The 10 Most Overrated NFL Tight Ends of All Time, Ranked

The NFL half blocker, half receiver: tight end is by far the most lovable position in football — particularly for those who thrive doing both.

And while there have been many elite-level tight ends in the pro sport, one great season can often catapult previously unknown names into undue star territory.

As a result, we get tight ends who have been overvalued by the fans and media alike.

We’ve ranked the NFL tight ends we think aren’t quite as good as their perceived ability. Check out Heavy’s 10 most overrated tight ends of all time:

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10. Kyle Pitts

Coming into the league as a generational talent at tight end — a surefire, “can’t miss” prospect — Pitts started his career in the NFL with a bang, producing a rare 1000 + yard receiving season as a tight end, generating 1026 yards as a rookie with the Falcons in 2021. Successive seasons of so-so performance and accusations of under utilization in the passing game — recording fewer yards in the past two seasons (1023) combined, than his first year — have had very reasonable doubts cast upon Pitts. While the Florida alum’s story is far from over, and his stock may very well be on the rise, we will need to see more production on the field if he is to fulfill his pre-draft billing as an elite tight end player.

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9. Sam LaPorta

This one is perhaps a little harsh, as LaPorta has spent less than a year and a half in the National Football League, but coming into 2024, the hype around the Detroit Lions tight end was borderline ridiculous. With many calling his rookie season the greatest ever by a tight end, and others anointing him already as arguably the league’s best player at the position after one year, the talk was getting out of hand. While LaPorta is no doubt a talented player, and one who is certainly an excellent tight end in the league, he is nowhere near being spoken about in historical terms. Moreover, a distinctly less outlandish sophomore season, where the Iowa grad has managed just 272 yards and pulled in only 2 touchdowns — to the dismay of his many fantasy managers — has certainly dampened the prior over-exhilaration concerning the young TE.

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8. Jackie Smith

In very much the realm of players who had one elite year and failed to replicate that level of production throughout the rest of his career. Smith captured the NFL world with an incredible 1,205 yards in 1967 (at a time when receiving yards were far fewer and far between) — but did not manage to get within anywhere near as many yards for the remainder of his career, only getting past the 800 yard mark for his career during one other season. Evidently an excellent player and trailblazer at the position, it is still questionable the extent to which he deserves plaudits as a true great of the game.

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7. Vernon Davis

Without question a legend of the game, if that even need be said, and certainly a powerful blocker who successfully opened up large running lanes for the multitude of backs he played with. But Davis, despite a few big seasons catching the ball — including three with 800+ receiving yards — was somewhat of an overstated asset in the passing game. His so-so hands, inability to generate significant YAC (yards after catch) and inconsistency on sideline throws are not forgotten to 49ers and Commanders fans during his 14 year career. Great player — yes. All time great — no.

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6. Travis Kelce

Two things can be true: Travis Kelce can be unquestionably one of the greatest tight ends in the history of the sport; and he can also be overrated due to a popularity boom from you know who, and the tendency of fans to over-weight the receiving talents of a player. Even if he is quite possibly the best receiving tight end of all time, one cannot possibly have a tight end in the running for the “GOAT” who is a reluctant — at best — blocker. Being able to block the backside edge in the play-action game, and drive linebackers into the ground in the power run game, are core tenets of what it means to play the position — something that Kelce does not come close to excelling at.

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5. Mike Gesicki

By no means a poor player at the position, Gesicki simply just does not match up well compared to others that have come before and after him, despite still maintaining a semblance of upper echelon tight end about him. A two-season wonder, putting up big numbers in 2020 and 2021, Gesicki has not matched that performance in his more recent work. Now on his third team in three years — the Bengals, preceded by the Patriots and Dolphins — Gesicki has played little for Cincinnati and is no longer looking like a starting TE in the league, unfortunately.

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4. Jimmy Graham

Another receiving specialist tight end who fans seem to believe is somehow one of the greatest to ever do it. Graham’s later-career route running is second perhaps only to Travis Kelce in the past decade of tight-end play in the NFL, but big receiving numbers in New Orleans and one big year in Seattle do not elevate one to the peak of the tight-end history books. Particularly in an offense containing future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees and QB guru Sean Payton. A historic red zone target, thanks in part to his days as a basketball player, but an ineffective blocker, Graham is an excellent, if one dimensional, non-generational tight end.

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3. Zach Ertz

At one point Ertz looked like he’d turn into one of the best the position has ever seen, with five straight 800+ yard seasons, including a 2018 where he set the record for most single season receptions for a tight end (116). However, despite tight ends — particularly good ones — tending to be durable and maintain their ability often well into their 30s, Ertz’s production fell off the cliff shortly before his 30th birthday in 2020 and has not managed to attain that 800 yard mark since. An excellent player who’s career pinnacle burned exceptionally strong — if perhaps also a slight liability in the run game, though more well rounded that other members of this list — he has not been the same player since the turn of the 2020s.

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2. Darren Waller

Certainly one of the best, most uplifting stories in the history of the position, as Waller battled drug and alcohol addiction to become a quality starting tight end in the NFL. However, it feels to many that Waller’s reputation far exceeded his actual production, prior to his retirement in 2024. The Georgia Tech alum rode the coattails of two very impressive back-to-back seasons of 1100+ receiving yards apiece, including an outstanding 107 catch, 9 touchdown 2020 Pro Bowl season, for many years after his peak, despite a distinct downturn in play. Waller played more as a “big receiver” than bona fide, all-around tight end, being almost futile in the run game — and while he certainly had his heyday, his reputation as a consistently elite TE1 is certainly unfounded.

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1. Jason Witten

Witten is another fantastic player who potentially gets some additional, slightly undeserved plaudits simply due to the length of his extensive 17-year career. Although Witten’s production steadily declined following his 30th birthday in 2012, he remained a well-above average tight end in the league for nearly a decade following. Where Witten falls down comes from his lack of red zone/end zone threat, hauling in just 74 touchdowns in those 17 years; Travis Kelce, by comparison, has the same amount of TDs in five fewer years. Moreover, his touchdown playoff production was even worse, registering just a single touchdown reception in his entire career. Touchdowns — or lack of — should not make or break a player’s career; but when push comes to shove, the ability to get open and secure a score in the most important moments — the post season — certainly impacts a tight end’s legacy.

Who do you think we missed? Sound off in the comments.

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