Fantasy Football Week 6 Rankings: Top 10 TE to Start
Jimmy Graham has been an absolute fantasy football beast posting inhuman numbers on a weekly basis. With Tony Gonzalez on a bye, Graham’s main competition this week comes from Jason Witten and the finally returning Rob Gronkowski.
Who should you start at tight end this week? Here’s the top ten based on the composite rankings of myself and Leo Howell who also covers fantasy for FanSided. If you have any roster or lineup questions feel free to fire them at me on twitter @ZT_Sports or in the comments at the bottom of the page.
These are the players who should be started in standard 10-team leagues.
1. Jimmy Graham-New Orleans Saints
Graham’s the clear number one by far at tight end. In ESPN standard scoring, he has total of 93 points while only three other tight ends have over 50 and Julius Thomas is a distant second with 70. The Patriots were thrashed by Tony Gonzalez and the Bengals TE, so look for Graham to keep up his impressive work.
2. Jason Witten-Dallas Cowboys
Witten has been more up-and-down than Graham, but has ten targets in each of the last two weeks and finished with seven catches, 121 yards, and a touchdown last week. He should be in good shape for another good game against the Redskins struggling defense.
3. Rob Gronkowski-New England Patriots
Gronk is expected to make his long-awaited return this week as the Pats host Jimmy Graham and the Saints. New Orleans is middle-of-the pack against TE, but Brady will throw him the ball a ton when he does get back on the field.
4. Julius Thomas-Denver Broncos
Thomas is the second-highest scoring TE, but the Jaguars are actually decent against opposing TE so far this season. Facing the Broncos is so much “pick your poison” it is hard to predict where Peyton’s passes will go. Thomas is a great TE1 and has emerged as a weekly must play out of nowhere this season.
5. Jordan Cameron-Cleveland Browns
Cameron would be higher on my list if he still had Brian Hoyer under center, but switching to Brandon Weeden shouldn’t totally negate his value. Cameron was at 95 yards or higher in both Weeden starts, but it does hurt his consistency a bit going forward in my opinion.
6. Martellus Bennett-Chicago Bears
Bennett plays the Giants on Thursday Night who struggle defending just about everything including the tight end where they’ve allowed five TD’s in the first five weeks.
t7. Vernon Davis-San Francisco 49ers
The Cardinals are pretty good at defending WR, but they’ve allowed the fourth-most points in the league to opposing TE. That bodes well for Davis who is still Colin Kaepernick’s best receiving threat when he does throw the ball.
t7. Greg Olsen-Carolina Panthers
Olsen is in a good matchup against the Vikings who have allowed more points per game to opposing TE than any team except Miami who is on a bye this week. Olsen has a bit of a foot injury that needs to be monitored but he says he should be able to play on Sunday.
t7. Antonio Gates-San Diego Chargers
Gates is having a resurgent season right alongside his QB Philip Rivers. Last week, he was targeted at least 10 times for the third time in four games and finished with 74 yards on seven catches. He’s a nice play Monday night as he matches up with…
10. Coby Fleener-Indianapolis Colts
I’m still not sold on Fleener, but he takes on Gates and the Chargers in what should be an entertaining Monday Night Football game. Fleener has filled in well for Dwayne Allen and rounds out our top ten since he was high enough on Leo’s list. For my tenth pick I went with Garrett Graham who should get more looks now in Houston. He’s a great pickup if you need a boost, but he’s already widely owned and has the whole Matt Schaub issue hanging over him. Whether you go Fleener, Graham, or a different direction, Good luck this weekend!