I'm calling it now: The tight end position is back. After being one of the most banged-up spots across the league for the first half of the season, injured players have finally returned and have added depth to our Week 10 fantasy TE rankings. Additionally, other young stars have been stepping up at the position, and bye-week absences are starting to slow down, as only one loaded six-team bye remains. In short, there are finally enough tight ends available that you can have desirable start 'em, sit 'em decisions as opposed to just picking off a waiver-wire scrap heap of TD-dependent sleepers.
There are a few guys we're high on this week who may fall into more of the sleeper category than usual. Jordan Reed has a great matchup with the Buccaneers, and he's a top-five play this week as a result. Further down, Ben Watson (Saints @ Bengals) has a great matchup against Cincinnati and is coming off his best game of the season where he looked like a productive weapon against the Rams. And finally, C.J. Uzomah (Bengals) has a tougher matchup with the Saints -- who have actually been good against TEs -- but if A.J. Green is out, he would be the de facto No. 2 target for the Cincy offense.
Week 10 Rankings:
Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | D/ST | Kicker
If you have either Colts TE on your roster this week, it may be best to sit them. The Jaguars have been good against TEs, and it remains to be seen exactly how Ebron and Doyle will split targets. If you don't have any better options, you can roll with them, but it's just hard to recommend starting either in a tough matchup.
Note: We will update these rankings and add analysis during the week, so check back often.
WEEK 10 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
Week 10 Fantasy Rankings: TE
These rankings are for standard, non-PPR leagues
| 1 | Travis Kelce, Chiefs vs. Cardinals. At this point, Kelce is the No. 1 TE every week. He's one of the only matchup-proof players in fantasy and should continue to catch TDs from Pat Mahomes (three in the last two weeks). |
| 2 | Zach Ertz, Eagles vs. Cowboys |
| 3 | Greg Olsen, Panthers @ Steelers. Olsen is re-emerging as the top target in the Panthers offense, and he has caught a TD in each of the past three weeks. The Steelers have allowed some big games to TEs this season and recently let Seth DeValve score a TD against them. Olsen should have a chance to do better, especially if he continues to see consistent targets from Cam Newton (22 in the past four games). |
| 4 | Trey Burton, Bears vs. Lions. Burton is becoming a red-zone threat for the Bears and has caught a TD in four of his past five games. The Lions haven't been great against TEs this year and have given up TDs to the likes of Garrett Celek, Geoff Swaim, and Lance Kendricks. They may have trouble sticking with Burton if the Bears target him in that area of the field. |
| 5 | Jordan Reed, Redskins @ Buccaneers. Reed has just combined for 11 catches and 72 yards in the past couple of games, but the fact that he has seen 18 targets during that time is encouraging. The Bucs have given up at least 52 yards and a TD to the position in all but one game that they've played since Week 3. That makes this an excellent matchup for Reed, so he can be trusted as a potential top-five play this week. |
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| 6 | O.J. Howard, Buccaneers vs. Redskins. Save for the one game in which he got injured this year, Howard has recorded at least 53 receiving yards in every contest this season. He is also becoming a big-time TD threat having scored four times in the Bucs' last four games. The Redskins have been solid against TEs this year, but their linebackers have struggled in coverage. Howard should have a chance to succeed, as the Buccaneers simply have too many weapons for the Redskins to cover. |
| 7 | Vance McDonald, Steelers vs. Panthers. The Panthers have allowed the most FPPG to TEs this year, and they are fresh off a performance in which O.J. Howard scored 17.3 points against them. McDonald is a top streaming option this week, and given his solid target share (17 in the past three weeks), he should have a chance to perform well in a great matchup on a short week. |
