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I sure hope everyone enjoyed CJ Uzomah’s massive troll job against me last week. I assume he read last Thursday’s article, which stated:
“It’s safety blanket time, right under the wire for Thursday Night Football! That said, no tight end from the Jaguars or the Bengals made my top 25, so be prepared for Dan Arnold and C.J. Uzomah to have full-fledged breakouts tonight.”
Uzomah (5-95-2) finished as the overall TE1 for the week, of course. Thankfully I made some better calls, including pushing Kyle Pitts down to my TE12 (he finished as TE19) and keeping Mike Gesicki locked into the top 10 (he finished as the TE7).
But enough about last week! We are officially past the quarter pole of the season as soon as the dust settles on Week 5. It’s time to get serious!
Ross Dwelley is a new name this week, given the absence of George Kittle (calf). Cameron Brate, too, should get the lion’s share of targets for Tampa Bay with Rob Gronkowski out. For rankings and more news and notes, check the table below.
By my count, you’re trusting the top seven guys in my rankings this week. After that, you’re rolling the dice and hoping for a touchdown. You’re legitimately streaming after the top seven. Yikes. I’ve kept Tyler Higbee (who played on Thursday) in for reference.
TE Rankings for Week 5
| Rank | Player Name | Team | Opponent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Player Name | Team | Opponent | Notes |
| 1 | Travis Kelce | KC | vs BUF | He's second in targets but tied for first in receptions and ranks first in yardage among all tight ends. |
| 2 | Darren Waller | LV | vs CHI | He's tied for the 8th-most targets in the NFL (41) and the 7th-most red zone targets (8). And he's a tight end. His 41 targets are 10 more than Kelce's 31. |
| 3 | TJ Hockenson | DET | @ MIN | He and Travis Kelce each have 31 targets, second most among all TEs after only Waller (41). |
| 4 | Mark Andrews | BAL | vs IND | Only three red zone looks is a disappointment, but 28 targets overall puts him tied for fourth among all tight ends. Ride the wave. |
| 5 | Mike Gesicki | MIA | @ TB | The Bucs are not a threatening matchup for TEs, and Gesicki is coming off of back-to-back top 10 finishes. |
| 6 | Noah Fant | DEN | @ PIT | He had a whopping 10 targets last week and is about as safe as they come at TE (which isn't that safe). But locked into TE1 status. |
| 7 | Kyle Pitts | ATL | vs NYJ | Nine targets last week. He's yet to go 'boom,' but the volume is going to pay off soon. |
| 8 | Dawson Knox | BUF | @ KC | Three top 10 finishes in a row, and his 20 targets are tied for 13th among all TEs. Bonafide TE1. |
| 9 | Tyler Higbee | LAR | @ SEA | He already played on TNF but I'm keeping him here for reference. |
| 10 | Dalton Schultz | DAL | vs NYG | Blake Jarwin is still involved and I'm skeptical of Schultz keeping up his efficiency. He's caught 20 of 23 targets...that feels unsustainable. |
| 11 | Zach Ertz | PHI | @ CAR | He's seeing more volume than Goedert, 15 targets over the last 2 weeks, with finishes as TE7 and TE13. |
| 12 | Robert Tonyan | GB | @ CIN | Big Bob Tonyan only converted two of last week's seven targets for receptions, but did find paydirt. |
| 13 | Hunter Henry | NE | @ HOU | He's been more productive than Jonnu Smith. You can justify him as a top 10 option this week based on the matchup. |
| 14 | Dallas Goedert | PHI | @ CAR | He has nine targets over the last two weeks (to Ertz's 15). Still a high-end streamer. |
| 15 | Jared Cook | LAC | vs CLE | He was FINALLY involved last week catching six of seven targets for 70 and a score. |
| 16 | Jonnu Smith | NE | @ HOU | He's seen target counts of 5, 5, 6, and 5 but only has one score. You can't ignore him this week based on the matchup. |
| 17 | Evan Engram | NYG | @ DAL | He's seen 12 targets in two weeks since his return (6, 6) and DAL is a plus matchup for TEs. |
| 18 | Tyler Conklin | MIN | vs DET | He hasn't done much outside of his score in Week 3, but he's seen 14 targets in two weeks. |
| 19 | Cameron Brate | TB | vs MIA | OJ Howard is being deployed as more of a blocker. |
| 20 | Maxx Williams | ARI | vs SF | He's prone to wild swings, but he has a pair of top 10 finishes already. Legitimate TE2 status for now. |
| 21 | CJ Uzomah | CIN | vs GB | He was a no-show until last week's boom week. The Pack are a plus matchup with 3 scores allowed to enemy TEs already. |
| 22 | Blake Jarwin | DAL | vs NYG | He's still involved and a threat to score with Dak at QB. |
| 23 | Mo Alie-Cox | IND | @ BAL | Is there a changing of the guard at TE for Indy? I think you have to take a shot after last week (3-42-2). |
| 24 | Ricky Seals-Jones | WAS | vs NO | Logan Thomas is on IR for what sounds like a month at least. RSJ is worth a deep league dart. |
| 25 | Ross Dwelley | SF | @ ARI | He should see the lion's share of snaps with Kittle out, but he's no more than a punt option for DFS lineups. |