Oh goodness. It's the playoffs, ya'll! And if you made it this far, you probably did so in spite of your tight end. But I'm not here to dwell on the tumult, on the up and down and up again season that we had to endure in the tight end landscape. Not this week. Not in playoff weeks. No, I'm going to roll up my sleeves, dig into the grime, and find you all some gems to slide into your lineup. Even if it kills me.
Target Monsters
When the Doyle's away, Eric Ebron will play. With his main competition for snaps out of the way, Ebron notched a season-high 16 targets. That's the most any tight end has been targeted in a single game this season (tied with Zach Ertz). Doyle is out for the remainder of the season, and knowing how much Andrew Luck adores throwing to tight ends, Ebron is a TE1 the rest of the way.
Say what you will about the dumpster fire happening in Green Bay, but it's been a real boon for Jimmy Graham. The de facto outlet for Aaron Rodgers' wayward passes saw a season-high in targets (11) and receptions (8), though he posted just 50 yards on the day. Graham hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 9 -- and I don't expect him to this week against a tough Atlanta red-zone defense -- but his volume makes him a safer play than most options at the position.
Let me be clear: I don't like the idea of Rhett Ellison being "a thing." But if the guy is going to continue seeing so many targets in Evan Engram's absence, I have to at least contend that he's an interesting dart throw this week. Ellison turned 7 targets into 4 receptions for 42 yards, and is the TE10 over the last two weeks. I don't feel good about it, but New York's backup tight end is an option to consider this week against Washington.
*Note: We've included Jaylen Samuels in the tight end rankings, as Yahoo leagues still have that designation applied to him. He may not be able to be used as a tight end in your league.
 Jacob Trowbridge | |
|---|---|
| Travis Kelce, KC, vs. BAL | 1 |
| Zach Ertz, PHI, at DAL | 2 |
| Eric Ebron, IND, at HOU | 3 |
| George Kittle, SF, vs. DEN | 4 |
| Jaylen Samuels, PIT, at OAK | 5 |
| Jared Cook, OAK, vs. PIT | 6 |
| Rob Gronkowski, NE, at MIA | 7 |
| David Njoku, CLE, vs. CAR | 8 |
| Vance McDonald, PIT, at OAK | 9 |
| Austin Hooper, ATL, at GB | 10 |
| Jimmy Graham, GB, vs. ATL | 11 |
| Cameron Brate, TB, vs. NO | 12 |
| C.J. Uzomah, CIN, at LAC | 13 |
| Jordan Reed, WAS, vs. NYG | 14 |
| Evan Engram, NYG, at WAS | 15 |
| Kyle Rudolph, MIN, at SEA | 16 |
| Jonnu Smith, TEN, vs. JAC | 17 |
| Trey Burton, CHI, vs. LAR | 18 |
| Ian Thomas, CAR, at CLE | 19 |
| Chris Herndon IV, NYJ, at BUF | 20 |
| Gerald Everett, LAR, at CHI | 21 |
| Dan Arnold, NO, at TB | 22 |
| Antonio Gates, LAC, vs. CIN | 23 |
| Jordan Thomas, HOU, vs. IND | 24 |
| Matt LaCosse, DEN, at SF | 25 |
| Mark Andrews, BAL, at KC | 26 |
| Nick Vannett, SEA, vs. MIN | 27 |
| Rhett Ellison, NYG, at WAS | 28 |
| Benjamin Watson, NO, at TB | 29 |
| Ricky Seals-Jones, ARI, vs. DET | 30 |
| Vernon Davis, WAS, vs. NYG | 31 |
| Tyler Higbee, LAR, at CHI | 32 |
| Jesse James, PIT, at OAK | 33 |
| Hayden Hurst, BAL, at KC | 34 |
| Dallas Goedert, PHI, at DAL | 35 |
| Mike Gesicki, MIA, vs. NE | 36 |
| Levine Toilolo, DET, at ARI | 37 |
| James O'Shaughnessy, JAC, at TEN | 38 |
| Charles Clay, BUF, vs. NYJ | 39 |
| Adam Shaheen, CHI, vs. LAR | 40 |
| Ed Dickson, SEA, vs. MIN | 41 |
| Demetrius Harris, KC, vs. BAL | 42 |
| Erik Swoope, IND, at HOU | 43 |
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