Week 3 was not a great week for the tight end position. A lot of the top performers put up some lackluster numbers, but that is part of the difficulty at this position. Owners are looking to find players with low risk and those are few and far between. This week we'll look into the guys who are very likely to get a solid number of points and then move on to the players who present some upside along with some risk.
A Look Back At Week 3 -Week 3 Tight End Rankings
Teams on Bye Week: Arizona, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Seattle, St. Louis
Injury Risks: Vernon Davis Questionable, Delanie Walker Questionable, Charles Clay Questionable, Austin Seferian-Jenkins Questionable
The Elite Tier (Play With Confidence)
1. Jimmy Graham NO
2. Rob Gronkowski NE
3. Greg Olsen CAR
This is a thin week and as such the top tier is a bit different. Gronkowski's red zone looks are keeping him relevant despite low yardage totals. Olsen is on the other end of the spectrum, he gets lots of targets all over and I would feel safe playing him.
Starter Worthy (Should Be Safe To Roll With These Guys)
Bennett has been a beast so far, but beware the stat correction. I think he produces at a high level for a couple more weeks.4. Antonio Gates SD
5. Vernon Davis SF
6. Martellus Bennett CHI
7. Zach Ertz PHI
8. Delanie Walker TEN
9. Niles Paul WAS
Antonio Gates laid an egg last week, but I still like him going forward as long as he stays fairly healthy. Vernon Davis is a sketchy play as he is questionable but I like him if he starts. Martellus Bennett is a fast starter but a question mark to keep up the production. Ertz is not a top option but Foles is a good distributor. Walker IS a top option in his offense but the Titans have been ugly on offense lately. Niles Paul is in a good situation with Jordan Reed's continually up in the air status.
Dangerous With Potential (Mixed Results, But It Might Pan Out)
10. Larry Donnell NYG
11. Travis Kelce KC
12. Jason Witten DAL
13. Charles Clay MIA
14. Dwayne Allen IND
15. Coby Fleener IND
16. Heath Miller PIT
17. Owen Daniels BAL
18. Ladarius Green SD
The Giants always manage to have a relevant tight end regardless of who plays there. Donnell isn't great but he gets the ball a lot. Kelce is on the rise in a big way and I think that continues this week. Witten has to score at some point, if you own him you can't get much in trade so roll him out there and hope for the best. Owen Daniels gets a big boost as the de facto number one tight end in Baltimore. He'll see reps since Joe Flacco forgot that Torrey Smith plays on his team. Ladarius Green is hit or miss but the upside is big.
Hit Or Miss, But Mostly Miss (Do You Feel Lucky?)
19. Rhett Ellison MIN
20. Jace Amaro NYJ
21. Eric Ebron DET
22. Garrett Graham HOU
23. Brandon Myers TB
24. Scott Chandler BUF
25. Levine Toilolo ATL
26. Mychal Rivera OAK
27. Austin Seferian-Jenkins TB
28. Andrew Quarless GB
29. Tim Wright NE
30. Anthony Fasano KC
I feel like the rookie tight ends are ready to start contributing but I can't decide who will be useful first. As you can see from my rankings, Jace Amaro would be my first guess but I like Ebron's potential upside more. Good luck and don't let the bye weeks bite.
