In total, a tight end has been taken in the first round eight times. They are Travis Kelce, who leads the pack with four times. Gronkowski was taken in round one twice and Jimmy Graham and Mark Andrews were each selected once.
Six of the eight teams that used a first round pick on a tight end ended up making the playoffs. Of those six, half of them earned the top seed (with two taking home a scoring crown). However, not only has a team that has taken a tight end in round one never won a championship, none have even reached the title game.
Here is your history…
2012 – Jimmy Graham (Griff, 6th overall pick)
Griff became the first person in league history to take a tight end in the first round. Graham was good, but he wasn’t the best. The Saints tight end averaged 131 PPG, which was good enough to earn his a third-team award. He finished behind Rob Gronkowski, who averaged 163 PGG and Tony Gonzalez, who delivered 151 PPG.
Griff had a solid 2010 campaign, securing 10 wins and earning the top seed, averaging 1,434 PPG, which was second best that year. However, Coomer crumbled in the quarterfinals, falling to 8-seed Burrier, 1,150-1,084. Graham had just five catches for 56 yards and finished with only 102 fantasy points in a game Griff lost by only 66 points.
2015 – Rob Gronkowski (Bob, 12th overall pick)
The Patriots tight end became the second tight end to go in the first round. This time around, he was the last pick in the round for defending champ, Bob Castrone, who had him the previous year when he won it all. Like in 2014, Gronkowski was the league’s top tight end, averaging 200 per game (2,402 total points in the regular season). He earned a second straight first-team All-Robio award with Bob, despite actually sitting out in week 13.
Castrone dominated 2011, winning his first eight games and finishing the season 11-2 (earning the top seed). He also averaged 1,507 per game, which was good enough to hand him the scoring crown. In the quarterfinals, Bob topped 2,000 in a win over Burrier, thanks to 234 from his starting TE. However, in the semifinals, Gronk produced 54 yards and one score (168 points) in a game Bob lost to Colby by 81 points (1,398-1,317).
2016 – Rob Gronkowski (Rich B, 5th overall pick)
For a second straight season, Gronkowski was taken in the first round, becoming the first tight end to go in round one twice in his career. Unfortunately for Burrier, the Patriots tight end couldn’t stay on the field. He would play in only eight games, producing stats in only six total contests. He was good when he played, as he still scored 1,260 points and finished 10th among all tight ends. However, his season ended in week 11. This remains the worst performance by a first-round tight end.
Oddly enough, in games where Gronkowski produced a stat, Richard only went 1-5 in those contest. In games without Gronkowski playing or producing, Burrier actually went 5-2. He finished the season at 6-7, earning the 8-seed. When he went into the quarterfinals, he had C.J. Fiedorowicz as his starting tight end. In a game where Fiedorowicz scored just 64 fantasy points, Rich failed to upset 1-seed Jeff, losing by just 65 points, 905-840.
2019 – Travis Kelce (Eric, 5th overall pick)
After finishing as the top tight end the previous two seasons, Eric made Travis Kelce his first pick in the 2019 draft. Like the previous seasons, the Chiefs tight end would do what he always did. He finished the season as the top tight end, averaging 174 points per game; 24 more points per game than the second best tight end (Darren Waller). The problem was, that was 600 less points than he scored in 2018, so Eric might have felt a little jaded.
That season, Eric would never win back-to-back games and produce three weekly low scores, yet he still managed to sneak into the postseason with a 6-7 record. While there would be a day Eric would dominate the postseason as an 8-seed, this season wasn’t that season. Eric fell in the quarterfinals to top-seed Calderon, 1,574-1,021. In that game, Gronkowski would finish with 66 yards, one score and one fumble (162 fantasy points).
2021 – Travis Kelce (Colby, 5th overall pick)
In 2021, Colby got into the first-round tight end game, taking Travis Kelce fifth overall. This made sense, as the Chiefs tight end had earned four straight first-team All-Robio awards (the only other person to achieve this was Tony Gonzalez between 2000-2003). Thus, Kelce was aiming to become the first tight end to do it five straight seasons.
Anyhow, Kelce would go on to have a solid season, topping 2,000 for a fifth straight year. Yet, he would fail to secure a 5th straight first-team award, as Mark Andrews outscored Kelce, 2,252 to 2,088 in fantasy points.
Unfortunately, having the second best tight end wasn’t that helpful for Mr. Hall, who managed to only win five games all year, topping 1,500 only once all season. He missed the playoffs; finishing tied for the worst record that year, averaging only 1,269 points per game.
2022 – Mark Andrews (Jeff, 11th overall pick)
In 2022, Jeff not only decided to take a tight end with the 11th overall pick, but he bailed on Travis Kelce and selected the Ravens tight end. Of course, let’s not forget that Andrews actually finished 2021 as the league’s top tight end, one spot ahead of Kelce, so maybe not so shocking. Well, Andrews wasn’t terrible in 2022, as he earned a second-team All-Robio award. The problem is, he averaged a decent 140 points per game, 75 points per game less than Kelce, who scored 1,020 more points that year than Andrew.
Of course, it probably wouldn’t have mattered to Greenblatt, who managed to only average 1,181 points per game and earn three total victories; tied for worst record that year. Even if we gave Jeff the extra 1,000 points, he still would have finished 11th in points scored that year.
2022 – Travis Kelce (Eric, 12th overall pick)
With Jeff snagging Mark Andrews, Eric was able to land Travis Kelce, who returned to dominating form in 2022. In fact, he scored 2,798 points. His 215 points per game average was the third most ever scored by a tight end (in fact, the top three single season point totals by a tight end all belong to Kelce). Like I said, he would outscore the second best tight end by 1,020 fantasy points. Kelce’s point total would have been good enough to make him the 5th best wide receiver.
Thanks to Kelce’s dominance, Eric put together the second greatest regular season in league history. He finished the season 12-2, scoring 1,606 PPG, which was the second most ever scored in a regular season. He locked in six weekly high scores and entered the postseason as the top-seed. Unfortunately, Eric’s magical run would end in the semifinals, when he was stunned by 7-seed Neatock, 1,356-1,286. Don’t blame Kyle though, as he finished that week with 113 yards and 216 fantasy points.
2023 – Travis Kelce (Robio, 8th overall pick)
In what will probably be the last time Travis Kelce will be taken in round one, I took him with the 8th overall pick. Officially, he did what he almost always does. He finished the season as the top tight end, earning a record sixth first-team All-Robio award. Yet, this wasn’t a standard Kelce season. He only missed on game due to injuries, but he never looked healthy. He averaged 171 PPG in games he played, which is fine.
As for me, I rode with Kelce all season long. After dropping my first four games, I managed to win seven of my final 10 games, finishing 7-7 and earning the six seed. However, my season would end in the quarterfinals, falling to Michael, 1,581-1,187. Kelce isn’t to blame, but his five catches for 44 yards that week (88 fantasy points) didn’t help.