2. George Kittle is averaging 2.96 yards per route run, which would rank best by any tight end this past decade. Mark Andrews’ 2.71 and Darren Waller’s 2.37 would also rank top-10.
Kittle owners have to be disappointed he sat out in Week 12, in what would have been a dream matchup against an Arizona defense that came into the week yielding a league-high 21.4 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends. However, hopefully the above chart will cheer up Kittle owners (especially dynasty owners). Not only did Kittle come into the week ranking as our highest-graded player (at any position) but he also owns our two best seasons by yards per route run, and joins Rob Gronkowski as the only other tight end with more than one season in the top-12. As sacrilegious as I know this statement seems, Kittle really might be the second coming of Gronkowski.
In 2018, Andrews averaged 2.01 yards per route run, which was the most by any rookie tight end in PFF history (2007-2019). In 2017 (his final year of college), Andrews averaged 2.63 yards per route run, which ranks second-best in PFF college history (2014-2019). So, maybe it shouldn’t be much of a surprise he ranks so highly on this list. As the No. 1 receiver on the league’s most-potent offense, Andrews needs to be viewed as an every-week top-five tight end moving forward.
Similarly, Waller leads all tight ends in receptions (56) and ranks second in yards (666). Finally seeing a full-time role four years removed from his rookie season, the former wide receiver turned tight end seems likely to be an annual TE1 moving forward, and at least a mid-range TE1 for the remainder of the season.