Top 10 Best Tight Ends in NFL History

Tight ends are football's ultimate multitaskers. Part receiver, part lineman, all grit. They line up, look you dead in the eye, and dare you to figure out what's coming next.

This list is your chance to weigh in on the ones who did it best. The guys who redefined what it means to play the position. Some were highlight machines. Others racked up stats so consistent they could've been drafted into the IRS. A few made a living off red zone touchdowns. Others made defensive coordinators lose sleep before Tuesday film sessions.

Vote for the players you think rewrote the rulebook, racked up the yards, or just made watching Sundays that much better.

The Top Ten

Tony Gonzalez

Anthony David Gonzalez is a former American football tight end who played 17 seasons in the National Football League. He spent most of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs before finishing with the Atlanta Falcons. Gonzalez is regarded as one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history and was inducted... read more

He is by far the best tight end of all time. No one can stop him. He catches as good as Randy Moss and runs as good as Darrell Green. He is unstoppable.

Holds all tight end records: most career yards, touchdowns, and receptions. Enough said.

Amazing output and abilities. Tremendous number of starts and games played.
Rob Gronkowski

Robert Paxton Gronkowski, nicknamed "Gronk," is a former American football tight end. He played most of his career with the New England Patriots before joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After retiring at the end of the 2018 NFL season, he returned in 2020 to play alongside Tom Brady and won another Super... read more

The single most dominant tight end ever in the game. Look at his yards after catch: he would drag two, sometimes three, defenders downfield for 5, even 7 yards. And who has more clutch catches in big moments (read: playoffs and Super Bowls) than Gronk? No one.
Oh yeah, one more thing: how many surgeries? And he just kept on ballin'.

Biggest TE with skills. New England has quietly been the franchise that has dominated and revolutionized this position. Russ Francis, Ben Coates, and Gronk. Sprinkle in Hasselbeck and Marv Cook, who were Pro-Bowlers, and it's been a great position. But Gronk is cutting edge. He plays too recklessly to last the test of time, though. Everyone should enjoy this character while he's here.
Shannon Sharpe

The defense could light you up back then. Gronkowski is not even top 5. Shannon Sharpe is the GOAT. Also, listen to his HOF speech. Greatest speech ever.

Unlike Gronk, who plays in today's game, Shannon Sharpe went over the middle knowing full well defenders wanted to take his head off!
Kellen Winslow

Kellen Winslow Sr. is the best tight end of all time at actually playing the position. He had a shorter career than the stats guys, with two strike-shortened seasons as well. His stats were also deflated by having to "share" the ball with Charlie Joiner and John Jefferson/Wes Chandler.
Winslow had speed, size, great hands, and was the best route runner of any tight end ever. The best tight end of all time at actually playing the position is Kellen Winslow Sr.
Jason Witten

Christopher Jason Witten, born May 6, 1982, is a former professional American football tight end. He played 16 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and one season with the Las Vegas Raiders in the National Football League.
Witten played college football at the University of Tennessee and was selected... read more

I'm a diehard Eagles fan, and I absolutely loathe the Cowboys. But I have always respected Jason Witten. The man is one of the toughest and most durable players I have ever seen in my life. Watching him tear apart my Eagles for 15 years was very frustrating.
There are always individual players you appreciate on the teams you hate. Witten was that guy on the Cowboys. A great player and a rare class act for an organization filled with degenerates and arrogant loud-mouths. He always torched us and made us angry with how he always caught crucial third-down passes and touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but he earned our respect as a phenomenal football player.
I hope to see you one day enshrined in Canton, Jason. Fantastic career and a fantastic human being.
Mike Ditka

Michael Keller Ditka is a former American football player, coach, and television commentator. He played as a tight end in the NFL for the Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys. Ditka later coached the Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl XX victory and worked as an NFL analyst on major networks... read more
Antonio Gates

Antonio Ethan Gates Jr. is an American former professional football tight end. He played 16 seasons in the National Football League, primarily with the San Diego and later Los Angeles Chargers. Gates retired in January 2020 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2025.

The most underappreciated tight end of all time. Gates gets so much disrespect. He deserves way more attention than he gets.
Also, he never even played college football.

I love my Chargers and Antonio Gates. What a beast when he came out of the gates. A basketball player turned tight end - no one had ever heard of that. I think if Antonio Gates could stay healthy, he would be the best tight end of all time, hands down.

