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2021 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends for Week 3

Heath ranks the safety blankets.

By Heath Capps
San Francisco 49ers v Philadelphia Eagles Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

It’s already the third week of the NFL, after which point most outfits will shift from using last year’s data to this year’s data. No, three weeks isn’t a huge sample. But three weeks of this year versus all of last year...which one are you taking? I’m excited to lean into all of that as soon as next week.

As for this week, we are still balancing last year with this year. There’s a good bit of timeshares around the league, so be mindful of that. After the top 10 guys or so, you’re really just hoping for a score. To that end, yours truly does lean into team totals per “Vegas” quite a bit when I’m deciding between similar players.

Let’s get into it. Be sure to haggle away below with who is too high or too low...

TE Rankings for Week 3

Rank Player Name Team Opponent Notes
Rank Player Name Team Opponent Notes
1 Travis Kelce KC vs LAC What do you want me to say here?
2 Darren Waller LV vs MIA You know you're getting tons of volume when everyone is disappointed with 5-65 on seven targets (leading his team). He's the 1B option to Kelce.
3 TJ Hockenson DET vs BAL Eight receptions in each game, and back-to-back scores.
4 George Kittle SF vs GB He's got half of Hockenson's catch total and has seen fewer looks than Deebo Samuel in back-to-back weeks.
5 Mark Andrews BAL @ DET 5-57 last week, and facing the Lions should be good for finding paydirt for the first time this year.
6 Rob Gronkowski TB @ LAR Antonio Brown is most likely out, and he's got four scores already.
7 Dallas Goedert PHI @ DAL Ertz (Covid-19 list) being out gives him a bump.
8 Noah Fant DEN vs NYJ With Jeudy injured, he has a solid floor (think 6-8 targets) each week. Finding paydirt is the key, and Fant did so last week.
9 Kyle Pitts ATL @ NYG I think Fant's floor is a SMIDGE safer. But it's close. ATL has just been awful.
10 Tyler Higbee LAR vs TB Tons of snaps, just not tons of targets. This matchup also isn't great. But opportunity plus a high game total have me buying in again.
11 Logan Thomas WAS @ BUF Only 10 targets through 2 weeks, and it's still Heinicke at QB--and he's making his first career NFL start on the road at BUF. Yikes.
12 Robert Tonyan GB @ SF A team total of 23.25, but I like that he's the guy. And I could see Green Bay having to chase in this one.
13 Austin Hooper CLE vs CHI Even with Cleveland's WR injuries, you're hoping for a score. 26.25 team total.
14 Jared Cook LAC @ KC He's at least fourth in the passing game pecking order, so you're praying for a score. 24.25 team total.
15 Mike Gesicki MIA @ LV Had to block more in Week 1 with LT Jackson out, but saw a small rebound in Wk 2 (six targets) with Jackson back. Still a low-end option given that Tua is shelved.
16 Jonnu Smith NE vs NO Splitting time with Hunter Henry and this ball control offense shouldn't often need to score much if Wild Bill's defense has its way.
17 Cole Kmet CHI @ CLE It's a 19.25 team total and Justin Fields is making his first NFL start. Saw just one target in Wk 2 due to CHI having the game in hand (only 24 pass attempts).
18 David Njoku CLE vs CHI Only 3 targets in Week 2, but CLE's wideout corps is beset by injuries. Worth a TE2 dart throw.
19 Hunter Henry NE vs NO Splitting time with Jonnu Smith and this ball control offense shouldn't often need to score much if Wild Bill's defense has its way.
20 Dawson Knox BUF vs WAS Caught a score last week and he's the guy in Buffalo, even if that doesn't equate to tons of targets.
21 Gerald Everett SEA @ MIN A timeshare between he and Will Dissly is unappealing.
22 Blake Jarwin DAL vs PHI Caught three of four targets for 37 yards last week. Still not super involved in this offense.
23 Pat Freiermuth PIT vs CIN He is outsnapping the veteran Ebron, so you have to like the trend here.
24 Tyler Conklin MIN vs SEA Not really seizing his opportunity in Minnesota right now.
25 Juwan Johnson NO @ NE He predictably flopped in Week 2 after a pair of Week 1 scores. Tough road matchup for New Orleans, and there isn't a lot of volume here.

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