NFL defense vs tight ends

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PickFinder Team•Updated:

Opposing tight ends put up the most receiving yards against the Cincinnati Bengals: 66.3 per tight end per game, 32nd of 32, against a league average of 40.8. They put up the fewest against the Green Bay Packers, at 23.3.

1st allows the least (toughest) and 32nd allows the most (softest). These are 2026 numbers through about 8 games per team. It counts the top tight end by targets per game.

1st = toughest, allows the least32nd = softest, allows the most

Green means opponents put up more of that stat, red means less. Ranks are never flipped, so a high rank on a stat like turnovers means opponents turn it over more against this team.

Defense vs tight ends, 2026

Per-game stats allowed to tight ends by each team, 2026, softest on Rec Yards first. Rank 1 allows the least.
Cincinnati Bengals766.332nd5.329th730th01st23.630th12.524th
Detroit Lions76331st5.431st7.331st0.931st21.328th16.931st
Washington Commanders760.430th5.431st6.929th132nd24.331st17.532nd
New Orleans Saints758.929th5.329th7.632nd0.311th18.418th13.229th
Denver Broncos856.428th4.826th6.527th0.419th2932nd12.524th
Miami Dolphins751.727th527th5.720th0.419th19.922nd1327th
Atlanta Falcons849.326th5.128th6.728th0.628th1615th13.229th
Buffalo Bills748.725th4.322nd623rd0.15th20.324th1018th
New York Jets846.824th416th5.618th0.419th18.418th10.922nd
Arizona Cardinals845.823rd4.322nd5.517th0.526th18.521st12.626th
Pittsburgh Steelers84422nd3.59th58th0.311th20.625th1018th
Carolina Panthers743.421st4.425th6.325th0.730th17.716th13.128th
New England Patriots842.420th4.120th623rd0.311th15.613th9.817th
Los Angeles Chargers741.419th3.46th4.95th0.15th20.726th8.39th
Dallas Cowboys838.418th4.322nd5.413th0.419th13.55th10.320th
Kansas City Chiefs738.117th416th6.325th0.419th2023rd10.521st
Cleveland Browns83816th3.46th4.95th0.419th20.927th9.316th
Houston Texans737.415th3.915th5.19th01st14.99th7.65th
Indianapolis Colts83714th3.59th5.19th0.628th18.418th1123rd
Chicago Bears736.913th3.46th4.95th0.311th21.729th8.913th
Tennessee Titans835.312th3.34th5.312th0.311th15.311th8.913th
Philadelphia Eagles835.111th3.59th4.12nd0.311th15.110th8.410th
Baltimore Ravens833.410th33rd4.12nd0.526th15.814th9.215th
Las Vegas Raiders832.19th4.120th5.19th0.311th15.311th8.711th
New York Giants731.18th3.714th5.922nd0.15th14.78th7.76th
San Francisco 49ers730.77th416th5.413th0.15th12.42nd7.98th
Tampa Bay Buccaneers830.46th3.59th5.413th0.419th12.83rd8.812th
Los Angeles Rams830.35th3.59th5.821st01st13.14th6.53rd
Minnesota Vikings726.94th2.11st4.34th01st18.317th4.91st
Jacksonville Jaguars726.73rd3.34th5.413th0.311th13.77th7.87th
Seattle Seahawks726.62nd416th5.618th0.15th10.61st7.54th
Green Bay Packers823.31st2.42nd3.91st0.15th13.55th5.42nd

Season, last 10 and last 5

Every current number at tight ends

Open a stat for its full ranking. L10 and L5 are the same defense over its last 10 and last 5 games, each with its own league rank.

