Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends in Week 10

There has been an awakening...have you felt it?

No, I am not referring to Rey Kenobi or to Finn. That’s right, ladies and gents. Rey is a Kenobi, not a Skywalker. I will accept your flawed arguments against me in the comments below, but know that you are wrong before you do so.

Anyway, the “awakening” among the tight end ranks refers to a pair of volume monsters. If the last few weeks are any indication, we can expect continued excellence from Evan Engram and Jack Doyle this NFL season.

Engram topped all tight ends in targets last week with 10. The week prior he was on a bye. The week before that he was tops in targets with 12. In short, he is receiving epic volume right now due to the absence of Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall. Unless you own Rob Gronkowski, you are not benching Engram in any format that I am familiar with.

Jack Doyle had 9 targets last week, the second-highest mark among tight ends. Two weeks ago, Doyle paced the position with a whopping 14 targets, four more than the next closest guy (Kelce had 10). In Week 7, Doyle “only” had 7 targets, tied for fifth-most that week. The week before that, Doyle paced the position with 11 targets. He is seeing tons of volume right now as Jacoby Brissett’s preferred chain-mover. The Steelers are a rough matchup for tight ends, however, as the speedy Ryan Shazier and his sub-4.40 wheels are formidable in pass coverage. I still like Doyle due to his volume and still have him as a strong TE1 option.

In the Thursday night game, Jimmy Graham is my overall TE3 due to the absence of Travis Kelce and Zach Ertz to bye weeks. I can’t comfortably rank Doyle ahead of him due to Doyle’s matchup, and I don’t love chasing points with Cameron Brate due to Ryan Fitzpatrick calling the shots in Tampa this week. Note: I think Brate will hog plenty of targets, I just question the value of said targets. The only tight end I like with an outside chance of outperforming Graham is Hunter Henry, but do you really want to bank on a guy who posted a 2-11 line last week?

***Graham killed it. I hope you played him.***

Jordan Reed got in limited work in practice on Thursday, which only serves to muddy the waters regarding Vernon Davis and his viability. The matchup against the Vikings is not great anyway, so it is hard to project either guy for more than low-end TE1 status this week. It would be nice to know which one before Sunday.

***Jordan Reed is expected to sit. Vernon Davis is a viable TE1 streamer even in a tough matchup.***

Eric Ebron is a TE1 option for me this week. I typed it and I said it out loud to myself (just to hear how bad it would be). I may eat a lot of crow for making him this week’s coverboy, but I expect enough production for a TE12 (or better) finish. Can we just end the season now if this pick goes south? Or if Darren Fells poaches a touchdown? I am afraid...

***Not only is Ebron a TE1, but I found my courage and moved Garrett Celek into TE1 range as well. It’s on.***

Charles Clay looks on track to return this week, but it is my own personal philosophy to see a game first. I would hope you aren’t banking on him in a big way this weekend. That said, the tight end position is abysmal so he still slots in as a TE2 option—albeit an uninspiring one.

I’m headed to my adult league footy game now, good luck out there ladies and gents!