All seemed right with the world heading into Week 1...then Travis Kelce injured his knee in practice and sent ripples throughout the tight end landscape. Mark Andrews followed by sitting out Sunday, and a couple of other key TEs (George Kittle, Darren Waller) were "questionable" heading into Sunday's games, further reminding fantasy football owners that this position will be a headache all season. Fortunately, our Week 2 fantasy TE rankings for standard leagues are here to alleviate a little of the pressure this week.
Week 2 is traditionally "overreaction" week in fantasy football. We're basing much of our analysis on what happened the week before, but we all know a sample size that small means little in the NFL. At TE, a notoriously volatile position, one game means even less.
Of course, that's not going to stop us from analyzing what we did see. We're not going to worry as much about results -- instead, we're going to focus a little more on the process. Mainly, we want to look at targets and snap share for individual tight ends, then look at which defenses struggled the most against the position last week.
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Again, there's no perfect formula for Week 2 rankings, as we have to balance what we saw in Week 1 with what we know about the position as a whole. We're not going to completely abandon Chig Okonkwo and Dallas Goedert just because they struggled in Week 1, nor are we going to crown Hayden Hurst and Hunter Henry just because they scored.
WEEK 2 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Who are the best fantasy TEs Week 2?
Travis Kelce (@ Jaguars), Mark Andrews (@ Bengals), Darren Waller (@ Cardinals), George Kittle (@ Rams), and T.J. Hockenson (@ Eagles) are once again our top TEs. Until we get more matchup data, these five will remain high as long as we think they're going to play (more on that below for Kelce and Andrews). It doesn't hurt that Andrews and Hockenson play teams that allowed TE touchdowns in Week 1.
Dallas Goedert (vs. Vikings), Kyle Pitts (vs. Packers), and Evan Engram (vs. Chiefs) aren't far behind and will find themselves in the top five plenty of weeks, too. Ultimately, if you have any of these guys, they remain must-starts. (Yes, even Goedert after his one-target game.)
WEEK 2 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | D/STs | Kickers
Who are the best fantasy TE sleepers, waiver pickups Week 2?
Sam LaPorta (vs. Seahawks) made his presence felt in Week 1, catching all five targets and playing the majority of snaps. The Seahawks were the second-worst TE defense in 2022 and got torched through the air in Week 1 against the Rams, so LaPorta is moving up our rankings, though he's still outside the starter's tier.
Similarly, Zach Ertz (vs. Giants), Hayden Hurst (vs. Saints), Logan Thomas (@ Broncos), and Hunter Henry (vs. Dolphins) are rising even more after being consistently peppered with targets in their respective games last week. Hurst and Henry stood out more because they scored, but Ertz (10 targets) and Thomas (8) actually had more chances despite their relatively mediocre numbers. All four make for viable starters this week, especially in PPR leagues, but they're also far from sure things. Henry is our favorite going against a Dolphins' defense that allowed Chargers' TEs to combine for five catches, 41 yards, and a TD last week.
Who are the biggest potential fantasy TE busts Week 2?
You know all the "sleeper" TEs we just mentioned? Yeah, they're also potential busts. That's just how it goes with this position in fantasy. Hurst and Thomas are particularly worrisome against defenses that completely shut down TEs in Week 1.
As far as the top-tier TEs, we're most leery of Pat Freiermuth (vs. Browns). He caught just one pass in Week 1, and Cleveland's defense looked dominant against Cincinnati last week. Freiermuth does have a few things going for him -- namely, his lone catch went for a TD last week and Diontae Johnson (hamstring) is likely out -- but he's still a shaky start. The same goes for Tyler Higbee (vs. 49ers), who's facing the same San Francisco defense that shut down Freiermuth last week.
What are the biggest TE injuries Week 2?
All eyes will be on Travis Kelce (knee) and Mark Andrews (quad) this week after they missed Week 1. The initial reports after Kelce's injury suggested that he would miss no more than one game, so we expect him back in the lineup against the Jaguars. We're tentatively penciling in Andrews, too, since he was a legit game-time decision, but he seems even more questionable.
Greg Dulcich (leg) is also iffy for Week 2, prompting us to rank his backup, Adam Trautman (vs. Commanders), in his place.
We'll be updating these standard TE rankings throughout the week, so check back for the latest player movement and analysis.
Fantasy TE Rankings Week 2: Who to start, sit at tight end
Rankings based on standard, non-PPR scoring
Rank Player
1 Travis Kelce, Chiefs @ Jaguars
2 Mark Andrews, Ravens @ Bengals
3 Darren Waller, Giants @ Cardinals
4 T.J. Hockenson, Vikings @ Eagles
5 George Kittle, 49ers @ Rams
6 Dallas Goedert, Eagles vs. Vikings
7 Evan Engram, Jaguars vs. Chiefs
8 Kyle Pitts, Falcons vs. Packers
9 Pat Freiermuth, Steelers vs. Browns
10 Zach Ertz, Cardinals vs. Giants
11 Jake Ferguson, Cowboys vs. Jets
12 Hunter Henry, Patriots vs. Dolphins
13 Hayden Hurst, Panthers vs. Saints
14 Juwan Johnson, Saints @ Panthers
15 Chigoziem Okonkwo, Titans vs. Chargers
16 Sam LaPorta, Lions vs. Seahawks
17 Logan Thomas, Commanders @ Broncos
18 Tyler Higbee, Rams vs. 49ers
19 Dalton Schultz, Texans vs. Colts
20 Dalton Kincaid, Bills vs. Raiders
21 Tyler Conklin, Jets @ Cowboys
22 Durham Smythe, Dolphins @ Patriots
23 David Njoku, Browns @ Steelers
24 Adam Trautman, Broncos vs. Commanders
25 Gerald Everett, Chargers @ Titans
26 Luke Musgrave, Packers @ Falcons
27 Cole Kmet, Bears @ Buccaneers
28 Dawson Knox, Bills vs. Raiders
29 Taysom Hill, Saints vs. Titans
30 Irv Smith Jr., Bengals vs. Ravens
31 Mike Gesicki, Patriots vs. Dolphins
32 Michael Mayer, Raiders @ Bills
33 Cade Otton, Buccaneers vs. Bears
