There's not much better than seeing your starting tight end have a big game on Thanksgiving. Our Week 13 fantasy TE rankings aren't anything too out of the ordinary -- we've come to be used to the usual studs and busts. But can't you just picture a sleeper like Dawson Knox or Jason Witten eating a hefty, early Thanksgiving dinner and then heading on the field to dominate? Knox could do it, too, since the matchup with Dallas is so tight end friendly.
Speaking of Thanksgiving tight ends -- there are a few TE injuries to watch in the coming week, and it starts with Austin Hooper (knee), whose Falcons play in the nightcap Thursday (Update: Hooper is officially out for Thursday night's game). His initial timeline suggests we'll still be waiting a bit longer to see him back on the field. Evan Engram (foot) could be closer to a return, and the Giants don't play until Sunday. In a friendly tight end matchup with Green Bay, an Engram absence would thrust either Rhett Ellison (if he's back from concussion) or Kaden Smith into a potential role as a DFS sleeper. (Update: Engram and Ellison are officially out.)
WEEK 13 NON-PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | D/ST | Kicker
For those of you just catching up on news as the holiday season starts to take over your lives: The Colts have placed Eric Ebron (ankle) on Injured Reserve. He can be dropped in all non-keeper formats. The absence of Ebron should mean an increase in red-zone targets for Jack Doyle, who becomes a top-20 tight end the rest of the way. In deeper leagues, Mo Alie-Cox moves in play because Indianapolis should continue to run a lot of its two-TE sets.
The best part of Week 13, besides all the turkey and pie, is that bye weeks are over. Any of you who've relied on a star tight end all season can probably just do so the rest of the way. Those of you who need a streamer to sneak into the fantasy playoffs came to the right place.
WEEK 13 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
For a totally unowned sleeper option, you could go with Jacksonville's Nick O'Leary against Tampa Bay, the second-worst defense against fantasy tight ends. David Njoku (wrist) might be back for the Browns. (Update: Njoku is out.) Ryan Griffin gets another good matchup, this time traveling to Cincinnati coming off another touchdown catch in Week 12. Dallas Goedert gets to face the Dolphins, and of course, there's also the aforementioned Knox. Enjoy your Thanksgiving, and we'll be rooting for you to make your fantasy playoffs.
MORE WEEK 13:
Waiver pickups | FAAB budget | Snap counts | Stock watch | Fantasy playoff SOS
Note: These rankings will be updated throughout the week, so check back for the latest.
WEEK 13 DFS LINEUPS:
FD Cash | FD GPP | DK Cash | DK GPP | Y! Cash | Y! GPP
Week 13 Fantasy TE Rankings
MORE WEEK 13 DFS: Stacks | Values | Lineup Builder
These rankings are for standard, non-PPR leagues.