Rec Yards allowed to tight endsLeague average 40.8 per game
Rec Yards allowed to tight ends, softest first, with season, last 10 and last 5 numbers.
Cincinnati Bengals766.332nd66.332nd59.627thWeak
Detroit Lions76331st6331st62.631stWeak
Washington Commanders760.430th60.430th60.630thWeak
New Orleans Saints758.929th58.929th6332ndWeak
Denver Broncos856.428th56.428th60.229thWeak
Miami Dolphins751.727th51.727th5022ndWeak
Atlanta Falcons849.326th49.326th6028thWeak
Buffalo Bills748.725th48.725th50.823rdWeak
New York Jets846.824th46.824th57.426thSoft
Arizona Cardinals845.823rd45.823rd43.618thSoft
Pittsburgh Steelers84422nd4422nd5525thSoft
Carolina Panthers743.421st43.421st49.821stSoft
New England Patriots842.420th42.420th52.424thSoft
Los Angeles Chargers741.419th41.419th34.410thNeutral
Dallas Cowboys838.418th38.418th38.212thNeutral
Kansas City Chiefs738.117th38.117th40.616thNeutral
Cleveland Browns83816th3816th38.413thNeutral
Houston Texans737.415th37.415th25.44thNeutral
Indianapolis Colts83714th3714th27.87thNeutral
Chicago Bears736.913th36.913th40.817thNeutral
Tennessee Titans835.312th35.312th48.820thSolid
Philadelphia Eagles835.111th35.111th44.819thSolid
Baltimore Ravens833.410th33.410th339thSolid
Las Vegas Raiders832.19th32.19th35.411thSolid
New York Giants731.18th31.18th308thTough
San Francisco 49ers730.77th30.77th38.413thTough
Tampa Bay Buccaneers830.46th30.46th201stTough
Los Angeles Rams830.35th30.35th39.415thTough
Minnesota Vikings726.94th26.94th243rdTough
Jacksonville Jaguars726.73rd26.73rd26.86thTough
Seattle Seahawks726.62nd26.62nd23.82ndTough
Green Bay Packers823.31st23.31st25.65thTough
Receptions allowed to tight endsLeague average 4 per game
Receptions allowed to tight ends, softest first, with season, last 10 and last 5 numbers.
Detroit Lions75.431st5.431st5.429thWeak
Washington Commanders75.431st5.431st631stWeak
Cincinnati Bengals75.329th5.329th4.418thWeak
New Orleans Saints75.329th5.329th5.228thWeak
Atlanta Falcons85.128th5.128th631stWeak
Miami Dolphins7527th527th525thWeak
Denver Broncos84.826th4.826th525thWeak
Carolina Panthers74.425th4.425th5.429thWeak
Arizona Cardinals84.322nd4.322nd4.418thSoft
Buffalo Bills74.322nd4.322nd413thSoft
Dallas Cowboys84.322nd4.322nd4.418thSoft
Las Vegas Raiders84.120th4.120th4.418thSoft
New England Patriots84.120th4.120th4.824thSoft
Kansas City Chiefs7416th416th3.69thNeutral
New York Jets8416th416th4.623rdNeutral
San Francisco 49ers7416th416th525thNeutral
Seattle Seahawks7416th416th3.48thNeutral
Houston Texans73.915th3.915th413thNeutral
New York Giants73.714th3.714th3.69thNeutral
Indianapolis Colts83.59th3.59th2.64thSolid
Los Angeles Rams83.59th3.59th4.217thSolid
Philadelphia Eagles83.59th3.59th413thSolid
Pittsburgh Steelers83.59th3.59th4.418thSolid
Tampa Bay Buccaneers83.59th3.59th3.27thSolid
Chicago Bears73.46th3.46th3.69thTough
Cleveland Browns83.46th3.46th36thTough
Los Angeles Chargers73.46th3.46th2.42ndTough
Jacksonville Jaguars73.34th3.34th3.69thTough
Tennessee Titans83.34th3.34th413thTough
Baltimore Ravens833rd33rd2.85thTough
Green Bay Packers82.42nd2.42nd2.42ndTough
Minnesota Vikings72.11st2.11st2.21stTough
Rec Targets allowed to tight endsLeague average 5.6 per game
Rec Targets allowed to tight ends, softest first, with season, last 10 and last 5 numbers.
New Orleans Saints77.632nd7.632nd7.630thWeak
Detroit Lions77.331st7.331st727thWeak
Cincinnati Bengals7730th730th617thWeak
Washington Commanders76.929th6.929th7.831stWeak
Atlanta Falcons86.728th6.728th7.831stWeak
Denver Broncos86.527th6.527th6.826thWeak
Carolina Panthers76.325th6.325th7.429thWeak
Kansas City Chiefs76.325th6.325th6.422ndWeak
Buffalo Bills7623rd623rd5.411thSoft
New England Patriots8623rd623rd7.228thSoft
New York Giants75.922nd5.922nd617thSoft
Los Angeles Rams85.821st5.821st5.814thSoft
Miami Dolphins75.720th5.720th5.814thSoft
New York Jets85.618th5.618th6.624thNeutral
Seattle Seahawks75.618th5.618th5.29thNeutral
Arizona Cardinals85.517th5.517th6.219thNeutral
Dallas Cowboys85.413th5.413th5.814thNeutral
Jacksonville Jaguars75.413th5.413th6.422ndNeutral
San Francisco 49ers75.413th5.413th6.624thNeutral
Tampa Bay Buccaneers85.413th5.413th5.29thNeutral
Tennessee Titans85.312th5.312th6.219thSolid
Houston Texans75.19th5.19th5.411thSolid
Indianapolis Colts85.19th5.19th43rdSolid
Las Vegas Raiders85.19th5.19th5.613thSolid
Pittsburgh Steelers858th58th6.219thTough
Chicago Bears74.95th4.95th58thTough
Cleveland Browns84.95th4.95th4.46thTough
Los Angeles Chargers74.95th4.95th3.41stTough
Minnesota Vikings74.34th4.34th4.24thTough
Baltimore Ravens84.12nd4.12nd3.82ndTough
Philadelphia Eagles84.12nd4.12nd4.87thTough
Green Bay Packers83.91st3.91st4.24thTough
Receiving TDs allowed to tight endsLeague average 0.3 per game
