Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

- Written by Kyle Smith
- Edited by Marc Caviglia
- Predictions are based on Staff Consensus

::RANKINGS UPDATED AS OF DECEMBER 17, 2011::

There were plenty of solid performances by fantasy tight ends during Week 15, but only one that was record breaking. Rob Gronkowski had 160 yards and scored twice, and his 15 touchdown receptions this year broke the single-season record for a tight end. He’s flattening the rest of the fantasy tight ends in scoring, with 199 points thus far, which is 48 more points than runner-up Jimmy Graham. Speaking of Graham, back spasms are giving him trouble, which hindered his play last week and precipitated a fall in the rankings for him this week. But there are tight ends that are rising as well, including Green Bay’s Jermichael Finley. With Greg Jennings out, and with a great match-up against the Chiefs, Finley has an opportunity to help buoy his fantasy owners during the playoffs.

That said, let’s take a look at which other fantasy tight ends will potentially aid their owners in a championship run or possibly hasten their exit.

Looking for a free, and easy place to join a fantasy football league? If so, try out Fleaflicker.com for all your league management needs.

Standard Scoring

Pass TD: 4 points |  All Other TDs: 6 points
25 Passing Yards: 1 point |  All Turnovers: -2 points

 

**BEAT THE BRUNO BOYS $350 WEEK 15 FREE CONTEST -  TOP 20 PAID**

We’ve partnered with DraftStreet.com to provide our fans an opportunity to play WEEKLY salary cap fantasy football against the Bruno Boys Staff.  Through the first 14 weeks of the NFL season we have given away over $5,900 in cash prizes. This week, we are offering a $350 free roll in which the TOP 20 win prize money. Make sure to sign-up now for a chance to win money and take on the Bruno Boys… IT’S FREE!!

Please use this link to enter:  Week 15 $350 Contest  (click to register)

1. Rob Gronkowski (New England Patriots) @ Denver

We mentioned Gronkowski in the intro, and for good reason. His 160 yards and two scores last week against the Redskins further elevated him into the fantasy stratosphere. His 199 fantasy points this season not only leads all tight ends, but is 13th among all players. Gronkowski has more fantasy points than Adrian Peterson, Arian Foster, Michael Vick, Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald, just to name a few. He’s amassed 20 or more fantasy points in six of his 13 games this year, and has scored two touchdowns in four of his last five games. Though Gronkowski’s opponent this week, the Broncos, are allowing only five fantasy points per game to tight ends this season, they have allowed a player at that position to score twice in their last three games.
Point Projection: 16 points

2. Jermichael Finley (Green Bay Packers) @ Kansas City

Usually, you wouldn’t put a player second in position rankings who didn’t even receive one target last week. But that was last week, and it’s not like Green Bay needed him in their utter destruction of the Raiders. This week is a different story, because wideout Greg Jennings will be missing in action due to an injury, and the Chiefs represent a foe that is ripe for end-zone exploitation. K.C. has given up the seventh-most fantasy points in the league to opposing tight ends, and is tied with two other teams for most touchdown receptions allowed to tight ends. Finley has been underwhelming for much of the 2011 campaign, but if you were ever going to put faith in his abilities, now is the time.
Point Projection: 15 points

3. Jason Witten (Dallas Cowboys) @ Tampa Bay

Last week was ugly for Witten, with a capital “U.” In game against the Giants in which the Cowboys scored 34 points, Witten tied his season-low with three receptions, and set a season-low with 12 receiving yards and one fantasy point – during the fantasy playoffs, no less – ouch. Over his last five games, Witten has just one touchdown and has had at least 50 receiving yards only once, but our confidence in him isn’t wavering one iota. He faces an awful Tampa team this week, one that is 27th in pass defense, 22nd in touchdown passes allowed, and against whom elite tight ends have destroyed. Jimmy Graham compiled 202 yards against them in two games, Vernon Davis scored twice against them in a game, and even Marcedes Lewis had 77 yards against them last week.
Point Projection: 13 points

4. Jimmy Graham (New Orleans Saints) @ Minnesota

Graham nearly didn’t suit up last week against Tennessee after having back spasms during warm-ups. And though he did play, it clearly affected him, and with five catches for 55 yards, he turned in his second-lowest fantasy point total of the year. But he maintains that he will continue to play, and if he’s relatively healthy, there could be a big pay-off for his fantasy owners. Graham will face the Vikings this week, and only one team has given up more receptions to opposing tight ends this year than they have. Minnesota has really struggled against tight ends recently, having allowed five touchdowns to them over their last seven games, and at least 55 receiving yards to players at that position in five of their last six contests.
Point Projection: 11 points

5. Tony Gonzalez (Atlanta Falcons) vs. Jacksonville

Gonzalez’s 11 targets last week in Atlanta’s win over the Panthers were the most for any tight end during Week 14. He turned those 11 looks into seven catches for 82 yards, continuing his high level of play. Gonzalez has 23 receptions over his last three games, and has at least 70 receiving yards over his last five games. This week he faces a Jacksonville team that has given up more catches to opposing tight ends than any other team, and the sixth-most fantasy points in the league to players at the position.
Point Projection: 11 points

6. Antonio Gates (San Diego Chargers) vs. Baltimore

The Chargers walloped Buffalo last week, with Gates having a big game in the process. He led San Diego with seven catches, 68 yards and two touchdowns, and his 18 fantasy points were a season-high for him. He has showed no signs of slowing down after his foot injury, and in the eight games he’s played since returning form that injury, has amassed five games of double-digit fantasy points. We think he’ll get there again this week, but just barely. Gates and his teammates have to take on a Baltimore squad that has allowed the second-fewest fantasy points in the league to opposing tight ends. However, they have allowed a tight end to catch a touchdown pass in each of their last two games, which should leave some room for optimism if you are one of Gates’ fantasy owners.
Point Projection: 10 points

