He may never play in another Pro Bowl (by choice), but Tyler Eifert is one of the best tight ends in the league. After finishing the 2015 season with an absurd 13 touchdowns, Eifert missed the first 7 games of 2016 due to injury, but made his presence known in Week 8 with nine receptions for 102 yards receiving and a TD. Not too shabby for a guy you likely snagged off of waivers a few weeks back. He’s on bye this week, but his return could mean less red zone targets for A.J. Green and Brandon LaFell going forward.
Fantasy football rankings, 2016: Tight ends for Week 9
The SB Nation fantasy team reveals which tight ends rank in the top 25 heading into Week 9.
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It’s never a particularly good week for tight ends, but Week 9 might be the worst of the season. Top options like Rob Gronkowski, Jordan Reed, Tyler Eifert and Zach Miller are all on bye and even streamers like C.J. Fiedorowicz and Vernon Davis are also unavailable. Therefore, you may find yourself scouring the free agent pool for viable replacements. Here are a few players with good matchups and our week 9 rankings:
Austin Hooper – Jacob Tamme had slowed down significantly after a hot start and was removed from Sunday’s game after injuring his shoulder. Hooper played well in relief collecting five receptions for 41 yards receiving. He gets Tampa on a short week, but they are actually pretty good at defending tight ends. Hooper isn’t going to out target Julio Jones or Mohamed Sanu, but he should see enough action to make him a top-15 play in week 9.
Lance Kendricks –Kendricks had at least eight targets in Weeks 6 and 7. He turned this into a total of 12 receptions for 89 yards receiving and a TD. Not great, but you aren’t going to find many great options with so many teams on bye. On the bright side, Carolina has given up the fourth-most fantasy points to tight ends allowing scores to the likes of Josh Hill, Jacob Tamme and Vance McDonald. I like Kendricks to find the end zone as long as Case Keenum doesn’t completely implode at home.
Gary Barnidge – He narrowly missed his first TD last week, but he gets an even friendlier matchup in Week 9 when the Browns host the Cowboys. He isn’t the same player who surprised us last year, but he is staying active averaging at least five targets and three receptions since Week 2. Perhaps some garbage time production will give Barnidge the opportunity he needs for his first big game.
Tight Ends, Week 9
(ZS: Zach Senvisky, JM: Jason Marcum, SK: Scott Kaliska, JG: Jeff Goldberg, KB: Kyle Bennett, DG: Derek Gordon)
| Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp. | ZS | JM | SK | JG | KB | DG |
| 1 | Greg Olsen | CAR | @ LA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Delanie Walker | TEN | @ SD | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Travis Kelce | KC | vs. JAC | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | Jimmy Graham | SEA | vs. BUF | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | Kyle Rudolph | MIN | vs. DET | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| 6 | Coby Fleener | NO | @ SF | 6 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 |
| 7 | Antonio Gates | SD | vs. TEN | 10 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| 8 | Gary Barnidge | CLE | vs. DAL | 5 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| 9 | Hunter Henry | SD | vs. TEN | 15 | 7 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 7 |
| 10 | Jack Doyle | IND | @ GB | 13 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
| 11 | Cameron Brate | TB | vs. ATL | 16 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 14 |
| 12 | Jason Witten | DAL | @ CLE | 8 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 11 |
| 13 | Dennis Pitta | BAL | vs. PIT | 19 | 6 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 5 |
| 14 | Julius Thomas | JAC | @ KC | 9 | 9 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 12 |
| 15 | Eric Ebron | DET | @ MIN | 11 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 15 |
| 16 | Zach Ertz | PHI | @ NYG | 14 | 12 | 16 | 11 | 13 | 13 |
| 17 | Austin Hooper | ATL | @ TB | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 19 |
| 18 | Lance Kendricks | LA | vs. CAR | 21 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 16 |
| 19 | Charles Clay | BUF | @ SEA | 20 | 24 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 23 |
| 20 | Jesse James | PIT | @ BAL | 23 | 18 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 18 |
| 21 | Virgil Green | DEN | @ OAK | 25 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 22 |
| 22 | Clive Walford | OAK | vs. DEN | 22 | 20 | -- | 21 | 20 | 20 |
| 23 | Josh Hill | NO | @ SF | -- | 21 | -- | 24 | 23 | 21 |
| 24 | Vance McDonald | SF | vs. NO | 24 | -- | 23 | 23 | 22 | -- |
| 25 | Richard Rodgers | GB | vs. IND | -- | -- | 21 | 25 | 24 | 24 |
| -- | Crockett Gillmore | BAL | vs. PIT | -- | 23 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Ladarius Green | PIT | @ BAL | -- | -- | 24 | -- | 25 | -- |
| -- | Will Tye | NYG | vs. PHI | -- | -- | 25 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Larry Donnell | NYG | vs. PHI | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 25 |
| -- | Mychal Rivera | OAK | vs. DEN | -- | 25 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
