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We’re into the double-digit weeks of the NFL season, which is always exciting for me because that means soon enough there will be more time for advanced baseball research. That’s right, I said it. Fantasy baseball > fantasy football. Sue me.
George Kittle is back in the circle of trust after returning with a bang last week, and his matchup is better than you think against the Rams, who funnel targets inside.
Rob Gronkowski is OUT this week, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ passing tree could possibly be very narrow—which is always enticing for your NFL DFS lineups. Dawson Knox is off the injury report for Buffalo, so maybe he can help jumpstart that sputtering offense. Likewise, Noah Fant returns for Denver, to a passing tree that could be more narrow than usual due to some injuries.
Lastly, we might need to pump the brakes on Pat Freiermuth given a tough matchup, the return of Eric Ebron, and Mason Rudolph being in for Ben Roethlisberger. I’m just saying...it may not be a ceiling game.
TE Rankings for Week 10
| Rank | Player Name | Team | Opponent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Player Name | Team | Opponent | Notes |
| 1 | Travis Kelce | KC | @ LV | As if Kelce needed help, the Raiders are a plus matchup for enemy TEs (51-535-5 allowed). |
| 2 | Darren Waller | LV | vs KC | The Chiefs have allowed the most yardage (617) and the 2nd most scores (6) to enemy tight ends despite ranking 14th in targets allowed. |
| 3 | George Kittle | SF | vs LAR | Other than the Eagles (81 targets), the Rams have allowed the most targets to opposing tight ends (75). LAR have conceded the 3rd most receptions (53) and 7th most yardage (548). |
| 4 | Kyle Pitts | ATL | @ DAL | The target count and Ryan's resurgence are encouraging. Pitts hasn't seen fewer than six targets in a game since Week 3. |
| 5 | Noah Fant | DEN | vs PHI | Philly is a premiere matchup and Fant's target count could be improved given that Tim Patrick and Albert Okwuegbunam are banged up. |
| 6 | TJ Hockenson | DET | @ PIT | Normally Hock would be above Fant, but that's how good Fant's matchup is. |
| 7 | Dalton Schultz | DAL | vs ATL | No Blake Jarwin to contend with in what could be the highest-scoring game of the week. |
| 8 | Dan Arnold | JAC | @ IND | The Colts have allowed a league-leading 23 passing scores, including the 3rd most receptions (55), and 2nd most scores (6) to tight ends. |
| 9 | Dallas Goedert | PHI | @ DEN | DEN has allowed zero scores to tight ends, and are top 10 with only 35 receptions and 367 yards allowed all year. |
| 10 | Zach Ertz | ARI | vs CAR | Kyler Murray (ankle) is a game-time call, but this ranking assumes he returns to action. If not, drop Ertz below the next guy... |
| 11 | Pat Freiermuth | PIT | vs DET | Claypool is "week to week" so there could be more red zone love coming Freiermuth's way. Good news, because DET has allowed the 2nd fewest targets (43) and 3rd fewest receptions (31) to enemy tight ends. |
| 12 | Dawson Knox | BUF | @ NYJ | The Bills should attack the Jets on the ground (4.6 Y/A, 15 scores) but the Jets are also soft against enemy tight ends. |
| 13 | Tyler Higbee | LAR | @ SF | The Niners have allowed the 2nd fewest targets (42), 4th fewest yards (272), and only three scores to enemy TEs over eight games. Higbee did see a whopping 10 targets last week, though. |
| 14 | Tyler Conklin | MIN | @ LAC | The target counts over the last 3 weeks (5, 7, 7) are solid, and LAC funnels targets inside--5 of their 10 scores have gone to opposing TEs. |
| 15 | Hunter Henry | NE | vs CLE | He's scored in five of his last six games, but here are his target counts over the last month: 2, 4, 3, 3. Yikes. |
| 16 | Ricky Seals-Jones | WAS | vs TB | Logan Thomas practiced in limited fashion on Wed but is likely still out--TB is a top 5 matchup in terms of targets and receptions allowed to TEs. |
| 17 | Adam Trautman | NO | @ TEN | He's seen target counts of 6 and 7 over Siemian's two starts, and Higbee had 10 targets against this same defense a week ago. |
| 18 | Jared Cook | LAC | vs MIN | He had a touchdown poached by Donald Parham Jr. last week, something we may need to get used to... |
| 19 | OJ Howard | TB | @ WAS | Gronk is out. Howard has a higher ceiling than fellow backup Cameron Brate. |
| 20 | Ryan Griffin | NYJ | vs BUF | Not a great matchup, but he saw 7 targets last week and Tyler Kroft is on IR. |
| 21 | Donald Parham Jr. | LAC | vs MIN | He doesn't see volume but has three scores over his last five games. |
| 22 | Jonnu Smith | NE | vs CLE | With Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson in concussion protocol, could we see some Jonnu carries out of the backfield? |
| 23 | Mo Alie-Cox | IND | vs JAC | He's a really, really, really poor man's version of Hunter Henry. Low target counts, but he's scoring at a high rate. |
| 24 | David Njoku | CLE | @ NE | He hasn't seen more than three targets since Week 5, he has two scores all year, and NE is death to tight ends. |
| 25 | Austin Hooper | CLE | @ NE | Only one touchdown on the season, but a modicum of targets and yardage keeps him in the TE2 convo in PPR formats. |
| 26 | Cameron Brate | TB | @ WAS | Gronk is out and he quietly has four targets in three straight games. |
| 27 | Hayden Hurst | ATL | @ DAL | There's an outside chance he could average 4+ targets in this offense sans Calvin Ridley...I'm staying tuned. |
| 28 | Jack Doyle | IND | vs JAC | He has a touchdown in back-to-back weeks, but hasn't seen more than two targets in a game since Week 2. |