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16.1k voters

The Greatest Tight Ends Of All Time

Originally by Ranker Community

Updated April 16, 2020 98.2k votes 16.1k voters 200.1k views87 items

List RulesOnly NFL tight ends. No wide receivers or college players.

The greatest tight ends of all time are those dynamic National Football League players who have played the position better than anyone else. The tight end position is a unique one as it has evolved from a blocking player to one that focuses more on receptions meaning each of these best NFL tight ends dominated the role as it was played during their prime.

There is a reason that the Mackey Award is given out each year to the top tight end in college football. That's because John Mackey is easily the best tight end ever to play football. The now Pro Football Hall of Fame member dominated the position with the Baltimore Colts and San Diego Chargers and made the position one to recognize.

Following in Mackey's footsteps are dozens of other talented and famous tight ends such as Tony Gonzalez, the first tight end to catch over 1,000 passes, Kellen Winslow Sr. who dazzled at tight end for the San Diego Chargers, the great Mike Ditka, who before coaching or broadcasting averaged 19.2 yards per catch and notched 12 touchdowns as a rookie and Shannon Sharpe, who topped an amazing 10,000 yards over his career in Denver and Baltimore.

But the top tight ends in the NFL don't stop there. Young stars have taken the offensive position to an entire new level and fascinated fans everywhere along the way, racking up crazy stats and scoring touchdowns left and right. Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots is a perfect example of that as he has become the envy of other teams, fans and players with his talent.

Who do you think played the best at tight end of all time? Vote for your favorites, add any not listed or re-rank this list your way all below! Want more football rankings? Check out the greatest linebackers of all time and the greatest NFL punters of all time too! If you're a fantasy football player, head over and help decide the best fantasy football TEs of 2019

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1
2,492
1,377
Kellen Winslow
San Diego Chargers
Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri
Age: 62
2
6,341
3,705
Rob Gronkowski
New England Patriots
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Amherst, New York
Age: 31
More Rob Gronkowski
#1690 of 1,816 The Best Athletes Of All Time#152 of 172 The Best Hot Ones Guests Ever
3
3,736
2,203
Antonio Gates
San Diego Chargers
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan, United States of America
Age: 40
More Antonio Gates
#87 of 106 The Fastest NFL Players of All Time#44 of 77 The Best Athletes Who Have Used Performance Enhancing Drugs
4
3,580
2,113
Shannon Sharpe
Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: USA, Chicago, Illinois
Age: 52
More Shannon Sharpe
#95 of 329 The Most Obnoxious Athletes#12 of 95 The Best Baltimore Ravens of All Time
5
4,774
2,924
Tony Gonzalez
Atlanta Falcons, Kansas City Chiefs
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: USA, California, Torrance
Age: 44
6
1,579
664
Travis Kelce
Kansas City Chiefs
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Age: 31
7
3,578
2,116
Jason Witten
Dallas Cowboys
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Elizabethton, Tennessee, United States of America
Age: 38
More Jason Witten
#129 of 1,323 The Best Football Players Ever#65 of 67 The Best Sports Personalities on ESPN

8
2,309
1,424
Mike Ditka
Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: USA, Carnegie, Pennsylvania
Age: 80
More Mike Ditka
#28 of 150 Athletes You Didn't Know Were Conservative#29 of 61 The Best NFL Coaches of All Time
9
1,665
1,136
Ozzie Newsome
Cleveland Browns
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States of America
Age: 64
10
1,339
1,045
John Mackey
Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: New York City, New York
Age: Died at 70 (1941-2011)
More John Mackey
#5 of 26 The Best NFL Tight Ends of the '70s#25 of 35 Undeserving Members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
11
1,598
981
Greg Olsen
Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Wayne, New Jersey
Age: 35
12
1,276
1,040
Dave Casper
Oakland Raiders, Houston Oilers
Position: Tight end, Wide receiver
Birthplace: Bemidji, Minnesota
Age: 69
13
1,020
810
Dallas Clark
Indianapolis Colts, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Age: 41
14
952
778
Ben Coates
New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Greenwood, South Carolina
Age: 51
15
605
273
Zach Ertz
Philadelphia Eagles
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Orange, California
Age: 29
16
970
800
Mark Bavaro
Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Winthrop, Massachusetts
Age: 57
17
387
103
George Kittle
San Franscisco 49ers
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Madison, Wisconsin
Age: 26
18
990
813
Vernon Davis
San Francisco 49ers
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Washington, D.C.
Age: 36
19
1,674
1,570
Jimmy Graham
New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Goldsboro, North Carolina
Age: 33
20
778
660
Heath Miller
Pittsburgh Steelers
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Richlands, Virginia, United States of America
Age: 37
21
977
909
Jay Novacek
Phoenix Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Martin, South Dakota, United States of America
Age: 57
22
802
759
Jeremy Shockey
New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Ada, Oklahoma
Age: 40
More Jeremy Shockey
#14 of 64 The Best Miami Football Players of All Time#7 of 57 The Best College Football Tight Ends of All Time
23
692
730
Todd Christensen
Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants
Position: Fullback, Tight end
Birthplace: Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Age: Dec. at 57 (1956-2013)
24
387
350
Russ Francis
New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Seattle, Washington, United States of America
Age: 67
25
372
304
Kyle Rudolph
Minnesota Vikings
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio
Age: 30