Receiving TDs allowed to tight ends, softest first, with season, last 10 and last 5 numbers.
Washington Commanders7132nd132nd0.628thWeak
Detroit Lions70.931st0.931st0.831stWeak
Carolina Panthers70.730th0.730th0.831stWeak
Atlanta Falcons80.628th0.628th0.316thWeak
Indianapolis Colts80.628th0.628th0.628thWeak
Arizona Cardinals80.526th0.526th0.417thWeak
Baltimore Ravens80.526th0.526th0.417thWeak
Cleveland Browns80.419th0.419th0.417thNeutral
Dallas Cowboys80.419th0.419th0.211thNeutral
Denver Broncos80.419th0.419th0.417thNeutral
Kansas City Chiefs70.419th0.419th0.211thNeutral
Miami Dolphins70.419th0.419th0.417thNeutral
New York Jets80.419th0.419th0.628thNeutral
Tampa Bay Buccaneers80.419th0.419th0.417thNeutral
Chicago Bears70.311th0.311th0.417thSolid
Jacksonville Jaguars70.311th0.311th0.211thSolid
Las Vegas Raiders80.311th0.311th01stSolid
New England Patriots80.311th0.311th0.417thSolid
New Orleans Saints70.311th0.311th0.417thSolid
Philadelphia Eagles80.311th0.311th0.417thSolid
Pittsburgh Steelers80.311th0.311th0.211thSolid
Tennessee Titans80.311th0.311th0.417thSolid
Buffalo Bills70.15th0.15th01stTough
Green Bay Packers80.15th0.15th01stTough
Los Angeles Chargers70.15th0.15th01stTough
New York Giants70.15th0.15th01stTough
San Francisco 49ers70.15th0.15th0.211thTough
Seattle Seahawks70.15th0.15th01stTough
Cincinnati Bengals701st01st01stTough
Houston Texans701st01st01stTough
Los Angeles Rams801st01st01stTough
Minnesota Vikings701st01st01stTough
Longest Reception allowed to tight endsLeague average 17.6 per game
Longest Reception allowed to tight ends, softest first, with season, last 10 and last 5 numbers.
Denver Broncos82932nd2932nd2932ndWeak
Washington Commanders724.331st24.331st22.626thWeak
Cincinnati Bengals723.630th23.630th23.429thWeak
Chicago Bears721.729th21.729th2530thWeak
Detroit Lions721.328th21.328th22.827thWeak
Cleveland Browns820.927th20.927th25.231stWeak
Los Angeles Chargers720.726th20.726th21.624thWeak
Pittsburgh Steelers820.625th20.625th1816thWeak
Buffalo Bills720.324th20.324th21.523rdSoft
Kansas City Chiefs72023rd2023rd23.328thSoft
Miami Dolphins719.922nd19.922nd1713thSoft
Arizona Cardinals818.521st18.521st2122ndSoft
Indianapolis Colts818.418th18.418th2225thNeutral
New Orleans Saints718.418th18.418th19.218thNeutral
New York Jets818.418th18.418th19.420thNeutral
Minnesota Vikings718.317th18.317th19.319thNeutral
Carolina Panthers717.716th17.716th17.815thNeutral
Atlanta Falcons81615th1615th17.514thNeutral
Baltimore Ravens815.814th15.814th14.67thNeutral
New England Patriots815.613th15.613th16.812thNeutral
Las Vegas Raiders815.311th15.311th15.811thSolid
Tennessee Titans815.311th15.311th2021stSolid
Philadelphia Eagles815.110th15.110th18.617thSolid
Houston Texans714.99th14.99th11.83rdSolid
New York Giants714.78th14.78th159thTough
Jacksonville Jaguars713.77th13.77th13.25thTough
Dallas Cowboys813.55th13.55th134thTough
Green Bay Packers813.55th13.55th159thTough
Los Angeles Rams813.14th13.14th14.67thTough
Tampa Bay Buccaneers812.83rd12.83rd101stTough
San Francisco 49ers712.42nd12.42nd146thTough
Seattle Seahawks710.61st10.61st10.42ndTough
Fantasy Score allowed to tight endsLeague average 10.1 per game
Fantasy Score allowed to tight ends, softest first, with season, last 10 and last 5 numbers.
Washington Commanders717.532nd17.532nd15.731stWeak
Detroit Lions716.931st16.931st16.532ndWeak
Atlanta Falcons813.229th13.229th1326thWeak
New Orleans Saints713.229th13.229th14.329thWeak
Carolina Panthers713.128th13.128th15.230thWeak
Miami Dolphins71327th1327th12.825thWeak
Arizona Cardinals812.626th12.626th11.221stWeak
Cincinnati Bengals712.524th12.524th11.221stSoft
Denver Broncos812.524th12.524th13.227thSoft
Indianapolis Colts81123rd1123rd913thSoft
New York Jets810.922nd10.922nd13.928thSoft
Kansas City Chiefs710.521st10.521st8.912thSoft
Dallas Cowboys810.320th10.320th9.416thSoft
Buffalo Bills71018th1018th9.115thNeutral
Pittsburgh Steelers81018th1018th12.123rdNeutral
New England Patriots89.817th9.817th12.224thNeutral
Cleveland Browns89.316th9.316th913thNeutral
Baltimore Ravens89.215th9.215th8.511thNeutral
Chicago Bears78.913th8.913th10.118thNeutral
Tennessee Titans88.913th8.913th11.120thNeutral
Tampa Bay Buccaneers88.812th8.812th7.78thSolid
Las Vegas Raiders88.711th8.711th7.99thSolid
Philadelphia Eagles88.410th8.410th10.719thSolid
Los Angeles Chargers78.39th8.39th5.63rdSolid
San Francisco 49ers77.98th7.98th1017thTough
Jacksonville Jaguars77.87th7.87th7.57thTough
New York Giants77.76th7.76th6.65thTough
Houston Texans77.65th7.65th6.65thTough
Seattle Seahawks77.54th7.54th5.84thTough
Los Angeles Rams86.53rd6.53rd8.110thTough
Green Bay Packers85.42nd5.42nd52ndTough
Minnesota Vikings74.91st4.91st4.61stTough

