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16.3k voters

The Greatest Tight Ends Of All Time

Originally by Ranker Community

Updated April 16, 2020 94.1k votes 16.3k voters 201.0k 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
6,069
3,538
Rob Gronkowski
New England Patriots
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Amherst, New York
Age: 31
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#129 of 322 People Who Should Be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame#156 of 176 The Best Hot Ones Guests Ever
2
4,615
2,763
Tony Gonzalez
Atlanta Falcons, Kansas City Chiefs
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Torrance, California, United States of America
Age: 39
More Tony Gonzalez
#1416 of 1,427 The Best Athletes Of All Time#4 of 28 The Best NFL Players With The Most Pro Bowl Appearances
3
2,370
1,394
Kellen Winslow
San Diego Chargers
Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri
Age: 58
More Kellen Winslow
#49 of 143 Athletes Whose Careers Ended Too Soon#24 of 36 The Best NFL Wide Receivers of the '80s
4
3,556
2,118
Antonio Gates
San Diego Chargers
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan, United States of America
Age: 35
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#85 of 106 The Fastest NFL Players of All Time#48 of 77 The Best Athletes Who Have Used Performance Enhancing Drugs
5
3,429
2,046
Shannon Sharpe
Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Age: 47
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#94 of 329 The Most Obnoxious Athletes#13 of 95 The Best Baltimore Ravens of All Time
6
1,543
663
Travis Kelce
Kansas City Chiefs
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Age: 26
7
3,407
2,041
Jason Witten
Dallas Cowboys
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Elizabethton, Tennessee, USA
Age: 38
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#131 of 1,323 The Best Football Players Ever#4 of 48 The Best University of Tennessee Football Players Ever
8
2,202
1,360
Mike Ditka
Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Carnegie, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Age: 80
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#28 of 150 Athletes You Didn't Know Were Conservative#291 of 904 Celebrity Death Pool 2021
9
1,601
1,082
Ozzie Newsome
Cleveland Browns
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States of America
Age: 59
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#7 of 91 The Best Alabama Crimson Tide Football Players of All Time#2 of 26 The Best NFL Tight Ends of the '70s
10
1,276
997
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
#15 of 147 The Best Indianapolis Colts of All Time#14 of 60 The Best NFL Players From New York
11
1,501
939
Greg Olsen
Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Wayne, New Jersey
Age: 35
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#48 of 144 The Greatest Chicago Bears of All Time#4 of 137 The Best Carolina Panthers of All Time
12
1,219
990
Dave Casper
Oakland Raiders, Houston Oilers
Position: Tight end, Wide receiver
Birthplace: Bemidji, Minnesota
Age: 64
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#15 of 82 The Best Notre Dame Football Players of All Time#24 of 35 Undeserving Members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
13
974
777
Dallas Clark
Indianapolis Colts, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Age: 36

14
573
270
Zach Ertz
Philadelphia Eagles
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Orange, California
Age: 25
15
911
747
Ben Coates
New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Greenwood, South Carolina
Age: 46
More Ben Coates
#33 of 246 The Best New England Patriots Of All Time#24 of 50 The Best NFL Players From South Carolina
16
924
763
Mark Bavaro
Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Winthrop, Massachusetts
Age: 52
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#6 of 24 The Best NFL Tight Ends of the '90s#113 of 150 The Best Cleveland Browns of All Time
17
388
108
George Kittle
San Franscisco 49ers
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Madison, Wisconsin
18
943
770
Vernon Davis
San Francisco 49ers
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Washington, D.C.
Age: 31
19
1,579
1,487
Jimmy Graham
New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Goldsboro, North Carolina
Age: 29
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#25 of 64 The Best Miami Football Players of All Time#11 of 46 The Tallest NFL Players Right Now, Ranked
20
739
630
Heath Miller
Pittsburgh Steelers
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Richlands, Virginia, United States of America
Age: 33
21
928
861
Jay Novacek
Phoenix Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Martin, South Dakota, United States of America
Age: 53
22
764
725
Jeremy Shockey
New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Ada, Oklahoma
Age: 35
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#7 of 57 The Best College Football Tight Ends of All Time#33 of 149 The Best New York Giants of All Time
23
662
699
Todd Christensen
Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants
Position: Fullback, Tight end
Birthplace: Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Age: Died at 57 (1956-2013)
More
#50 of 107 College & Professional Athletes Who Were Raised Mormon#44 of 86 The Best NFL Players From Pennsylvania

24
367
334
Russ Francis
New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Seattle, Washington, United States of America
Age: 62
25
354
292
Kyle Rudolph
Minnesota Vikings
Position: Tight end
Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio
Age: 26

Travis Kelce

Zach Ertz

Todd Christensen

Kyle Rudolph