Top 20 Tight Ends for Week 5
Kelce, Waller, Kittle, then who? Week 5 is filled with crazy matchups
Top 20:
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Cheifs, Opponent: Buffalo Bills
Kelce is going to be shining on Sunday Night Football in arguably the best and most anticipated matchup in the AFC all season long. Josh Allen and the Bills offense will roll, but even against a good Bills defense, Kelce will put up numbers like he always does on the biggest stage.
There is no containing this kind of greatness. Appreciate how dominant Kelce is while you can because we may not see another dominant Tight End like him for a long time.
Darren Waller, Las Vegas Raiders, Opponent: Chicago Bears
Again, the opponent doesn’t matter here. Waller is easily the second-best Tight End in Fantasy Football and averages over 7 targets per game, meaning he is at the very least going to get you 11+ fantasy points every single week.
Sure, it would be great to witness a replication of Waller’s week 1 performance against the Ravens where he got almost 30 fantasy points, but 15-20 is more realistic for this matchup.
George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers, Opponent: Arizona Cardinals
In a must-win game for the 49ers, Kittle needs to be targeted all game by Trey Lance for them to win. Kittle has yet to be targeted more than 10 times in a game all season long by Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance, which is concerning considering he could be the biggest matchup problem in the NFL along with Kelce.
The difference is the Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes and target Kelce 8 times a game and the 49ers have two decent QB’s that don’t know how to get Kittle more involved.
Nonetheless, Kittle is the biggest boom/bust Tight End this week as he could secure anywhere from 6-25 fantasy points depending on how Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers use him.
T.J. Hockenson, Detroit Lions, Opponent: Minnesota Vikings
Hockenson has been very consistent and remains Jared Goff’s #1 throwing target every week. Even after a down week where Hockenson only produced 8.2 fantasy points in PPR leagues, Hockenson is poised for a huge day against one of the worst defenses in the NFL in the Vikings.
Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons, Opponent: New York Jets
If Pitts can get going any week of the season, it is against the Jets who may be the worst team in the NFL even after a surprising win against the Titans. Pitts is only averaging only 9 fantasy points per game, which ranks 15th for Tight Ends in PPR leagues. This is concerning, but Pitts is still ranked 5th because of his big touchdown potential and that he is playing the Jets.
Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills, Opponent: Kansas City Chiefs
Coming off of a two-touchdown week and a productive season so far, Knox is one of Josh Allen’s go-to targets and should be started every week in fantasy football unless you have one of the 5 guys ranked ahead of him. Knox is poised for a huge week against a weak Kansas City Chiefs defense.
Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams, Opponent: Seattle Seahawks
The Rams will win this high-scoring game easy coming off of an embarrassing loss to the Cardinals and Higbee remains one of Matthew Staffords’ top Red-Zone targets. Start him with confidence again this week against a fairly weak Seahawks defense.
Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys, Opponent: New York Giants
The Giants’ defense has not been good all season long and Dak Prescott should exploit that by throwing to his big Tight End. Schultz is coming off of another huge week against a supposedly strong Panthers defense where he put up 18 fantasy points.
The week before Schultz had 27 fantasy points against the Eagles. Nothing should change against a mediocre Giants defense if Prescott remains to target Schultz.
Noah Fant, Denver Broncos, Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Fant is coming off of a week where he put up almost 17 fantasy points and secured a touchdown reception. The Steelers are in shambles and Teddy Bridgewater should exploit the defense by targeting and throwing to his big Tight End who has been fairly consistent all year long.
Mike Gesicki, Miami Dolphins, Opponent: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Gesicki pulled in a touchdown again this last weekend against the Colts and ended up picking up almost 17 fantasy points. I wasn’t high on Gesicki to start the year, but Jacoby Brissett loves to pass to him and that is evident as Gesicki has put up 18.6 and 16.7 fantasy points in the two weeks that Brissett has started. Start him with confidence against a shifty Buccaneers defense.
Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens, Opponent: Indianapolis Colts
Andrews hasn’t been targeted much all year by Lamar Jackson and who knows if this week will be any different. Andrews has had games where he has only picked up 5 fantasy points and only one game with more than 11.7 fantasy points. Andrews has yet to pick up a touchdown this season and that should be very concerning for fantasy owners.
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots, Opponent: Houston Texans
Henry is coming off of a week where he put up about 14 fantasy points. The Patriots are playing a very weak Texans team and Henry’s production should stay about the same hovering around 11-14 fantasy points. Henry remains a viable option at Tight End this week.
Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles, Opponent: Carolina Panthers
Goedert is coming off of a huge week where he put up just about 17 fantasy points and he should be targeted a lot again against the Panthers who are coming off an abysmal week on the defensive end. Zach Ertz will share some of Goedert’s time at Tight End and both are viable options at Tight End this weekend.
Austin Hooper, Cleveland Browns, Opponent: Los Angeles Chargers
Hooper did not have a week to remember as the Browns only put up 14 points against an awful Vikings defense. However, the Chargers are a team that has been up and down on defense, which could result in a big day for Hooper. He is a big boom/bust fantasy player this week.
Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles, Opponent: Carolina Panthers
Just like Goedert, Ertz is coming off of another productive week where he put up over 12 fantasy points. Depending on how many times he is targeted, Ertz is going to have another productive day against Carolina this weekend.
Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packers, Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals
This is where the list turns into “sit these guys”. I don’t trust Tonyan one bit. He is too inconsistent and Rodgers doesn’t target him nearly as much as the 15 guys ahead of him are targeted usually. Stay away from him even though he is a boom/bust player, his outlook looks like it will be bust.
Jared Cook, Los Angeles Chargers, Opponent: Cleveland Browns
Cleveland has a great defense and because of that, the Chargers may have a tough time scoring. Cook is the #4 option on offense behind Mike Williams, Keenan Allen, and Austin Ekeler and I don’t think there will be enough production to go around for Cook to have a big day this weekend. Sit him.
Jonnu Smith, New England Patriots, Opponent: Houston Texans
Hunter Henry is coming off of a good week so I would stay away from Smith unless you have to. He only got 14 yards receiving against Tampa Bay last weekend, even though he ended up with 10.4 fantasy points because the reception was a touchdown. Smith is a big boom/bust player who will likely be second in targets at Tight End to Hunter Henry. Sit him unless you have. to play him.
C.J. Uzomah, Cincinnati Bengals, Opponent: Green Bay Packers
Uzomah is coming off of a huge week against the Jaguars where he put up 26.5 fantasy points, but that could be a one-time thing. Uzomah hasn’t had consistent production yet and until he does it again, you should sit him. If he replicates his performance last week again this week, pick him up right away and start him. I doubt it happens though.
Gerald Everett, Seattle Seahawks, Opponent: Los Angeles Rams
The Rams have a good defense but Everett has a shot at having a decent day if Rusell Wilson targets him. However, he did not play last week and missed out on a week where he would have been targeted a lot. Either way, his production is up and down so I would stay away from him this week, especially against the Rams.