TE Dynasty Rankings - 08/02/12

Tier 1

These guys are too close to call. It really comes down to personal preference but in all honesty if you've got either of these guys you're set for a long time to come. I've decided to put Gronk top due to the fact he's three years younger than Graham, however it's unlikely that he repeats his gaudy TD totals from 2011 so don't be surprised if Graham outperforms him next year.

1a Rob Gronkowski
1b Jimmy Graham

Tier 2

Watch out, we got a badass over here.

3. Vernon Davis - Coming off a strong end to the season and a couple of huge playoff performances, "VD" should pick up where he left off next season. He is Alex Smith's go to guy and with such blistering speed he's a mismatch nightmare.
4. Aaron Hernandez - It's unheard of for an offense to produce two Top 3 TE's but somehow New England has managed it. Hernandez is the Ying to Gronkowski's Yang and is really more of a WR. While he's nowhere near the blocker that "Gronk" is Hernandez offers amazing versatility, even lining up at RB during the playoffs. Still only 22 years old.
5. Antonio Gates - The old man on campus was the #3 TE during the second half of the season. His foot concerns will always be there and could flare up at any time but he should be good for another 2-3 years of elite TE production if he can stay healthy.
6. Jermichael Finley - A disappointing season for Finley, he had a couple of huge games but was MIA for large parts of the year. With so many receivers in Green Bay he's going to have these ups and downs and with the team looking at using the franchise tag on him it looks like this could continue into next year.

Tier 3

7. Jason Witten - Extremely consistent player, getting older however and as more weapons emerge in Dallas (Bryant, Robinson at WR and Murray at RB) he could see his share of the pie reduce. He hasn't really got any worse (Five top 5 seasons in a row) it's simply that the TE position as a whole has improved and young players have passed him.
8. Brandon Pettigrew -
9. Owen Daniels
10. Jermaine Gresham -
11. Jared Cook - Came on greatly at the end of the season, could finally be getting it together.
12. Fred Davis - PED suspension hurt him and is a red flag however it looks like Redskins will use the Franchise Tag on Davis ahead of Laron Landry, a signal of just how much they value him.

Tier 4

13. Brent Celek
14. Kyle Rudolph - Should be the starter in Minnesota next year, impressed last season as a rookie but was overshadowed by the performance of 2nd year TE's.
15. Ed Dickson
16. Dennis Pitta
17. Dustin Keller
18. Greg Olsen

Tier 5

19. Kellen Winslow
20. Marcedes Lewis
21. Heath Miller
22. James Casey
23. Tony Moeaki

Tier 6

24. D.J. Williams
25. Zach Miller
26. Chris Cooley
27. Dallas Clark
28. Tony Gonzalez - This will be his final season. If you need a one year option he can produce however that's really all you're going to get.