Week 3 TE Rankings: Rob Gronkowski Over Antonio Gates?
Posted by Ray Tannock on Sep 21, 2011 in Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football Rankings
In my final player rankings installment I will again emphasize the significance of match-ups this week, as well as, individual situations. It is these two aspects that can help you figure out who is the best start this week, but as always, if you have a specific question be sure to leave it below.
A few of these players have some question marks over their heads regarding existing injuries, but not too many so be sure to check back regularly for any updated information or wait for my official injury report to be released Friday evening into Saturday morning.
Ready for your week 3 TE rankings?
| Player | VS. | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rob Gronkowski - NE | BUF | Has the chance to make a huge slash now that Aaron Hernandez is grounded. |
| 2. Jermichael Finley - GB | CHI | He has more receptions and yards against the Bears than any other team he has faced, and with Gates' unexpected injury situation, Finley becomes my number two. |
| 3. Jason Witten - DAL | WSH | Will see more targets with Austin out. |
| 4. Vernon Davis - SF | CIN | Alex Smith stinks but Davis doesn't |
| 5. Scott Chandler - BUF | NE | Already has made his mark, and plays against a terrible New England D. |
| 6. Antonio Gates - SD | KC | Listed as questionable, Gates falls to 6th. |
| 7. Jimmy Graham - NO | HOU | A nice day is ahead for Graham and Houston will have their hands full. |
| 8. Owen Daniels - HOU | NO | Ditto! |
| 9. Tony Gonzalez - ATL | TB | The man plays like a WR. |
| 10. Dustin Keller - NYJ | OAK | Has a nice match-up against the Raiders this week. |
| 11. Kellen Winslow - TB | ATL | The Falcons have issues covering anyone who catches a ball. |
| 12. Todd Heap - ARI | SEA | I like the potential here. |
| 13. Evan Moore - CLE | MIA | Moore faces a very porous Miami D. |
| 14. Brandon Pettigrew - DET | MIN | --- |
| 15. Dallas Clark - IND | PIT | --- |
| .16. Greg Olsen - CAR | JAX | Could be a surprise day for Olsen owners. |
| 17. Marcedes Lewis - JAX | CAR | Questionable - CALF |
| 18. Fred Davis - WSH | DAL | --- |
| 19. Jermaine Gresham - CIN | SF | --- |
| 20. Brent Celek - PHI | NYG | Questionable - BACK |
| 21. Ed Dickson - BAL | STL | Nice play here. |
| 22. Heath Miller - PIT | IND | --- |
| 23. Ben Watson - CLE | MIA | TE 2 play only. |
| 24. Visanthe Shiancoe - MIN | DET | May have an unexpected good day...watch out! |
| 25. Jared Cook - TEN | DEN | --- |
| 26. Jeremy Shockey - CAR | JAX | --- |
| 27. Anthony Fasano - MIA | CLE | You could do worse. |
| 28. Zach Miller - SEA | ARI | Nice matchup here, bad QB, though. |
| 29. Kyle Rudolph - MIN | DET | --- |
| 30. Luke Stocker - TB | ATL | Sneaky start. |
| 31.Daniels Fells - DEN | TEN | --- |
| 32. Lance Kendricks - STL | BAL | --- |
Other Week 3 Rankings: QB – WR – RB – IDP
INJURY ALERT: Antonio Gates / SD – Foot: Antonio Gates was held out of practice again on Thursday according to Kevin Acee on Twitter. This comes off of a Wednesday report by Acee at the San Diego Union-Tribune saying:
“Floyd strained a high leg muscle Sunday at New England. Gates appeared to be in some minor discomfort due to his lingering foot injury after the game, but there was no injury reported…”
The issue here is that this report says Gates’ leg, and other reports are saying the foot that gave him problems all last year. The official injury report will be released later today with my official injury report to follow, so for now, consider him very questionable, but also take the news with a grain of salt.
UPDATE: Friday 9/23: Gates is officially listed as Questionable after being limited in Friday’s practice. He drops to number six while Finley moves up to the two spot. The unexpected situation may kill my headline, but it is pertinent information you guys wanna know.
Now I am confused! GO OUT GRAB Fred Davis. and now he is ranked lower then Pettigrew. I was so high on Pettigrew to begin the season and spent a fairly early draft pick on him (I think 8 or 9th round) and my homer self told me to start Fred Davis in Week 2. Had I done that I would have won my matchup. Now Freddy is lower then Pettigrew Please help.
