When many NFL fans think of the top tight ends (TEs) in the NFL, Kansas City’s Travis Kelce is the first player to come to mind. Statistically, he leads all active tight ends in receiving yards.

At 34 years old, he’s certainly in the final chapter of his career. The former Cincinnati Bearcat stated he wanted to return for the 2024 season to attempt a three-peat at winning the Super Bowl with the Chiefs.

Other tight ends in the NFL who have performed well recently are Mark Andrews, George Kittle, Sam LaPorta, T.J. Hockenson, and Evan Engram.

We’ll go into depth regarding each player, look at the historical leaders at the position, and highlight betting markets where you can stake them.

Betting On NFL TEs

Punters can bet on various categories for NFL tight ends. The most common is on the over or under for their season-long receiving yards total set by sportsbooks.

Every week of the NFL season, player prop totals are also available to wager. For example, in Week 1, you can bet on Sam LaPorta to go over or under a certain yardage.

2024 Player Prop Totals – Tight End Receiving Yards Odds

In the table below, you can see the odds for 2024 receiving totals to inform your player prop bets.

Player	2024 Receiving Total	2023 Receiving Yards	Team
Travis Kelce	900.5	984 yards	Chiefs
Sam LaPorta	850.5	889 yards	Lions
George Kittle	800.5	1,020 yards	49ers
Mark Andrews	800.5	544 yards	Ravens
Kyle Pitts	775.5	667 yards	Falcons

Most Receiving Yards by a Tight End in a Season

The table below showcases the top five tight ends in terms of receiving yards for the 2023 season.

Tight End Receiving Yards 2023

Player	Receiving Yards	Team
George Kittle	1,020	49ers
Travis Kelce	984	Chiefs
Evan Engram	963	Jaguars
TJ Hockenson	960	Vikings
Sam LaPorta	889	Lions

• Five-time Pro Bowler George Kittle led all tight ends in receiving yards (1,020). As seen in the table, he was the only tight end to reach 1,000 yards. He finished ranked 24th in terms of most receiving yards when including wide receivers. Tyreek Hill (Miami) led the league with 1,799 yards.
• Rookie Sam LaPorta enjoyed a breakout season for the Lions thanks to his 889 yards. The Iowa product led all tight ends in receiving touchdowns (10). Next up all tied with six scores were Mark Andrews, George Kittle, Hunter Henry, David Njoku and Cole Kmet.

2024 Odds To Lead NFL In Receiving Yards

Player	Odds	Team
Travis Kelce	+5500	Chiefs
Sam LaPorta	+9000	Lions
Mark Andrews	+10000	Ravens
Kyle Pitts	+11000	Falcons
George Kittle	+12000	49ers

A tight end has never led the NFL in receiving yards, which explains the long odds.

We felt it was important to showcase each player’s odds so readers could gain perspective on each player’s season-long outlooks, according to bookmakers.

All Time Tight End Receiving Yards Leaders

Below, you can see the top five players in terms the tight ends with the most receiving yards of all time.

Player	Total Receiving Yards	Games Played
Tony Gonzalez	15,127 yards	270
Jason Witten	13,046 yards	271
Antonio Gates	11,841 yards	236
Travis Kelce	11,328 yards	158
Shannon Sharpe	10,060 yards	204

• Legendary Chiefs’ tight end Tony Gonzalez stands atop the list after playing 17 seasons in the NFL. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019. Gonzalez was selected to 14 Pro Bowls in his career, the most ever for a tight end.
• Travis Kelce has won three Super Bowls with the Chiefs. His 71.69 receiving yards per game are astronomically higher than every other tight end on this list. He likely won’t catch the record of fellow Chief Tony Gonzalez. By the end of the 2024 season, if he can stay healthy, he’ll likely move up to third for all-time receiving yards.
• Shannon Sharpe was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011. The eight-time Pro Bowler won three Super Bowls (1998, 1999 and 2001) with the Denver Broncos. 

Best Tight Ends Right Now

This list of the best TEs in the NFL right now is based on career performance and recent history.

Travis Kelce – Kansas City Chiefs

We’ve made it pretty clear in this article that Kelce has owned a Hall-of-Fame career with his impressive stats and Super Bowl victories.

While his numbers have began to decline, it’ll be interesting to see how much longer he plays in the league and how many more yards and touchdowns he records.

Currently, Kelce has the fifth-most touchdowns (77) among tight ends in NFL history. He’s also fourth all-time for receptions (907 entering the 2024 campaign).

George Kittle – San Francisco 49ers

The Iowa product has been considered one of the top players at the tight end position for years now. What makes him even more all-around are his blocking capabilities.

Many NFL executives, coaches and players consider him to be the best blocking tight end in the league.

Kittle’s best season in terms of receiving yards came in 2018 (second season), when he recorded 1,377 yards, eighth most in the NFL (including wide receiver stats)

The former fifth round pick’s best scoring campaign came in 2022 when he caught 11 touchdowns (third-most).

What Kittle continues to chase is a Lombardi Trophy. He’s played in two Super Bowls but has fallen both times to the Chiefs (2020 and 2024).

Mark Andrews – Baltimore Ravens

Andrews has been an elite tight end since his sophomore NFL season in 2019. His top receiving season came in 2021 when he made 107 receptions for 1,361 yards.

The Oklahoma product led all tight ends in yards and receptions that year. His 107 catches were fifth-best in the NFL and 1,361 yards were the sixth-most among all players.

During 2019, Andrews recorded 10 touchdowns, the most at the tight end position, and tied for 10th in the entire league.

The 3-time Pro Bowler had his 2023 regular season cut short in Week 11 after suffering an ankle injury.

He returned in the AFC Championship (17-10 loss to Kansas City) but played sparingly and only recorded two catches.

Sam LaPorta – Detroit Lions

LaPorta’s superb rookie year earned him Pro Bowl honors which is an exceptional feat for rookies. The 23-year-old led all tight ends in touchdowns after finding the end zone on 10 occasions.

Despite being in an offense full of weapons such as Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, LaPorta was able to firmly establish himself as one of Jared Goff’s favorite targets.

It’ll be hard for him to reach double-digit touchdowns once again, but he’ll attempt to improve this year and also crack the 1,000-yard mark.

TJ Hockenson – Detroit Lions

TJ Hockenson was on pace to lead all tight ends in receiving yards and was having a tremendous season before tearing his ACL and MCL during the third quarter of Week 16 (against Detroit).

With 960 yards and two games left on the schedule, he probably would’ve finished at the top ahead of Kittle (1,020 receiving yards). He isn’t expected to be ready for the start of the 2024 regular season.

Despite missing two games, Hockenson still finished second among all tight ends in receptions (95) and was on pace (ended with five) to eclipse his career-high of six touchdowns he caught in 2020.

Before You Bet on Travis Kelce

Before you place a bet on Travis Kelce, or another tight end whose odds are looking good, don’t forget to shop around for the best odds.

Odds shopping, which is finding the best odds available across all bookmakers, is imperative when sports betting.

DraftKings might be offering a player’s total at 50.5 yards with -130 odds for the over and +100 for the under. Other sportsbooks might offer a lower total with even better odds.

That’s exactly why you should be comparing lines across every operator. At BestOdds, we have an odds-shopping tool for spreads, moneylines and totals. It also displays the potential payouts.

Remember to bet responsibly and stick to responsible unit sizes so you can carefully manage your bankroll.