Using defense vs position on a prop

  1. Find the opponent

    Say a tight end's line is against the Cincinnati Bengals. The row shows 66.3 receiving yards per tight end per game, 32nd of 32.

  2. Compare with the league

    The league average against tight ends is 40.8, so this defense gives up 25.5 more per tight end. That puts it in the "Weak" bucket.

  3. Check the recent games

    Over the last 5 it is 59.6, lower than the season, so check whether the defense has improved. A big gap between the season and the last 5 is worth a look before you trust either one.

  4. Then check the player

    A matchup is one input. In the app, see how the player has done against today's exact line and compare every book's price.

How this is counted

Each number is what opposing players put up against this team, per game, averaged over the team's 2026 games. It counts the top tight end by targets per game. Teams are ranked on that number league-wide: 1st allows the least, last allows the most, for every stat, with ties sharing a rank. Last 10 and last 5 are the same defense over its most recent games; a dash means too few games to rank (under 3 for L10, under 2 for L5). Computed each morning from every box score of the season, preseason excluded, and refreshed here by 8:40 AM ET.

Defense vs position FAQ

Which NFL team is worst against tight ends?

On receiving yards, the Cincinnati Bengals: 66.3 per tight end per game in 2026, 32nd of 32, against a league average of 40.8. These are 2026 numbers through about 8 games per team.

Which NFL team is best against tight ends?

On receiving yards, the Green Bay Packers: 23.3 per tight end per game, 1st of 32.

Does a higher rank mean a softer matchup?

Yes. 1st allows the least and 32nd allows the most. Ranks are never flipped, so a high rank on a stat like turnovers means opponents turn it over more against this team.

Who counts toward the tight ends number?

It counts the top tight end by targets per game. That keeps the number close to the players a line would be set on. The league average here is 40.8.

Which defense has been getting softer against tight ends?

On receiving yards, the Tennessee Titans have the biggest jump in the last 5 games: 48.8 per game, up from 35.3 on the season.

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