Football List of Famous Football Tight Ends

Reference
20k views 992 items

List of the most famous (American) football tight ends in the history of the sport, listed by popularity with photos of the players when available. There have been many legendary tight ends in the NFL and NCAA, and you'll find all of them on this list below. Some of these men are considered to be the best tight ends to ever play the game, and if you're looking for a specific football player you can look for them by using the "search" function on this list. These amazing tight ends may currently be active while others have been retired for quite sometime. This list of the top tight ends in American football includes all the greats from both the NFL and college football.

Use every item on this list for yours, from Tony Gonzalez to Rob Gronkowski.

This list answers the questions, "Who is the greatest tight end of all time?" and "Who are the best tight ends of all time?"

1
Tony Gonzalez is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Anthony David Gonzalez is a former American football tight end who played in the National Football League. He played college football for the University of California, Berkeley, and was ...more

2
Rob Gronkowski is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Robert James "Rob" Gronkowski, nicknamed "Gronk", is a tight end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He played college football for the University ...more

3
Jimmy Graham is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Jimmy Graham is an American football tight end for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He ...more

4
Antonio Gates is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Antonio Ethan Gates, Jr. is an American football tight end for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. He has been selected onto the Pro Bowl nine times and is a five-time ...more

5
Jason Witten is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Christopher Jason Witten is a color analyst for ESPN's Monday Night Football and former American football tight end who played 15 seasons for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League ...more

6
Vernon Davis is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Vernon Leonard Davis is an American football tight end for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He was drafted in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the 49ers. Upon ...more

7
Mike Ditka is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Michael Keller Ditka is a former American football player, coach, and television commentator. A member of both the College Football and Pro Football Hall of Fames, he was the 1961 UPI NFL Rookie ...more

8
Shannon Sharpe is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Shannon Sharpe is a former American football tight end who played for the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League, as well as a former analyst for CBS Sports on its ...more

9
John Mackey is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end John Mackey was an American football tight end who played for the Baltimore Colts and the San Diego Chargers. He was born in Roosevelt, New York and attended Syracuse University. He was the ...more

10
Dave Casper is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end, Wide receiver David John Casper, nicknamed "The Ghost." is a former American football player best known for being a prominent member of the Oakland Raiders. He was a Tight end and also played as an ...more

11
Jackie Smith is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Jackie Larue Smith is a former professional American football player in the National Football League. He played tight end for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys from 1963 to 1978. He ...more

12
Owen Daniels is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Owen Gerald Daniels is an American football tight end for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He played college football for the University of Wisconsin, and was drafted by the ...more

13
Ozzie Newsome is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Ozzie Newsome Jr. is a former American Football Conference tight end for the Cleveland Browns, an inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the current General Manager of the Baltimore

14
Julius Thomas is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Julius Dewayne Thomas is an American football tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL ...more

15
Greg Olsen is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Gregory Olsen is an American football tight end for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played ...more

16
Dallas Clark is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Dallas Dean Clark is a former American football tight end who played 11 seasons in the National Football League. He played college football for the University of Iowa, earned unanimous ...more

17
Todd Christensen is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Fullback, Tight end Todd Jay Christensen was an American football player who played in the National Football League from 1978 until 1988, spending most of that time playing tight end for the Oakland and Los Angeles ...more

18
Mark Bavaro is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Mark Bavaro is a former American football tight end who played for the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, and Philadelphia Eagles in the National Football League. Bavaro was selected to the Pro ...more

19
Martellus Bennett is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Martellus Demond Bennett is a former American football tight end and children's author. The Dallas Cowboys drafted him in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft after playing college football at ...more

20
Jordan Cameron is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Jordan Cravens Cameron is an American football tight end for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. ...more

21
Jermichael Finley is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Jermichael Decorean Finley is an American football tight end who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Packers in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at

22
Jay Novacek is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Jay McKinley Novacek is a former American football tight end in the National Football League who played for the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys. Novacek was a five-time Pro ...more

23
Dwight Clark is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end, Wide receiver Dwight Edward Clark is a former American football wide receiver and executive. He played for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League from 1979 to 1987. With the 49ers, Clark ...more

24
Charlie Sanders is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Charles Alvin Sanders is a former American football player who played tight end for the Detroit Lions from 1968-77. On February 3, 2007, Sanders was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

25
Ben Coates is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list List of Famous Football Tight Ends
Tight end Ben Terrence Coates is a former American football tight end in the National Football League and former CIAA football coach and former NFL tight ends coach. Coates didn't play football until his ...more