per game, 8.2 yards per target on 58 targets

10. Tucker Kraft , Green Bay Packers

Ranking Tucker Kraft this high among the best NFL tight ends does include a bit of projection. In his second year, the Green Bay Packers ' former third-round pick showed outstanding ability as a pass-catcher and explosive playmaker. Among tight ends, he finished fourth in target separation (2.44), fifth in yards after catch (456), second in yards per target (10.1), eighth in Expected Points Added (46.4) and had the second-highest yards per route run (2.64). If he can clean up the drops (five), we're looking at a future multi-time Pro Bowl selection in an offense that utilizes him perfectly.

Tucker Kraft stats (2024):50 receptions, 707 receiving yards, 7 touchdowns, 14.1 yards per reception, 30 first downs, 41.6 receiving yards per game, 10.1 yards per target on 70 targets

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