Remember the beginning of the season at the tight end position? Those were tough times. Injuries took their toll and knocked out some of the best starters across the league, and that led to fantasy owners being forced to stream frequently at the position. Well, we're getting back to that time again. With Greg Olsen now out for the season after aggravating a foot injury, our Week 14 fantasy TE rankings are back to being ultra-thin. And that means that if you want to win a fantasy football championship, you might have to hit the waiver wire for a matchup-based sleeper.
It also doesn't help the cause that the top TE in fantasy, Travis Kelce, has a tougher matchup that normal against a good Ravens defense. We're not downgrading Kelce much, but it's going to be hard to trust him as a top option. Also, it's notable that Zach Ertz (@ Cowboys) also may have trouble this week, so it's just not a very good week for tight ends.
Week 14 Rankings:
Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | D/ST | Kicker
Of the streaming crowd, there are a few that stand out. Vance McDonald has a great matchup against the Raiders, and he could be a threat to catch a TD in the Steelers high-powered offense. Antonio Gates (vs. Bengals) also has an easy matchup, while Cameron Brate (vs. Saints) should continue to be a TD threat for the Bucs. All can be fired up as low-end TE1s in what is looking like a bad slate at the position.
Note: We will update these rankings and add analysis during the week, so check back often.
WEEK 14 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
Week 14 Fantasy Rankings: TE
These rankings are for standard, non-PPR leagues
| 1 | George Kittle, 49ers vs. Broncos. Kittle is averaging 9.0 targets per game over his past four outings. In that span, he has 309 yards and a TD. The Broncos are a bottom-10 team against TEs, so Kittle could have a huge game if Nick Mullens continues to target him at a high rate. |
| 2 | Travis Kelce, Chiefs vs. Ravens |
| 3 | Eric Ebron, Colts @ Texans |
| 4 | David Njoku, Browns vs. Panthers. The Panthers have been one of the worst teams in the league against TEs this year. They have allowed the second-most TDs to the position (8). Njoku has been up-and-down in recent weeks, but look for Baker Mayfield to target him and exploit the favorable matchup. |
| 5 | Rob Gronkowski, Patriots @ Dolphins |
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| 6 | Zach Ertz, Eagles @ Cowboys. Last time the Eagles and Cowboys faced off, Ertz had 14 catches for 145 yards and two TDs. Those were all season highs. That said, the Cowboys' defense has improved in recent weeks, and odds are that they will focus on shutting down Ertz. Ertz will still be a weapon, but he might not outproduce some of the other players above him in better matchups. |
| 7 | Jared Cook, Raiders vs. Steelers. Cook has put up a TD in three consecutive weeks and was able to break the 100-yard mark against the Chiefs last week. The Steelers have had issues against TEs this year and have been in the bottom 10 against the position for most of the year. Cook could be in for a good outing. |
| 8 | Jordan Reed, Redskins vs. Giants |
| 9 | Vance McDonald, Steelers @ Raiders. The Raiders just allowed Travis Kelce to total 168 yards and two scores on 12 catches. Granted, Vance McDonald isn't Kelce, but the fact of the matter is that McDonald has a lot of upside playing a weak defense. He also saw seven targets last week against the Chargers, so if he can get that volume again, he should put up solid numbers. |
| 10 | Jimmy Graham, Packers vs. Falcons. Somehow, Graham is playing through a broken thumb that was supposed to sideline him for a few weeks. Last game against the Cardinals, Graham saw 11 targets and caught eight of them for 50 yards. If Graham continues to get that type of volume, he will be a TE1. That said, the Falcons are solid against TEs, so Graham is a bit lower on this list than he would normally be. |
| WEEK 14 DFS CASH LINEUPS: Yahoo | DraftKings | FanDuel | |
| 11 | Antonio Gates, Chargers vs. Bengals. This may seem crazy, but Gates has been getting a bit more involved with the Chargers offense in recent weeks. He caught a two-point conversion last week and saw another catch in the red zone called back due to penalty. The Bengals have had a lot of trouble covering TEs this year, so Gates could be in position to log a score in this contest. |
