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Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight ends for Week 9

Heath ranks the big guys.

NFL: New Orleans Saints at Baltimore Ravens Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to “byepocalypse,” where even tight ends who caught zero balls a week ago are bona fide TE1 options for Week 9. That’s right, give me all your Njoku and Watson shares. If not, can I interest you in some Austin Hooper on the road? No? Well, that scenario beats out plenty of others this week!

Get ready for some disgusting names, ladies and gents. Shout-out to these teams on byes for making this all happen: Bengals, Colts, Giants, Eagles, Cardinals, and Jaguars. Special shout-out to the Colts, who are robbing us of TWO viable tight end options this week. Anyway, let’s hop to it. Haggle away with me in the comments!

Week 9 Tight End Rankings

RANK PLAYER OPPONENT NOTES
RANK PLAYER OPPONENT NOTES
1 Travis Kelce @ CLE Ertz is on a bye, Gronk is banged up...Kelce is the #1 undisputed option at tight end.
2 Jared Cook @ SF I'd like him more if Beathard plays (and OAK is trailing). As is, he's still an elite option at an ugly position.
3 David Njoku vs. KC A guy who saw zero targets last week is a top three option? Yep, it's that bad around the TE spot...
4 O.J. Howard @ CAR Despite the low volume (4 targets last week) he always produces. That's solid gold at the TE spot.
5 George Kittle vs. OAK If Beathard plays I'll bump him up to the No. 2 spot, but the unknown of Mullens drives this ranking down.
6 Trey Burton @ BUF Too much scoring upside to get moved farther down this list.
7 Rob Gronkowski vs. GB I don't know how you bench him if you own him--unless you added Cook early this season.
8 Greg Olsen vs. TB This is a great matchup. Most weeks Olsen is a low-end TE1, but on "byepocalypse" is he a bona fide TE1.
9 Jordan Reed vs. ATL He had the volume last week (caught seven balls) but did little with his chances.
10 Kyle Rudolph vs. DET You better hope he scores a touchdown.
11 Jimmy Graham @ NE You better hope he scores a touchdown.
12 Benjamin Watson vs. LAR At home in what could be a high-flying game? You can do MUCH WORSE at tight end this week.
13 Vance McDonald @ BAL If the Ravens can stifle the Steelers run game, that's good news for the pass-catchers.
14 Austin Hooper @ WAS He isn't a great option on the road, but there simply aren't many great options this week.
15 Hayden Hurst vs. PIT Let's just say I think there's a chance that Hurst starts overtaking that grouping of tight ends in Baltimore.
16 Chris Herndon IV @ MIA He's on a scoring streak (three games in a row) but he's a candidate for poor volume.
17 Ed Dickson vs. LAC He caught a pair of balls and a score last week...yikes at this TE position in Week 9. Yikes.
18 Mike Gesicki vs. NYJ I'm simply trusting the athleticism and last week's slight uptick in volume (5 targets).
19 Cameron Brate @ CAR Always a chance he scores? Better chance than the next guy has of cresting 60 yards receiving...
20 Charles Clay vs. CHI I feel dirty recommending him, even as a low-end TE2 option. I'm sorry. Ugh.