Fantasy football rankings, 2016: Tight ends for Week 14

We did it ma! Top of the World! Well, almost. Fantasy playoffs start for most of us this week and hopefully you are still in the mix. With 13 games of data we have a good idea of what have in every player and team. Tight ends are normally frustrating, but this year has been absurd. In an attempt to make since of the chaos here are our week 14 rankings and my thoughts on tight end tiers heading into the playoffs.

Tier 1

Travis Kelce – Three weeks of 100 yards receiving and should be plenty involved over the next 3 weeks against teams not especially great at stopping tight ends.

Tyler Eifert – Seems to be the red zone target of choice for Andy Dalton and as long as A.J. Green is out he has a chance to lead this team in targets going forward. You don’t like his week 16 game against Houston, but he’ll be a top 3 TE the rest of the way.

Tier 2

Jordan Reed – If healthy, he is Tier 1, but he isn’t. His playoff schedule also raises a few flags. I’d start him if he plays, but he’s got an uphill battle.

Jimmy Graham – As Russell Wilson goes, so does Graham. He gets a peach of a matchup against Green Bay this week, but it’s tough sledding weeks 15 and 16.

Greg Olsen – Hasn’t caught a touchdown or gone over 50 yards in the last 4 weeks, but does have a few good matchups over the next three weeks. We just wish he did something of note recently to give us confidence going forward.

Delanie Walker – He’s the #1 option for Marcus Mariota, but between his brutal playoff schedule and likeliness to leave a game early due to injury he is hard to trust this playoff stretch.

Kyle Rudolph – I’m not going to argue about the 22 targets in the last two games, but I don’t trust the QB. His playoff shapes up well and he’s going to get a few end zone targets.

Tier 3

Zach Ertz – Two touchdowns over the last three weeks and some decent target totals to boot. Still, hard to trust the offense and he isn’t in my circle of trust yet. I think he stays in the top 10 going forward, but I wouldn’t feel great starting him.

Jason Witten – Oh, that donut hurt last week. He’s normally pretty consistently mediocre, but you’ll take that with tight ends this year. Still not a threat to score a touchdown and Dez Bryant is heating up.

Dennis Pitta – Well, he finally got his touchdown(s). I don’t think this level of production continues as he will face some stiff competition going forward.

Antonio Gates – He’s not playing enough snaps to be a no brainer start, but he is only 3 touchdowns away from passing Tony Gonzalez on the all-time tight end touchdown record. Look for Philip Rivers to help him get there since the Chargers aren’t likely going to make the playoffs.

Interesting Streamers

Cameron Brate – Great schedule and the Bucs are going to have to throw.

Ladarius Green – He may have finally arrived, but I’m not trusting him as an every week starter yet.

Coby Fleener – Super frustrating, but you can always do worse than Drew Brees’ tight end.

Vance McDonald – Kaepernick keeping the starting job is good news and he should be a fantastic option weeks 14 and 15. He gets the Rams on the road week 16 so you’ll need an alternative for the championship round.

(ZS: Zach Senvisky, JM: Jason Marcum, SK: Scott Kaliska, JG: Jeff Goldberg, DG: Derek Gordon)