| 12 | Cameron Brate, Buccaneers vs. Saints. In the past two games since O.J. Howard went down for the year, Brate has 10 targets and has totaled 62 yards and a TD. He should continue to see volume as a red-zone weapon and one of Jameis Winston's most reliable targets. That said, Brate may have a tough time producing against the Saints, who allow the second-fewest fantasy points to the position and haven't let any player put up more than 6.8 points against them this season. |
| 13 | Kyle Rudolph, Vikings @ Seahawks |
| 14 | Jonnu Smith, Titans vs. Jaguars. Smith has steadily improved as the season has gone on, and he has 214 yards and three TDs in the past five games. The Jaguars have been solid against TEs not named Eric Ebron this year, but Smith is still a threat to rack up some yardage as one of the Titans' top receiving targets. |
| 15 | Trey Burton, Bears vs. Rams. Burton has had a weird season, and he only saw one target last week against the Giants. He still has TD upside against the Rams, who have allowed a TD to a TE (or offensive lineman) in each of the past four weeks. So, it's possible that Burton could be a solid option this week, especially if Mitchell Trubisky returns to play QB. |
| MORE WEEK 14 DFS: Stacks | Values | Lineup Builder | |
| 16 | Evan Engram, Giants @ Redskins. Engram is still recovering from a hamstring injury. If he recovers in time for Week 14, he'll be a middling play against a decent Redskins defense. |
| 17 | Mark Andrews, Ravens @ Chiefs. The Chiefs just allowed Jared Cook to put up 16 points on them and they have largely struggled against TEs this season. Andrews has four catches for 121 yards in the past two weeks and is establishing himself as one of Lamar Jackson's favorite targets. He could be a nice sleeper option this week. |
| 18 | Dan Arnold, Saints @ Buccaneers. Arnold has taken over as the primary pass-catching TE in the Saints offense, essentially replacing Ben Watson in recent weeks. Arnold has at least two catches and 20 yards in each of the past four weeks, but playing in the Saints offense gives him a lot of TD upside. The Buccaneers have been a bottom-five team against TEs this year, so Arnold is a potential streamer for Week 14. |
| 19 | Austin Hooper, Falcons @ Packers. Hooper is averaging just over eight targets per game in the past four games, and he has established himself as a middle-of-the-field weapon for Matt Ryan. However, the Packers are good against TEs and have allowed just one TD to the position this year. That makes this a week to avoid Hooper if you can. |
| 20 | Ian Thomas, Panthers @ Browns. Thomas will take over for the injured Greg Olsen, and he logged a season-high five catches and 46 yards in relief of Olsen. Still, he will be competing for targets with Devin Funchess, D.J. Moore, and Curtis Samuel, so it may be difficult for him to produce at a high level again this week. |
| 21 | Jordan Thomas, Texans vs. Colts |
| 22 | Chris Herndon, Jets @ Bills. Herndon has seen 14 targets in the past two weeks, but the Bills limited him to just 34 yards last time the two played. The Bills are good against TEs, so Herndon seems likely to repeat that average-at-best performance. |
| 23 | Ricky Seals-Jones, Cardinals vs. Lions |
| 24 | C.J. Uzomah, Bengals @ Chargers. Uzomah has seen 19 targets in the past two weeks, and he will probably be a bigger part of the Cincinnati passing game if A.J. Green does miss time as expected. That said, the Chargers haven't allowed a TE to score more than 5.2 points against them in the past four games, so Uzomah doesn't have a lot of upside in a tough matchup. |
| 25 | Matt LaCosse, Broncos @ 49ers. The Boss only saw one target against the Bengals last week and didn't catch it. He has another good matchup, but it's hard to trust him to get consistent targets as Courtland Sutton and Emmanuel Sanders seem to be absorbing a lion's share of the available targets in Denver. |
| 26 | Gerald Everett, Rams @ Bears |
| 27 | Nick Vannett, Seahawks vs. Vikings |
| 28 | Charles Clay, Bills vs. Jets |
| 29 | Vernon Davis, Redskins vs. Giants |
| 30 | James O'Shaughnessy, Jaguars @ Titans |
| 31 | Michael Roberts, Lions @ Cardinals |
| 32 | Tyler Higbee, Rams @ Bears |
| 33 | Ed Dickson, Seahawks vs. Vikings |
| 34 | Hayden Hurst, Ravens @ Chiefs |
| 35 | Dallas Goedert, Eagles @ Cowboys |
| 36 | Geoff Swaim, Cowboys vs. Eagles |
| 37 | Mike Gesicki, Dolphins vs. Patriots |
| 38 | Jesse James, Steelers @ Raiders |
