Don't look now, but some of the depth at tight end is starting to evaporate. Injuries across the board have rendered some players ineffective. O.J. Howard is out for the season, while Jimmy Graham can catch but seems more likely to be used as a decoy with a broken thumb. Elsewhere, top sleeper Jeff Heuerman suffered a back injury and Evan Engram is dealing with a hamstring problem, so our Week 13 fantasy TE rankings are hurting a bit more than they have been in recent weeks. Still, there are enough talented waiver pickups with favorable matchups for you to stream your way to a fantasy football championship -- provided that you can pick the right guy.
Of this week's streamer group, no one stands out more than Cameron Brate. The new No. 1 TE for the Bucs in the wake of Howard's injury, caught a TD pass last week against the 49ers and should have a chance to do so again against the Panthers league-worst TE defense. Elsewhere, guys like Kyle Rudolph (@ Patriots) and the aforementioned Heuerman (@ Bengals, if healthy) should be scoring threats and have seen more targets in recent weeks. That makes them low-end TE1s in solid matchups.
Week 13 Rankings:
Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | D/ST | Kicker
In terms of notable TEs we don't like this week, Graham is one of the hardest to trust. Again, that broken thumb isn't preventing him from catching the ball, as he showed late against the Vikings, but still, he carries significant risk. Evan Engram is another risky start, as he gets a bad matchup with the Bears and is dealing with a balky hamstring. Try to avoid starting this duo if you can find a better option somewhere else.
Note: We will update these rankings and add analysis during the week, so check back often.
WEEK 13 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
Week 13 Fantasy Rankings: TE
These rankings are for standard, non-PPR leagues
| 1 | Travis Kelce, Chiefs @ Raiders. Kelce is back in action and back to the top of our TE rankings. The Raiders have given up the eighth-most fantasy points to TEs this season, which includes a 74-yard completion to Mark Andrews last week. They will have much more trouble covering Kelce. |
| 2 | Greg Olsen, Panthers @ Buccaneers. Olsen only has 20 total yards in the last couple of weeks, but the Bucs have been bad against TEs all season. Last time out against them, Olsen posted 13.6 fantasy points, and he should have a chance to put up similar numbers this time around. |
| 3 | George Kittle, 49ers @ Seahawks |
| 4 | Zach Ertz, Eagles vs. Redskins |
| 5 | Eric Ebron, Colts @ Jaguars. Ebron has been a TD machine for the Colts this year, and he is leading the league with 11 TD grabs after Week 12. In two of his last three games, he has caught two scores, and one of those games came against the Jaguars. He should have a chance to beat the Jaguars defense frequently again, and Andrew Luck will surely continue to look his way in the red zone, especially with Jack Doyle now reportedly out for the season. |
| WEEK 13 DFS GPP LINEUPS: Yahoo | FanDuel | DraftKings | |
| 6 | David Njoku, Browns @ Texans. Much was made of Freddie Kitchens' promotion to offensive coordinator and how his offensive system would devalue the TE position. Njoku put those rumors to bed last week by logging 63 yards and a TD on five catches against the Bengals. The Texans haven't been good against solid TEs this year, so Njoku is once again a top-10 play at the position. |
| 7 | Jared Cook, Raiders vs. Chiefs |
| 8 | Cameron Brate, Buccaneers vs. Panthers. Brate is now the top TE in Tampa Bay with O.J. Howard out, and he did catch a score last week against the 49ers. The Panthers are one of the worst teams in the league at defending the tight end position, and Howard had two TDs out last time against them. Those targets may go to Brate this time around, and that makes him easily the top streamer for this week. |
| 9 | Rob Gronkowski, Patriots vs. Vikings |
| 10 | Jordan Reed, Redskins @ Eagles. Reed has at least 70 receiving yards in consecutive games and he appears to be a favorite target of Colt McCoy. However, the Eagles have been very good against the TE position so far this season, and have only allowed one double-digit scorer in 11 games. That will make it hard for Reed to be anything more than a low-end TE1 unless the Redskins can exploit the banged-up Eagles defense. |
| WEEK 13 DFS CASH LINEUPS: Yahoo | FanDuel | DraftKings | |
| 11 | Kyle Rudolph, Vikings @ Patriots. After seemingly being phased out of the passing offense for the Vikings, Rudolph caught all seven of his targets for 63 yards against the Packers. With teams focusing mostly on Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, Rudolph should have a good chance to rack up more catches moving forward. The Patriots have also given up the fourth-most fantasy points to TEs this season, so this is a good matchup for Rudolph -- provided that the Vikings don't change their offensive plans and shift away from Rudolph once again. |