Antonio Gates is the second best tight end to play and should be way higher!
John Mackey

John Mackey was an American football tight end who played ten seasons in the NFL. He spent the first nine seasons (1963-1971) with the Baltimore Colts and finished his career with the San Diego Chargers in 1972. During his career he earned five Pro Bowl selections, was a three‑time first‑team All‑Pro... read more

Mackey should be second only to Kellen. Look at his stats: year in and year out, he was the best. In those days, if you did not have injuries, you were lucky.

Different era, but this guy was a load. The only one I've seen running like that is NE's Gronk.
Ozzie Newsome
Dave Casper

"The Ghost" - hands down best nickname for a tight end. He was the Snake's right-hand man in Super Bowl XI.

Would make the catch surrounded by the enemy!

The Newcomers

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David Njoku
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Austin Hooper

The Contenders

Jimmy Graham

Jimmy Graham is a former American football tight end who played in the National Football League. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in 2010 and also played for the Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, and Chicago Bears. As of 2025, Graham has retired from professional football and is participating... read more

The questions with Graham will be how long he can play and stay healthy and whether he keeps improving. He was a basketball player who only played one year of college football. It took him half a year to get on the field his first season, and he made some great plays.
In year two, he was one of the most dynamic receiving TEs but couldn't block and messed up some routes. In year three, he was hurt most of the year but played through it and had a good year. Now in year four, he appears to be the most unstoppable receiving TE in history. He doesn't make route mistakes anymore, and his blocking has improved to mediocre.

Graham should at least be in the top 5, if not the top 10. He's definitely the best tight end in football right now. Definitely not the best ever though.
Mark Bavaro

Best all-around tight end who played in the NFL, not to be confused with the new NFL, which should go ahead and rename itself the TFL (Tag Football League)!

Probably the toughest tight end. Remember him carrying several defenders into the end zone in the Super Bowl.
Travis Kelce

Travis Michael Kelce is an American football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He has played for the Chiefs since being drafted in 2013. Kelce is considered one of the top tight ends in NFL history and has been selected to multiple Pro Bowls.

He held the record for most receiving yards by a tight end in a single season... for almost an hour.

Without a doubt the best tight end in football currently.

Best tight end in the league right now.
Jay Novacek
Charlie Sanders

Rob Gronkowski would never have gotten up if he took some of the hits that Charlie Sanders did back when football was played by men, not the game it's become now. One hit like Charlie took in the end zone from Butkus, and Gronk would have been done. And Gronkowski's best catch ever isn't even in the top 10 of Charlie's!
It's too bad young people didn't watch football back when it was really football. Just like Brady would have lasted three plays if he got hit the way Johnny Unitas, the greatest quarterback who ever lived, got hit every single game!

Best hands, most difficult catches for a tight end. Also a tremendous ambassador for the game.
Greg Olsen

Gregory Walter Olsen (born March 11, 1985) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at the University of Miami and was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Olsen later played for the Carolina Panthers and the Seattle Seahawks before retiring... read more

He is a pivotal part of the Carolina Panthers offense, and considering that they went 15-1, he is pretty good. He's also Cam Newton's favorite target, so that puts him in a good position.

He is Cam Newton's favorite target in a season in which the Carolina Panthers went 15-1. Show some love!
Vernon Davis

Vernon Leonard Davis, born January 31, 1984, is a former American football tight end. He played in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos, and Washington Redskins. Davis was selected to two Pro Bowls and won Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos before announcing his retirement in 2020.

Fastest tight end in NFL history. Not the best, but the fastest, no doubt.
Todd Christensen

Todd is a Hall of Fame candidate as he was one of three tight ends that were dominant in the '80s, along with Kellen Winslow and Ozzie Newsome. In a run-dominated offense by Hall of Famer Marcus Allen, yet with QBs such as Marc Wilson, he was able to be a two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler.
He was sure-handed and got the Raiders out of many a jam. He was a two-time Super Bowl champion.
Jeremy Shockey

Jeremy Charles Shockey is a former American football tight end. He was drafted by the New York Giants as the 14th overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft. Shockey also played for the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers, and he won a Super Bowl with both the Giants and the Saints.

He was the best with the hits he delivered.
Zach Ertz

Zachary Adam Ertz (born November 10, 1990) is an American professional football tight end for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League. He played college football at Stanford and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Ertz has also played for... read more
Heath Miller

Earl Heath Miller Jr., nicknamed "Big Money," is a former American football tight end who spent his entire career with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He played from 2005 to 2015 and was a two-time Pro Bowl selection. Miller won Super Bowls XL and XLIII with the Steelers.
George Kittle

An absolute beast after the catch. Have fun bringing him down.

Best TE currently. If he keeps going at this pace, he's going to be the best of all time.
Brent Jones
Ben Coates
Brent Celek