FANTASY

Fantasy Player Projections

Tight Ends

Rank	Team	Player	Projection	Opponent
1			Jimmy Graham 6 rec, 80 yards, rec TD After starting the season with a touchdown catch in each of his first three games, Graham is now dealing with an ankle injury. The Bucs are susceptible to the pass, so Graham should get back on track in Week 7 if he's healthy.	at
2			Rob Gronkowski 6 rec, 70 yards, rec TD Gronk caught six passes for 61 yards at Seattle in Week 6, but he was held out of the end zone for the third time in four games. Even so, Gronk remains one of Tom Brady's favorite options and faces the leaky Jets in Week 7.	vs
3			Fred Davis 5 rec, 63 yards, rec TD Davis is the only steady weapon in the Redskins' passing attack, yet he has yet to record his first touchdown of 2012. That should say plenty. Still, we believe in Davis, mostly because we believe in Robert Griffin III's development as an NFL passer.	at
4			Jason Witten 5 rec, 57 yards, rec TD Witten is back on track to post his usual totals (projected: 86 catches and 883 yards). He has a favorable matchup this week against a Panthers defense that has allowed opposing tight end to gain 50 or more yards in each of Carolina's last four contests.	at
5			Owen Daniels 5 rec, 56 yards, rec TD The team's other tight ends (James Casey, Garrett Graham) are starting to become a factor, stealing away some of the production usually reserved for Daniels. No matter: Daniels is still among the fantasy leaders at his position in terms of catches, touchdowns and big plays of 20-plus yards.	vs
6			Vernon Davis 5 rec, 55 yards, rec TD Davis had just three catches for 37 yards against the Giants in Week 6, joining Michael Crabtree as the Niners' top two disappointments of the week. Davis has been inconsistent lately, but he remains a solid tight end in all fantasy leagues for now.	vs
7			Lance Kendricks 4 rec, 47 yards, rec TD This could be a favorable matchup for Kendricks. Green Bay has trouble defending the middle of the field, and now must deal with a thin interior linebacking corps. First, the Packers lost Desmond Bishop, and last week they lost his replacement, D.J. Smith.	vs
8			Jermaine Gresham 4 rec, 46 yards, rec TD Gresham has posted three solid games in the past month. We still have not seen him explode (no career 100-yard games) and we may never. Still, Gresham is a solid fill-in for fantasy owners, and could do well in this contest if Troy Polamalu is unable to find his way back into the lineup.	vs
9			Coby Fleener 4 rec, 44 yards, rec TD Fleener has not yet scored an NFL touchdown, but it's just a matter of time. In fact, it could be this week. He has a favorable schedule ahead, and continues to be one of Andrew Luck's preferred targets. Last week the Browns gave up 68 yards and a touchdown to Cincinnati's Jermaine Gresham.	vs
10			Greg Olsen 5 rec, 67 yards Don't look too deep into Olsen's last performance (two catches). The Panthers still believe he is an upper-echelon tight end, and we think he will find success against a Cowboys pass defense that has had trouble defending opposing tight ends.	vs
11			Aaron Hernandez 5 rec, 65 yards The third-year tight end was able to finally return to play against the Seahawks in Week 6, after being out three weeks with an ankle injury. Hernandez caught six passes for 30 yards and a touchdown, and he's a must-start tight end once again.	vs
12			Jared Cook 5 rec, 55 yards The Titans' tight end has hovered around four catches for 50 yards in nearly every game this season, with two total touchdowns. The Bills are below average against the pass, so consider Cook a bye-week replacement for Brent Celek, Antonio Gates or Tony Gonzalez.	at
13			Brandon Myers 5 rec, 55 yards Myers caught five passes for 62 yards at Atlanta in Week 6, and he now has more than 50 receiving yards in four of five games this season. He's much better in PPR leagues, considering he has 21 receptions and no touchdown catches.	vs
14			Heath Miller 4 rec, 54 yards The Bengals have had trouble defending opposing tight ends like Dennis Pitta and Fred Davis. Unlike those guys, Miller has been on a roll all season long.	at
15			Marcedes Lewis 4 rec, 45 yards Lewis has two touchdowns this season, and with so many tight ends off in Week 7, he could be a nice bye-week replacement against the Raiders.	at
16			Dustin Keller 3 rec, 40 yards Back from a hamstring injury, Keller caught just one pass for six yards in Week 6 against the Colts. The Patriots, New York's Week 7 opponent, have had a tough time stopping tight ends this season, making Keller a sleeper start in larger leagues.	at
17			Kyle Rudolph 4 rec, 40 yards Rudolph caught six passes for 56 yards and a touchdown in Week 6 at Washington. He also scored on a two-point conversion. The second-year tight end has five touchdown catches in the past five games. Keep him active against a pretty good Cardinals defense.	vs
18			Brandon Pettigrew 4 rec, 39 yards Dismiss Tony Scheffler's role in last week's win; Scheffler made a nice over-the-shoulder catch on one scoring drive, but that accounted for the bulk of his yards. Pettigrew is the No. 1 tight end on this team, and his production will not be affected by Scheffler much moving forward.	at
19			Jermichael Finley 3 rec, 38 yards Finley was called for a push-off and he dropped another easy catch Sunday night, this a few days after he questioned the strength of the chemistry he shares with Aaron Rodgers. Finley is heading in the wrong direction.	at
20			Scott Chandler 4 rec, 35 yards Chandler was a complete fantasy disappointment in Week 6 against Arizona, catching just one pass for four yards. With the running backs healthy and getting most of the action, Chandler is becoming a second thought.	vs
21			Martellus Bennett 3 rec, 32 yards Thanks to a bum knee, Bennett's stock has cooled in recent weeks. There is no evidence to suggest Bennett will be back to 100 percent for Week 7, which should serve as fair warning for fantasy owners to back off.	vs
22			Jordan Cameron 3 rec, 32 yards Progress has been slow for Cameron, but he has made more plays than Ben Watson even though Watson sees more opportunities each week. Cameron faces a Colts defense that opponents have picked apart, but still won't do much.	at
23			Dennis Pitta 3 rec, 32 yards What happened to the tight end who was targeted 22 times in the season's first two weeks? Pitta has all but disappeared in recent weeks, with 55 yards in the Ravens' past three games combined. It's not time to cut him, but it's certainly time to send him to the bench.	at
24			Kellen Davis 2 rec, 29 yards Aside from the Dallas game, Davis has been a non-factor for Chicago, notching a couple of catches for minimal yardage in most weeks. The Lions were beaten by Jared Cook and Vernon Davis in games earlier this season, but Davis is not of that caliber.	vs
25			Dallas Clark 2 rec, 20 yards Clark was targeted just once in Week 6 against the Chiefs, despite a big passing day for the Buccaneers. Even with the Bucs facing a porous Saints defense in Week 7, fantasy owners should be able to find better alternatives than Clark.	vs
26			Rob Housler 2 rec, 20 yards Housler caught a pair of passes for 12 yards against Buffalo in Week 6. He hasn't caught more than three passes in any game so far. There should be better alternatives at the tight end position for your team.	at
27			Zach Miller 2 rec, 20 yards Miller continues to be a secondary thought in Seattle's offense, catching just two passes for 29 yards on two targets against the Patriots in Week 6. He's not worth using against the Niners in fantasy play.	at

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