Week 8 Tight End Rankings - PPR Leagues

I usually get tight end rankings in on Thursday afternoon before the night game, but it has been a busy week for me and I had to postpone these rankings until today. But I'm sure those of you who had Delanie Walker and Julius Thomas played them with confidence considering the large bye week and the fact that they are two top TE's (they will not be ranked in this edition). On the same note, these next two weeks are going to be really stressful for the tight end position. If you have a tight end out of action and don't have a backup in place, you will be scavenging the waiver wires looking for someone out there who can give you at least one point (maybe at best). We are still going 25-deep on the list this week, but be wary the guys on the bottom are not going to be very good, but they are essentially what I think are the best out of what is left.

BYE WEEK: Baltimore, Los Angeles, Miami, New York Giants, Pittsburgh, San Francisco

Tyler Eifert - He's expected to get more work in this week after recording 15 snaps last week. This week he's against the Redskins who have been solid against tight ends giving up about 45 yards to the position. Owners of Eifert should be excited that he said his injuries felt fine, but I would humble expectations. The Redskins are shutting down TE's and I Eifert won't be on the field for every snap. That being said, there aren't that many options this week so he's top-12 for me and should only rise going forward.

Jordan Reed - Here's a guy you have to keep an eye on this weekend. He is flying with the team to London and expects to play, but how much he will play is still a question. The problem is that the game kicks off at 9:30am EST. So you really have to check his status the night before the game to get a good feel of how he will be used. I assume he will be a full-go, so I have him as my #3 guy. For Vernon Davis, it hurts his value and even in a week where there are very few tight ends, he is someone I would stay away from. If Reed is limited in some capacity though, he value increases dramatically.

Eric Ebron - He's been a full participant in practice the last two days, which is a great sign after he has missed the last three weeks with a knee injury. I always like Ebron when he's active. He is the tallest receiver on this offense and that gets him a lot of red zone looks. He has 25 targets and 18 catches in the four games he has played this season and I expect that amount to stay consistent. With Stafford getting almost all of his weapons back this week, Ebron and the Lions offense should have a nice outing.

Zach Ertz - His status as a TE1 in the beginning of the season has all but gone right now. Ertz has only had three targets in each of his last three games and has scored only 11 points since the Week 4 bye. Even though the Cowboys defense struggles to defend the TE, I just don't see Ertz getting involved much. This Eagles offense has really toned down since the start of the season and no one more than Ertz has felt the negative effects. I said in the introduction that I'd be wary of the guys on the bottom of the list and I can't believe Ertz is there, but he is. He has the best potential of anyone there with his favorable matchup, but his recent numbers lately are making me think otherwise.