Week 15 Rankings (2018): Top 20 Tight Ends

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

We all know that injuries have helped to cripple the tight end position, and at this point you can count the dependable options basically on one hand.  The problem is what happens if you don’t have one of those elite options?  Let’s take a look at how things look for the coming week and who you should be trusting and who you should be ignoring:

1. Travis Kelce – Kansas City Chiefs – vs. Los Angeles Chargers
2. Zack Ertz – Philadelphia Eagles – at Los Angeles Rams
3. Rob Gronkowski – New England Patriots – at Pittsburgh
4. Jared Cook – Oakland Raiders – at Cincinnati
5. Eric Ebron – Indianapolis Colts – vs. Dallas
6. George Kittle – San Francisco 49ers – vs. Seattle
7. Cameron Brate – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – at Baltimore
8. Vernon Davis – Washington Redskins – at Jacksonville
9. David Njoku – Cleveland Browns – at Denver
10. Ian Thomas – Carolina Panthers – vs. New Orleans
11. Vance McDonald – Pittsburgh Steelers – vs. New England
12. Evan Engram – New York Giants – vs. Tennessee
13. C.J. Uzomah – Cincinnati Bengals – vs. Oakland
14. Austin Hooper – Atlanta Falcons – vs. Arizona
15. Chris Herndon – New York Jets – vs. Houston
16. Kyle Rudolph – Minnesota Vikings – vs. Miami
17. Jimmy Graham – Green Bay Packers – at Chicago
18. Dan Arnold – New Orleans Saints – at Carolina
19. Matt LaCosse – Denver Broncos – vs. Cleveland
20. Trey Burton – Chicago Bears – vs. Green Bay

Thoughts:

• To say that it was a monster day for George Kittle in Week 14 would be an understatement, as he racked up 7 catches for 210 yards and 1 TD.  He’s going to continue to be a significant part of the offense, with 9+ targets in four straight games (and 8+ targets in six of his past seven games), but can we really expect this type of output once again?  He’s a borderline Top 5 option, without question, but don’t overreact based on last week’s performance.
• It’s been a quiet season for Rob Gronkowski, but he’s coming off an 8 catch, 107 yard and 1 TD performance and has now scored in two of his past three games since returning.  Taking on a Steelers’ defense that’s been bad against opposing tight ends, including allowing 148 yards and 2 TD in Week 14 against Jared Cook and the Oakland Raiders, there’s a good chance that the strong performances continue.
• Stepping in for Greg Olsen, Ian Thomas turned 11 targets into 9 receptions and 77 yards.  The Saints have been pretty good at stopping opposing tight ends this season, though Cameron Brate got them for 2 TD in Week 14.  Thomas is hardly among the elite options, but there’s enough upside to consider him as a low-end TE1.
• With Jordan Reed injured Vernon Davis should step in and carry the TE load in Week 15 against Jacksonville.  That should yield solid results, especially considering the questionable quarterback play and the need for a safety valve.
• We will have to wait and see if Austin Hooper’s knee keeps him out of Week 15, but even if he plays will you want to trust him against Arizona?  He’s hardly a can’t miss option, instead just lumped in with the rest of back-end options.

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