The last week of byes is relatively tough on tight ends, so fantasy football owners are inevitably going to be looking for one-week streamers if they have a borderline starter with a tough matchup. We're here to sort through the studs, sleepers, and potential stumblers with our Week 14 fantasy TE rankings. As always, these can help you decide who to start at this notoriously tough position.
Miami, New England, Philadelphia, and Indianapolis are off this week, and the losses of Mike Gesicki, Hunter Henry, and Dallas Goedert can definitely be felt in our rankings. Those three guys obviously have starting consideration every week -- and Jack Doyle has been rising as a reliable streamer option -- but there are just enough decent pivots to fill in the gaps.
WEEK 14 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | D/ST | Kicker
Rob Gronkowski (vs. Bills), Kyle Pitts (@ Panthers), and T.J. Hockenson (@ Broncos) are the most notable TEs with tough matchups, but unless you have another top guy, you shouldn't bench any.
WEEK 14 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Among players on the start-or-sit bubble, we like Darren Waller backup Foster Moreau (@ Chiefs), Gerald Everett (@ Texans), Austin Hooper (vs. Ravens), and Evan Engram (@ Chargers). Of course, they all have varying degrees of "safety" and differing floors, but they all have top-10 TE-friendly matchups, so we're relying on the matchups here. Hooper and Engram are especially risky, as they've busted in top matchups before.
WEEK 14 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel | Yahoo
Many will raise their eyebrows at Everett, but he's drawn one more target (19) than Tyler Locket and just one fewer than DK Metcalf from Week 11-13. Since Houston has given up the sixth-most fantasy points per game (FFPG) to tight ends, he has to be considered here.
MORE WEEK 14 DFS: Best stacks | Best values | Lineup Builder
Tyler Conklin (vs. Steelers) and Tyler Higbee (@ Cardinals) have been productive in some games this season, but both face top-10 defenses against fantasy TEs, so we think the Tyler Bros. are best suited for the bench. C.J. Uzomah (@ 49ers) and Josiah Deguara (vs. Bears) have also been "hot" names in the sleeper category at times, but the matchups aren't there for them, either.
WEEK 14 FANTASY: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em
Ultimately, It's another straightforward week. Trust the matchups and play your studs. There aren't many "sure things" at TE, which is why we usually default to the matchup numbers and target trends.
Note: We'll be updating these TE rankings throughout the week, so check back for the latest player movement and analysis.
Fantasy TE Rankings Week 14: Who to start at tight end
Rankings based on standard, non-PPR scoring
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | Travis Kelce, KC vs. LV |
| 2 | Mark Andrews, BAL @ CLE |
| 3 | Dawson Knox, BUF @ TB |
| 4 | Zach Ertz, ARI vs. LAR. Ertz at No. 4 might feel like a stretch, but Los Angeles hasn't been able to stop tight ends this season. Maxx Williams, Brevin Jordan, and Geoff Swaim were able to find the end zone against the Rams, and let's just say those aren't the flashiest players at the position. With Kyler Murray back in the lineup, this could be an offensive showcase for Arizona, so we're going bold with Ertz. |
| 5 | Rob Gronkowski, TB vs. BUF |
| 6 | George Kittle, SF @ CIN |
| 7 | Pat Freiermuth, PIT @ MIN |
| 8 | Kyle Pitts, ATL @ CAR. Pitts has mostly been quiet over the past month of the season, but are you really willing to start a fringe TE starter over him? We don't think you can. Even in a tough matchup, his ceiling is in the TE1 range, and this Carolina defense hasn't been the elite unit that we thought it was at the start of the season. |
| 9 | Dalton Schultz, DAL @ WAS. Washington is a neutral matchup for TEs, but considering Schultz has drawn five-of-more targets in 10 games this year in one of the best offenses in football, he going to sit comfortably in the low-end TE1 range. In PPR leagues, he sees a slight boost, but we've seen his upside on display in several games this season. |
| 10 | Noah Fant, DEN vs. DET. Fant has essentially been a bust in four of his past five games, but a matchup with Detroit could stop the cold spell. Detroit's season-long numbers against tight ends aren't all that bad, but Jimmy Graham, Cole Kmet, and Tyler Conklin all produced decent days against them recently, so Fant could do that here. Of course, Denver could simply run the ball all game and Fant could end up with less than three targets, but the upside is there, and after the first five-to-seven tight ends, there are no sure things. |
| 11 | Foster Moreau, LV @ KC. Moreau was a huge letdown against Washington, and there's no way around that. However, we're calling his name again this week in a much more TE-friendly matchup. Kansas City came into Week 13 as the seventh-worst defense against fantasy TEs, and with Kenyan Drake (ankle) lost for the year, perhaps more of his short receiving work will be outsourced to the tight end spot. |
| 12 | Gerald Everett, SEA @ HOU. In six games with Russell Wilson, Everett has drawn 36 targets and found the endzone twice. Against the 49ers in Week 13, he dropped one touchdown and fumbled another at the one-yard line. There's a chance Wilson stops trusting him, but if not, this could be a solid place for Everett to have one of his better fantasy days. Houston came into Week 13 as the sixth-worst defense against fantasy TE, and since Everett is suddenly a vital piece of this offense, a TE1 performance is certainly on the table. |
| 13 | Evan Engram, NYG @ LAC. Engram delivered 10 PPR points in a favorable matchup against Miami, so we hope he can do something like that against the Chargers, who came into Week 13 as the third-worst defense against fantasy TEs. It sounds like Jake Fromm might start for New York, though, so we could see Engram force-fed targets or completely ignored. |
| 14 | Austin Hooper, CLE vs. BAL. Hooper was dead silent in the first matchup with Baltimore, but if you're in a tough spot at tight end, he's a decent consideration against Baltimore. The banged-up Ravens' defense has given up the fourth-most FPPG to tight ends, so we have to keep an eye on him. It's tough to know where to start Hooper or David Njoku, and your guess is as good as ours. We give Hooper the edge in our rankings due to the body of work this season. |
| 15 | Cole Kmet, CHI @ GB. Kmet drew 18 targets over the last two weeks, and quite simply, that's all we need to see to consider a player at this scarce position in a neutral matchup with Green Bay. |
| 16 | Tyler Conklin, MIN vs. PIT |
| 17 | Tyler Higbee, LAR @ ARI |
| 18 | Jared Cook, LAC vs. NYG |
| 19 | Juwan Johnson, NO @ NYJ |
| 20 | James O'Shaughnessy, JAX @ TEN |
| 21 | C.J. Uzomah, CIN vs. SF |
| 22 | Josiah Deguara, GB vs. CHI |
| 23 | Ryan Griffin, NYJ vs. NO |
| 24 | Tommy Tremble, CAR vs. ATL |
| 25 | Geoff Swaim, TEN vs. JAX |
| 26 | Will Dissly, SEA @ HOU |