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | Travis Kelce, KC vs. OAK |
| 2 | George Kittle, SF @ BAL |
| 3 | Darren Waller, OAK @ KC |
| 4 | Zach Ertz, PHI @ MIA |
| 5 | Mark Andrews, BAL vs. SF. This is as difficult a matchup as you can get, and San Francisco will be flying high after handling Green Bay on Sunday night, but it's still really hard to even consider sitting Andrews, especially since Lamar Jackson proved he could handle a stud defense when Baltimore played New England. |
| 6 | Hunter Henry, LAC @ DEN. Denver does a decent job at covering tight ends, but Philip Rivers throws to Henry too much to even consider not playing him. |
| 7 | Jacob Hollister, SEA vs. MIN. Hollister's Week 12 line looks boring with just two catches on four targets, but one of those incompletions was a touchdown throw that you or I could've made about 95 percent of the time to a wide open Hollister. It's probably the worst miss Russell Wilson will have all season. Hollister remains a big piece of the Seattle offense. |
| 8 | Jared Cook, NO @ ATL. Looks like Cook's two targets in Week 11 might've been an aberration, as he came back with six catches and a touchdown on eight targets in Week 12. Outside of the obvious top dogs, Cook is as reliable as they'll come at this position down the stretch. |
| 9 | Greg Olsen, CAR vs. WAS |
| 10 | Tyler Higbee, LAR @ ARZ. Matchup, matchup, matchup -- and no Gerald Everett (knee). |
| 11 | Ryan Griffin, NYJ @ CIN. Griffin caught another touchdown in Week 12 and now gets to take on the winless Bengals. That sounds like a serious recipe for continuing to be successful (although it's worth noting that the Bengals are about league average at production allowed to tight ends). |
| 12 | Kyle Rudolph, MIN @ SEA |
| 13 | Jack Doyle, IND vs. TEN. With Eric Ebron (ankle) on IR, Doyle becomes one of the best tight end floors outside of the starters. His ceiling isn't very high, but if you have got a strong rest of your lineup, maybe you can just count on Doyle's four catches for limited yardage. |
| 14 | Vance McDonald, PIT vs. CLE |
| 15 | Dallas Goedert, PHI @ MIA. Goedert will continue to play nearly every snap for the Philly offense and have a great chance to score against the Dolphins in Week 13. It doesn't hurt that Zach Ertz (hamstring) is banged up. |
| 16 | Nick O'Leary, JAX vs. TB. Tampa Bay has allowed the second-most fantasy points to tight ends this season, and O'Leary is coming off a four-catch game in Week 12. The Jags could fall behind in this game and turn O'Leary into a garbage time dump-off option, but that's fine for putting together fantasy value. |
| 17 | Dawson Knox, BUF @ DAL. Dallas is among the 10 worst defenses at defending the tight end, and Dawson Knox has reclaimed his place atop the Buffalo TE depth chart. There could be some Thanksgiving goodness coming from this rookie. |
| 18 | Mike Gesicki, MIA vs. PHI |
| 19 | Jimmy Graham, GB @ NYG |
| 20 | T.J. Hockenson, DET vs. CHI. We can't possibly recommend starting Hockenson against the Bears on Thanksgiving -- he's seen only two targets in each of the last two weeks. |
| 21 | Benjamin Watson, NE @ HOU |
| 22 | Jonnu Smith, TEN @ IND. Delanie Walker may make his return in Week 13, which makes the potential value of Smith much less certain. |
| 23 | Tyler Eifert, CIN vs. NYJ |
| 24 | Noah Fant, DEN vs. LAC. Fant came down to earth in Week 12, catching three-of-five targets after being targeted 11 times the week before. Week 12 was more what you can expect from Fant going forward, especially with Brandon Allen encountering some struggles of late. |
| 25 | Darren Fells, HOU vs. NE |
| 26 | Cameron Brate, TB @ JAX |
| 27 | Kaden Smith, NYG vs. GB. If Evan Engram (foot) and Rhett Ellison (concussion) remain out, Smith is a decent DFS dart throw against a Packers team that's allowed the third-most fantasy points to tight ends in 2019. |
| 28 | Jason Witten, DAL vs. BUF. Witten's had good Thanksgiving games in his past, but the Bills defend the tight end too well to count on the veteran this holiday season. |
| 29 | O.J. Howard, TB @ JAX |
| 30 | Irv Smith Jr., MIN @ SEA |
| 31 | Delanie Walker, TEN @ IND. Walker (knee) had some hope in Week 12 before being downgraded to doubtful and eventually to out. His return is close, but his role relative to Jonnu Smith's is something we won't really know until we see it. |
| 32 | Jordan Akins, HOU vs. NE |
| 33 | Jeremy Sprinkle, WAS @ CAR |
| 34 | Jaeden Graham, ATL vs. NO. Graham did have a 53-yard catch Sunday and has more upside than Luke Stocker if Austin Hooper remains out. "More upside" doesn't equal much upside, though. |
| 35 | Luke Stocker, ATL vs. NO |