I have severe TE and QB issues.
Oh and Evan Moore is on my waiver! AGH. thanks for the rankings but I am more frustrated then ever now.
Don’t be frustrated, brother. Rankings are supposed to give you a base idea of who has the better play each and every week.
Matchups have a lot to do with fantasy football, so one week a guy might be ranked high, whereas the next week low.
Case in point:
In Week X, if you had DeSean Jackson against the Patriots, you would start him no doubt, and he would be ranked in the Top 5 because of the matchup, but the next week if he faces (let’s say for the sake of argument….Darrell Revis and the Jets) he would be ranked much lower, and if you had another stud you could make a case to start that player over Jackson, or just expected some less-than-normal fantasy points from D-Jax.
Makes sense?
As far as Davis being lower than Pettigrew, Davis’ matchup is not as good as Pettigrew’s this week, hence the ranking.
Let me know any other questions you have JKA.
Thanks Ray. So I should just go with my guy Pettigrew? He really stunk it up for me last week, after Scott Chandler ripped the Chiefs for 2 TD’s. Had I started Davis I would have won.
I would go with Pettigrew. I just don’t like Davis AT Dallas this week at all. Minnesota will be focusing so much on those outside receivers, Pettigrew will be the forgotten man especially in the red-zone.
What do you think about dropping Dallas Clark and picking up Rob Gronkowski?
Also if I do that Jimmy Graham has been my starter in weeks 1 and 2. Then who to start Gronkowski or Graham?
Grab Gronkowski and start him for sure.
Got a question i got RB.1 Maurice Jones Drew RB.2 Fred Jackson and FLEX as Tim Hightower…. should i keep those three with Vernon Davis as my TE or bench one and put Vernon as TE and Scott Chandlier at FLEX, or bench Vernon for Scott??? Help Please…. Thanks….
I’d leave Hightower out of the mix this week and put Chandler at the Flex.
Ray-
Should Gates being withheld from Wed. and Thurs. practice be enough indication that he will suffer on Sunday? I have F. Davis as my backup but as you said, the big stage Monday night could prove too much for him. Ed Dickson is the next available in my league. Thoughts?
The concern around Gates is now an issue, and I plan on updating everyone after the official injury report for NFL teams is released later today, but at this point, Gates isn’t as good of a play as Davis should be on MNF.
Start Davis for now, wait until the official update (a full blown injury article will be done, and good luck.
what do you think will happen with antonio gates this week? the late game is killing me (i have beanie in two leagues too!).. gresham, scheffler, evan moore, ben watson, and ed dickson are all available on the WW.. or i was considering taking mccmichael since its a later game and if gates is active, i think i want to start him.. but i have no idea what to expect from mcmichael if gates sat.. thanks!
pettigrew just got dropped in also!
and todd heap!
i guess the later game plays are heap/king, mccmichael, & dickson.. brutal.
As it stands right now, Gates is slated to play. That foot injury is never going to really go away, and could pop up here and there through out the season. But you also might want to consider the fact that the Chargers don’t really NEED Gates in this contest. He might just wind up being a bad play all-around this week.
All of the mentioned TEs aren’t at the level we normally associate Gates with, so if you have another starter o your roster, you might wanna go with him.
As far as picking up one of these guys, Jeff King isn’t being used much but he has consistently caught two catches one for a touchdown in each contest, and is the leading TE on most deep-format waiver wire right now.
If you are looking for more of a starter type TE Dickson is that guy, but the next three weeks he faces some brutal competition that is sure to keep his production in check.
looks like gates is out. who u think i should i start tomm?
gresham, scheffler, pettigrew, evan moore, ben watson, ed dickson, heap, king, cook, zmiller, & mccmichael are all available still
was leaning towards gresham, esp w simpson probably out and hes one of the few guys without competition at the spot (re king, heap is back this week, no?).. maybe dickson v rams.. wondering what mcmichael will do with this good matchup.. not so much looking for upside as consistency (0.5 ppr btw) as none of these guys is probably going to win it for me..
thanks!
I’d go with Gresham.
So Antonio Gates is my one and only TE. Fred Davis and Scott Chandler are available on my leagues waiver wire. Should i play Gates this week or grab davis or chandler, which one?
Chandler