Top daily fantasy football tight end plays for Week 9

Welcome to Week 9 of the Daily Fantasy season. Pricing has stabilized as trends have emerged but there are still bargains to be found and even some higher-priced options that will go under-owned and can make a difference in your lineups. This article looks at some of the projected lesser-owned plays at tight end who could provide huge boosts to your tournament lineups, as well as some trap plays to avoid.

Don’t look now, but Gates is rounding into his old form again. Gates has 19 targets over the past two games. In his first four, he had 20 total targets. He’s had nine catches over the past two games. First four: 12. And last week Gates even added his first touchdown since Week 3. Rivers loves Gates and Hunter Henry has been ruled out. Old Man Gates is looking like a solid play in a weak week for tight ends.

Overall, this is a rough week for the Lions offense, facing a Vikings defense looking to take two weeks of frustration out on their division rivals at home. But for Ebron, there is an opportunity, as the Vikings defense should force Matt Stafford into some extra check-downs to his tight end. Ebron made a solid return to the lineup last week with seven catches on 10 targets for 79 yards. A similar line is within reach this week.

Pitta hasn’t reached double digits in fantasy points since Week 2, but he has received 10 targets in each of his past two games. What makes Pitta even more interesting this week is that he’s facing a Steelers defense that struggles against the tight end position and the Ravens will not have Crockett Gillmore available. Gillmore has been Joe Flacco’s top red zone tight end option. Now, presumably, those targets go to Pitta.

The Vikings offense has been in shambles the past two weeks. But this week, the Lions come to town and their pass defense makes everyone look better. The Lions are particularly vulnerable to opposing tight ends, so this shapes up as a great week to play Rudolph, whose two best games this season came when facing pass defenses in the bottom half of the league.

Kendricks is the sleeper play of the week. He might be the most forgotten man in DFS. The Rams were on a bye last week, and the week before that, the Rams played in London. So forgive everyone for not remembering that Kendricks has 12 catches on 17 targets for 89 yards and a touchdown over his past two games. The Panthers have had their issues with pass defense, so Kendricks could quietly succeed again this week at a bargain price.

Walker is always a great play as a focal point in Tennessee’s passing attack. But the issue this week is physical. Walker didn’t practice on Friday with a groin injury and is considered questionable to play against the Chargers. The game comes in the 4 p.m. slot, so his availability won’t likely be known before lock. That makes him a bit too risky to trust this week.

Fleener has not had more than 5.4 fantasy points in any of his previous three road games this season and he’s been under six points in three of his past four games overall. That’s a trend that screams, “Stay away.”