In Week 1, eight different tight ends put up at least 10 fantasy points. From that point through Week 9, we had at least six tight ends do the same every week. There were never more than eight, but the NFL averaged just under seven tight ends a week with 10-plus fantasy points.
Fantasy football rankings, Week 14: Tight ends
Where have all the big scores gone?
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
In the four weeks since, the numbers have fallen. In Week 10, five tight ends reached 10 points. In Week 11, four. The last two weeks, it's been three each (Jimmy Graham, Delanie Walker and Tim Wright in Week 12; Martellus Bennett, Coby Fleener, Jordan Reed in Week 13).
The position, which early in the season was frustrating but reasonably productive, has been just frustrating in recent weeks. Between injuries (Reed, Jordan Cameron, Julius Thomas, Dwayne Allen) and inconsistency (the three double-digit scores in Week 12 combined for one point in Week 13, and that went to the least relevant member Wright; the three Week 13 guys had combined for five points in Week 12), the only person happy with his tight end in your league is the guy who has Rob Gronkowski.
In some ways, that makes the player you pick as your starter even more important. With so few guys putting up big numbers, finding a guy who can do it becomes even more difficult, and therefore even more important. In other ways, though, it makes it a situation where you just throw your hands in the air. "Greg Olsen is off the table? That's fine, he's averaged only 5.2 points over his last five anyway. You know who has the same average in that span? Anthony dang Fasano." You can't really go right, which means you can't really go wrong.
Still, you have to play someone. So you make the best choice you can, and you run with it, even if in the end it’s a dart throw. Here are our Week 14 rankings:
Tight end rankings, Week 14
(DK: Daniel Kelley; DC: Dan Ciarrocchi; JD: John Daigle; SK: Scott Kaliska)
| Rank | Consensus | Team | Opponent | DK | DC | JD | SK |
| 1 | Rob Gronkowski | NE | @SD | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Jimmy Graham | NO | CAR | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Julius Thomas | DEN | BUF | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Greg Olsen | CAR | @NO | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | Antonio Gates | SD | NE | 6 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| 6 | Martellus Bennett | CHI | DAL | 10 | 7 | 5 | 4 |
| 7 | Delanie Walker | TEN | NYG | 5 | 8 | 10 | 7 |
| 8 | Jordan Reed | WAS | STL | 8 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| 9 | Jason Witten | DAL | @CHI | 7 | 13 | 11 | 8 |
| 10 | Travis Kelce | KC | @ARI | 13 | 9 | 9 | 11 |
| 11 | Dwayne Allen | IND | @CLE | 9 | 10 | 13 | 14 |
| 12 | Coby Fleener | IND | @CLE | 11 | 19 | 8 | 9 |
| 13 | Larry Donnell | NYG | @TEN | 12 | 14 | 14 | 12 |
| 14 | Kyle Rudolph | MIN | NYJ | 16 | 12 | 12 | 13 |
| 15 | Jordan Cameron | CLE | IND | 17 | 17 | 18 | 15 |
| 16 | Heath Miller | PIT | @CIN | 15 | 11 | -- | 17 |
| 17 | Scott Chandler | BUF | @DEN | 19 | 16 | 15 | -- |
| 18 | Owen Daniels | BAL | @MIA | 18 | 21 | 17 | 20 |
| 19 | Charles Clay | MIA | BAL | 20 | 23 | 16 | 18 |
| 20 | Tim Wright | NE | @SD | 14 | 25 | 24 | 19 |
| 21 | Mychal Rivera | OAK | SF | -- | 15 | -- | 16 |
| 22 | Jared Cook | STL | @WAS | -- | 20 | 19 | 22 |
| 23 | Jermaine Gresham | CIN | PIT | 21 | 22 | 21 | -- |
| 24 | Eric Ebron | DET | TB | 25 | 18 | 25 | 25 |
| 25 | Austin Seferian-Jenkins | TB | @DET | -- | -- | 20 | -- |
| -- | Anthony Fasano | KC | @ARI | 22 | -- | -- | 24 |
| -- | Richard Rodgers | GB | ATL | -- | -- | -- | 21 |
| -- | Luke Willson | SEA | @PHI | 24 | -- | -- | 23 |
| -- | Marcedes Lewis | JAC | HOU | -- | -- | 22 | -- |
| -- | John Carlson | ARI | KC | 23 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Jace Amaro | NYJ | @MIN | -- | -- | 23 | -- |
| -- | Zach Ertz | PHI | SEA | -- | 24 | -- | -- |