| 12 | C.J. Uzomah, Bengals vs. Broncos. Uzomah is coming off a career-high 13 targets against the Brown, but he only was able to turn them into six catches for 39 yards. The Broncos have given up the seventh-most fantasy points to TEs this season, and they would have allowed a TD in four-straight games had Vance McDonald not dropped an easy score against them last week. Uzomah should continue to see opportunities to produce and score, even if A.J. Green returns to the lineup against Denver. |
| 13 | Trey Burton, Bears @ Giants. Burton is becoming a TD-or-nothing play, posting fewer than one point and in each of his last two outings. The Giants have struggled against the likes of Zach Ertz, O.J. Howard, and George Kittle in recent weeks, but they have the talent needed to limit Burton. |
| 14 | Vance McDonald, Steelers vs. Chargers. As mentioned earlier, McDonald dropped an open TD against the Broncos. Had he caught it, he would have scored in three-straight games. McDonald's value is mostly TD-dependent, as he's averaging just 34 yards per game in the past five weeks. He can be used as a streaming option, but the Chargers have been good against TEs in recent weeks. |
| 15 | Evan Engram, Giants vs. Bears. Engram missed last game after hurting his hamstring in pre-game warmups. We know he has upside if active, but obviously he's far less bankable than he used to be. |
| MORE WEEK 13 DFS: Values | Stacks | Lineup Builder | |
| 16 | Chris Herndon, Jets @ Titans. Herndon had a career-high seven catches last week against the Patriots. The Titans have been very good against TEs this season, but Herndon is starting to become a big part of the Jets' offense. In weaker matchups, he is a high-quality streamer. This isn't one of them, but he always has TD potential. |
| 17 | Jimmy Graham, Packers vs. Cardinals. Somehow, Graham was able to catch two passes for 34 yards last week despite playing with a broken thumb. He can catch, but he doesn't appear to be a primary target because of the injury. He will serve more as a decoy until the injury heals, and he won't get enough volume to produce at a top level. If you have no other options, you can give him a shot. Just don't expect a lot from him at any point. |
| 18 | Matt LaCosse, Broncos @ Bengals. Jeff Heuerman suffered an injury late in the Broncos' win over the Steelers and is now being placed on injured reserve. That leaves LaCosse as the primary TE in Denver. The Bengals have given up the second-most receiving yards (814) and the most TDs (8) to the position this season, so LaCosse should have a good chance to put up strong numbers. That said, he only had 11 catches for 137 yards in the first 10 games of the season, so expecting him to repeat his three catch, 34 yards, and TD from last week is a bit risky. |
| 19 | Mark Andrews, Ravens @ Falcons. Andrews had a 74-yard catch against the Raiders last week, but that was his only catch. He's probably still the top TE on the Ravens' offense, but the fact of the matter is that he, Hayden Hurst, and Nick Boyle all play and see sparing targets. So, trusting any is too difficult at this point in time. |
| 20 | Ben Watson, Saints @ Cowboys |
| 21 | Antonio Gates, Chargers @ Steelers. Gates is starting to get more involved in the Chargers offense. He only had one catch for 18 yards last week against the Cardinals, but the game was a blowout. He just recently torched the Broncos for 80 yards and a score, and he could find similar success against a Steelers team that has performed poorly against the position this season. At the very least, Gates will have a good chance to grab a TD. |
| 22 | Jonnu Smith, Titans vs. Jets |
| 23 | Jordan Thomas, Texans vs. Browns |
| 24 | Ricky Seals-Jones, Cardinals @ Packers |
| 25 | Gerald Everett, Rams @ Lions. The injury to Cooper Kupp has seemingly opened up some extra targets for the Rams TEs. Both Everett and his teammate Tyler Higbee will be TD threats as a result, and though they won't get as many opportunities as they did in the Rams-Chiefs shootout, both have upside -- especially if one really emerges as a red-zone threat. |
| 26 | Tyler Higbee, Rams @ Lions. See Everett above. |
| 27 | Austin Hooper, Falcons vs. Ravens |
| 28 | James O'Shaughnessy, Jaguars vs. Colts |
| 29 | Ed Dickson, Seahawks vs. 49ers |
| 30 | Nick Vannett, Seahawks vs. 49ers |
| 31 | Vernon Davis, Redskins @ Eagles |
| 32 | Hayden Hurst, Ravens @ Falcons |
| 33 | Michael Roberts, Lions vs. Rams |
| 34 | Jason Croom, Bills @ Dolphins |
| 35 | Geoff Swaim, Cowboys vs. Saints |
| 36 | Dallas Goedert, Eagles vs. Redskins |
| 37 | Mike Gesicki, Dolphins vs. Bills |
| 38 | Jesse James, Steelers vs. Chargers |
