- Last season, tight ends had their most targets per game since 2020.
- Tight ends accounted for 23.8% of the league’s receptions, the highest rate in a season.
- NFL Teams used 12 personnel (one RB and two TEs) on 22.1% of the offensive snaps, the highest rate in the 2000s.
- With more tight ends running routes, TE1 scorers accounted for 32.1% of the targets among the position. That was not only the fourth-lowest rate of the 15 year sample, but four of the bottom five seasons in that department have come since 2020.
As we continue to roll on through the offseason and prepare for the 2025 fantasy season, we are taking a top down look at production for each fantasy position.
Now, let’s take a look at the tight ends.
League TE Usage Since 2010
| Year | Tgt/G | Lg. TGT% | Rec/G | LG% | Yd/G | LG% | TD/G | LG% | PPR/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 14.0 | 22.4% | 10.2 | 23.8% | 102.1 | 21.9% | 0.7 | 22.0% | 24.3 |
| 2023 | 13.7 | 21.3% | 9.8 | 22.5% | 99.6 | 21.1% | 0.6 | 22.8% | 23.5 |
| 2022 | 13.4 | 21.1% | 9.3 | 21.7% | 97.5 | 20.8% | 0.7 | 26.4% | 23.4 |
| 2021 | 13.9 | 20.9% | 9.5 | 21.4% | 101.0 | 20.7% | 0.7 | 24.1% | 24.3 |
| 2020 | 14.2 | 21.1% | 9.6 | 21.0% | 103.5 | 20.3% | 0.9 | 26.8% | 25.5 |
| 2019 | 13.9 | 20.8% | 9.5 | 21.4% | 103.2 | 20.5% | 0.8 | 24.8% | 24.5 |
| 2018 | 13.4 | 19.9% | 9.1 | 20.3% | 103.5 | 20.4% | 0.7 | 22.6% | 24.0 |
| 2017 | 13.8 | 20.7% | 8.9 | 21.0% | 98.1 | 20.5% | 0.8 | 26.6% | 23.3 |
| 2016 | 14.4 | 20.5% | 9.5 | 21.2% | 105.1 | 20.6% | 0.7 | 23.5% | 24.4 |
| 2015 | 15.1 | 21.4% | 9.8 | 21.8% | 107.6 | 20.8% | 0.8 | 25.1% | 25.6 |
| 2014 | 13.9 | 20.2% | 9.1 | 20.7% | 100.2 | 19.9% | 0.8 | 26.8% | 24.1 |
| 2013 | 14.5 | 20.8% | 9.3 | 21.5% | 106.9 | 21.2% | 0.9 | 29.5% | 25.5 |
| 2012 | 15.0 | 21.9% | 9.6 | 22.7% | 104.6 | 21.3% | 0.8 | 26.7% | 24.8 |
| 2011 | 14.6 | 21.9% | 9.2 | 22.6% | 106.9 | 21.9% | 0.8 | 27.0% | 24.6 |
| 2010 | 14.3 | 21.6% | 9.0 | 22.0% | 99.8 | 21.1% | 0.8 | 25.8% | 23.5 |
The tight end position has been on the rise in usage, something that reached new heights in 2024.
Last season, tight ends had their most targets per game since 2020.
As we have noted throughout this series, that came attached to the suppression of passing volume.
Factoring in that we had the fewest pass attempts per game since 2008 further illuminates how much tight ends were used last season.
Tight ends accounted for 22.4% of the league’s targets, their highest rate in a season in the 2000s.
As a byproduct, they set a new collective record for receptions in a season and per game.
It was the first time that the position had averaged double-digit receptions per contest in a season.
They accounted for 23.8% of the league’s receptions, the highest rate in a season.
As an extension of the first two points, the position’s yardage per game was the highest since the 2020 season, while their share of the league’s receiving yards was the highest since 2011.
While the position’s usage has been on the rise and reached new heights last season, the one area where things have still lagged a bit is in the touchdown department.
Tight ends did catch 6 more touchdowns than they did as a group in 2023, but their share of the league’s receiving touchdowns was at the lowest point over the past 15 seasons.
Putting everything together that we have covered through this series shows that the usage of the position is not a coincidence.
On Monday, we highlighted that offenses were increasing their use of heavy sets to combat base nickel defenses, with multiple tight ends at the forefront of this trend.
Teams used 12 personnel (one RB and two TEs) on 22.1% of the offensive snaps, the highest rate in the 2000s.
There were 10,222 plays last season with at least two tight ends on the field, the first time that has cleared 10,000 since 2015.
There were 4,576 dropbacks last year with multiple tight ends on the field, the most since that 2015 season.
That means 22.7% of the dropbacks used multiple tight ends, up from a 20.4% rate in 2023 and a 19.9% rate in 2022.
As a result (paired with a 17 game schedule), tight ends as a whole ran 17,934 pass routes.
That is the most in any season ever.
It was 357 more than they ran in 2023 and 712 more than in 2022.
On Wednesday, we highlighted that tight ends have taken on an increased role in absorbing targets at the line of scrimmage, which has directly reduced running back receptions.
Putting all of this together with the increased rates of zone coverage and the high rates of the middle of the field being left open to prevent big plays on the outside, it is a clear picture of how the tight end position has become a larger focal point of today’s passing games.
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Fantasy TE1 Positional Output Share Since 2010
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