With only two teams on bye, the fantasy TE rankings can help you determine the best way to address the position in this critical week. Here’s how I stack up the top fantasy football tight ends for the week ahead.
Which TE Should You Start in Fantasy Football?
MORE rankings from Soppe: QB | WR | RB | K | DST
1) Travis Kelce | KC (vs. BUF)
2) T.J. Hockenson | MIN (at LV)
3) George Kittle | SF (vs. SEA)
4) Sam LaPorta | DET (at CHI)
5) Dalton Kincaid | BUF (at KC)
6) Jake Ferguson | DAL (vs. PHI)
7) Taysom Hill | NO (vs. CAR)
8) Evan Engram | JAX (at CLE)
9) Isaiah Likely | BAL (vs. LAR)
10) Dallas Goedert | PHI (at DAL)
11) David Njoku | CLE (vs. JAX)
12) Brevin Jordan | HOU (at NYJ)
13) Pat Freiermuth | PIT (vs. NE)
14) Kyle Pitts | ATL (vs. TB)
15) Gerald Everett | LAC (vs. DEN)
16) Cade Otton | TB (at ATL)
17) Juwan Johnson | NO (vs. CAR)
18) Cole Kmet | CHI (vs. DET)
19) Chigoziem Okonkwo | TEN (at MIA)
20) Tucker Kraft | GB (at NYG)
21) Tyler Conklin | NYJ (vs. HOU)
22) Hunter Henry | NE (at PIT)
23) Tyler Higbee | LAR (vs. BAL)
24) Donald Parham Jr. | LAC (vs. DEN)
25) Michael Mayer | LV (vs. MIN)
26) Jonnu Smith | ATL (vs. TB)
27) Tanner Hudson | CIN (vs. IND)
28) Daniel Bellinger | NYG (vs. GB)
29) Noah Fant | SEA (at SF)
30) Noah Gray | KC (vs. BUF)
31) Kylen Granson | IND (at CIN)
32) Harrison Bryant | CLE (vs. JAX)
33) Mike Gesicki | NE (at PIT)
34) Adam Trautman | DEN (at LAC)
35) Irv Smith Jr. | CIN (vs. IND)
36) Will Dissly | SEA (at SF)
37) Stephen Sullivan | CAR (at NO)
38) Durham Smythe | MIA (vs. TEN)
39) Connor Heyward | PIT (vs. NE)
The Top TEs To Start in Week 14
Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints (vs. Panthers)
He’s simply a cheat code, and if you’re not locking him into lineups at this point, you’re doing fantasy wrong. On Sunday, against the Lions, Hill led the Saints in rushing yards (59) and scored once on his 13 carries to go alongside a pair of targets and two pass attempts.
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Hill has finished five of his past seven games inside the top 10 at the position, and we have no evidence to suggest that changes. Sure, he’s limited as a pass catcher in the traditional sense, but why should we care? Fantasy football is a box-score game, and the role Hill holds in this offense would make him a viable option if listed simply as a “utility” player — the way fantasy baseball handles designated hitters.
But he’s not. Hill’s listed as a tight end, the position with the least amount of reliable depth in our game, and a high-touch count role that includes plenty of usage inside the red zone. He’s impossible to bench right now.
While this offense will look different if Winston is under center, I’m not sure it impacts Hill in a significant way. Winston’s aggression would, in theory, lower Hill’s target expectancy, but that’s not why we’re buying him in the first place.
With a turnover-prone QB like Winston, I’d argue that New Orleans would be more likely to go to Hill as they approach the scoring zone, and that’s all we need. Hill is easily a top-10 TE for me this week, and that’s going to be the case for the final month of the fantasy season.
Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens (vs. Rams)
You hear “trust the process” a lot these days — I’m tempted to do just that with Likely. After being a popular addition in Week 12 following the Mark Andrews ankle injury, Likely was a volume drop this time last week.
I’m assuming it was mostly to do with the Week 13 bye than it was a four-catch, 40-yard effort against the Chargers. The performance wasn’t overwhelming, but a 20% target share isn’t a bad starting point, given the potency of this offense.
Two other notes that shouldn’t be overlooked. The first is straightforward: Todd Monken and Co. had the bye week to tweak their system to adjust to the strengths of Likely as opposed to Andrews. The second requires a little more reflection.
Likely posted an aDOT lower than one foot in Week 12. Not one yard. One foot. Some people will run from a number like that due to a lack of upside, but I’m running toward it. A role like that can elevate his value at a position where a viable floor is tough to find, but more importantly, it speaks to the desire to get him the ball in space.
This season, Evan Engram, Dalton Kincaid, and Jake Ferguson are among the TEs with a sub-6.0 aDOT this season, all of whom offer weekly value. I’m not saying Likely will produce at a level comparable to those options, but I do think he is closer to them than he is to those his name is next to on your waiver wire.
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