7. Jake Ballard (New York Giants) vs. Washington

Ballard had 52 yards on four receptions last week against the Cowboys, and caught a touchdown pass for the first time since Week 9. He now has six games with at least 50 yards, and should easily make it seven this week against the Redskins. Only one team has allowed more fantasy points to tight ends than Washington, who has allowed at least 15 fantasy points to tight ends three times in their last seven games.
Point Projection: 9 points

8. Brandon Pettigrew (Detroit Lions) @ Oakland

Pettigrew found the end zone last week and led the Lions with six receptions and seven targets while also adding 57 yards. It was his second touchdown in his last four games, and though his inconsistency has been frustrating, he does have the ability to make weaker defenses pay. Luckily, that’s what he’ll face this week when Detroit travels to Oakland. The Raiders are middle of the road when it comes to stopping opposing tight ends, but a player at that position has scored against them in three of their last four contests, and only seven teams in the league have allowed more touchdowns to tight ends than they have.
Point Projection: 8 points

9. Aaron Hernandez (New England Patriots) @ Denver

The 84 yards that Hernandez compiled last week (on five catches) against the Redskins was his second-highest total of the season. Yet he hasn’t scored over his last five games, and has more than 45 yards only twice in that span. As we mentioned when talking about Gronkowski, the Broncos have given up a couple touchdowns to tight ends in their past few games, but still aren’t giving up many yards, and only four teams have allowed fewer fantasy points to tight ends than they have, so be careful this week with Hernandez.
Point Projection: 7 points

10. Owen Daniels (Houston Texans) vs. Carolina

There were a pair of tight ends with 100-yard games in Week 14, and while you probably know that one of them was turned in by Rob Gronkowski, it may be surprising to find out that the other was Daniels. Not because he’s incapable, but because in his previous four games he amassed a total of 129 receiving yards. It helped that receiver Andre Johnson did not play, and if he has to sit again, Daniels should capitalize on a Panthers team that has allowed the ninth-most receiving yards in the league to opposing tight ends.
Point Projection: 6 points

**BEAT THE BRUNO BOYS $350 WEEK 15 FREE CONTEST -  TOP 20 PAID**

We’ve partnered with DraftStreet.com to provide our fans an opportunity to play WEEKLY salary cap fantasy football against the Bruno Boys Staff.  Through the first 14 weeks of the NFL season we have given away over $5,900 in cash prizes. This week, we are offering a $350 free roll in which the TOP 20 win prize money. Make sure to sign-up now for a chance to win money and take on the Bruno Boys… IT’S FREE!!

Please use this link to enter:  Week 15 $350 Contest  (click to register)

11. Anthony Fasano (Miami Dolphins) @ Buffalo    **QUESTIONABLE - STATUS UNCERTAIN FOR SUNDAY**

Fasano registered five fantasy points last week with 56 yards on three receptions. He has had at least five fantasy points in six of his last eight contests, and has scored three touchdowns in that same span. He is a solid fantasy option this week against the Bills, who have allowed more fantasy points to tight ends than all but three other teams this season, and are tied for most touchdowns allowed to players at the position.
Point Projection: 6 points

12. Brent Celek (Philadelphia Eagles) vs. New York Jets

After starting the season as an utterly irrelevant fantasy tight end, Celek has returned to some sort of prominence. He had 39 yards last week on four receptions, and it was the seventh time in eight games that he had at least four catches. His Achilles heel is the fact that he has only scored two times this year, with those scores coming in Weeks 6 and 8, respectively. His opponent this week, the Jets, have only allowed three touchdowns to opposing tight ends this season, but take note of the fact that they’ve also allowed the fifth-most receiving yards in the league to players at the position.
Point Projection: 5 points

13. Kellen Winslow (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) vs. Dallas

Winslow had a season-low two receptions and compiled only 38 yards in Tampa’s utter stinker of a loss to the Jaguars last week. He has a solid total of 58 receptions this season, but only 607 yards and two touchdowns, so he isn’t getting as much out of his catches as other tight ends are. He has a chance to reverse that trend against the Cowboys, because Dallas has been poor at containing tight ends all year. Only one other team has allowed more receiving yards to tight ends than they have, with players at the position gaining at least 60 yards in eight of the team’s 13 games.
Point Projection: 5 points

14. Vernon Davis (San Francisco 49ers) vs. Pittsburgh

Davis simply isn’t getting the job done, and has been one of the larger disappointments at the tight end position for fantasy owners. He had 32 yards on one lousy catch last week against the Cardinals, and has now gone three straight games with between 32 and 38 yards. His athleticism and pure talent is just too overwhelming to ignore however, so we can’t in good conscience put him lower than this, especially in a week where great match-ups by mid-level tight ends – which might otherwise knock him down in the rankings – are few and far between.
Point Projection: 4 points

15. Dustin Keller (New York Jets) @ Philadelphia

Keller has caught a decent number of passes recently (16 in his last four contests), but has more than 40 yards in just one game in that span and has scored only once. He had 34 yards on four receptions in last week’s win over the Chiefs, and has only 46 yards over his last two games. The Eagles have been vulnerable to tight ends recently however, having allowed at least 50 yards to players at that position in each of their last three games.
Point Projection: 4 points