| 8 | Jimmy Graham, Packers vs. Dolphins |
| 9 | Rob Gronkowski, Patriots @ Titans. Gronk hasn't played in two of the past three games, and he hasn't scored since Week 1. That, coupled with the fact that Tennessee has allowed the fewest fantasy points to TEs this year, makes him a riskier play than normal. That said, you can't sit Gronk because he could go off at any time. |
| 10 | George Kittle, 49ers vs. Giants. Kittle had a monster outing against the Raiders last week, logging 108 yards and a score. However, the Giants have only allowed one TE to score in double digits this season, so it might be a clash of strengths. Kittle will still get targets, but temper expectations a bit. If he performs well in this matchup, he might move closer to matchup-proof territory. |
| WEEK 10 DFS CASH LINEUPS: Yahoo | FanDuel | DraftKings | |
| 11 | David Njoku, Browns vs. Falcons. Njoku has at least 52 receiving yards in five of his last six games. The Falcons are middle of the pack against TEs, but they allowed O.J. Howard, a similar player to Njoku, to log 12.2 fantasy points the last time they played. Njoku should have a nice outing and keep getting opportunities to produce. |
| 12 | Jared Cook, Raiders vs. Chargers |
| 13 | Ben Watson, Saints @ Bengals. Watson is coming off his best outing of the season, catching three passes for 62 yards and a TD against the Rams. The Bengals have allowed the third-most FPPG to the position, so Watson is a great streaming option this week. |
| 14 | Evan Engram, Giants @ 49ers. Engram has seen a fair share of targets this year, but he has only eclipsed 25 yards once in five games this season. He may end up being a TD-dependent threat against a team that hasn't allowed a score to the position since Week 4 (though Jimmy Graham did notch a 100-yard game against them). |
| 15 | Eric Ebron, Colts vs. Jaguars. Ebron is up against a tough defense and may have to split targets with Jack Doyle. This is a matchup in which to avoid him. |
| MORE WEEK 10 DFS: Values | Stacks | Lineup Builder | |
| 16 | C.J. Uzomah, Bengals vs. Saints. Uzomah could end up being the team's No. 2 receiving target with A.J. Green (foot) likely out a couple of weeks, but the Saints are good against TEs and haven't allowed more than 6.8 fantasy points to the position in any game. That may make it hard for Uzomah to produce -- at least in Week 10. |
| 17 | Jack Doyle, Colts vs. Jaguars. Doyle is up against a tough defense and may have to split targets with Eric Ebron. |
| 18 | Austin Hooper, Falcons @ Browns. The Browns just allowed a massive game to Travis Kelce. Hooper isn't Kelce, though, but he does have at least 41 receiving yards in the past four weeks. If he catches a TD, he'll be a worthwhile streamer. |
| 19 | Chris Herndon, Jets vs. Bills. The rookie put up a career high in receiving yardage last week with 62. However, he broke a three-game scoring streak. The Bills have been good against TEs, so it's hard to recommend Herndon. That said, if he performs well, he could vault up our rankings for Week 11. |
| 20 | Vernon Davis, Redskins @ Buccaneers |
| 21 | Jesse James, Steelers vs. Panthers |
| 22 | Ricky Seals-Jones, Cardinals @ Chiefs. He has two catches for 12 yards in consecutive weeks, but he also has a good matchup this week. He's too inconsistent to be anything more than a low-end streamer. |
| 23 | Cameron Brate, Buccaneers vs. Redskins |
| 24 | James O'Shaughnessy, Jaguars @ Colts |
| 25 | Ed Dickson, Seahawks @ Rams. Dickson only has three targets in the past two games, but he does have a score. Russell Wilson could look his way a bit more against a Rams team that just struggled to contain Ben Watson. |
| 26 | Dallas Goedert, Eagles vs. Cowboys |
| 27 | Michael Roberts, Lions @ Bears. Roberts has five catches this year and three have gone for TDs. His value is entirely TD-dependent, so until that changes, only target him as a low-cost DFS option. |
| 28 | Charles Clay, Bills @ Jets |
| 29 | Gerald Everett, Rams vs. Seahawks |
| 30 | Mike Gesicki, Dolphins @ Packers |
| 31 | Geoff Swaim, Cowboys @ Eagles |
| 32 | Antonio Gates, Chargers @ Raiders |
