Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

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

::RANKINGS UPDATED AS OF OCTOBER 29, 2011::

There was a lot to like about the fantasy football tight end position in Week 7. Antonio Gates made a triumphant return by catching a touchdown pass, Jimmy Graham continued his marvelous exploits, Fred Davis staked a claim to a perennial top-10 ranking and Jermichael Finley finally caught another touchdown pass. But this is a daunting week at the tight end position, with three of the top nine players in fantasy football scoring on a bye.

Now let’s go ahead and help you find that one week plug-and-play in our Fantasy Football Week 8 Tight End Rankings.

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Standard Scoring

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

1. Jimmy Graham (New Orleans Saints) @ St. Louis

In the Saints’ utter domination of the winless Colts last week, Graham had his second-highest fantasy scoring day of the season, catching two touchdowns as part of a six-catch, 54-yard effort. He is the number one fantasy tight end for the season by a margin of nearly 30 points, and leads all tight ends in receptions, receiving yards and targets, and is tied for the most touchdowns. He faces another horrid team this week in St. Louis, who has allowed the second-most passing scores in the league this season, behind only Indianapolis.
Point Projection: 15 points

2. Antonio Gates (San Diego Chargers) @ Kansas City

Gates returned with aplomb last week against the Jets, catching a touchdown pass and leading the Chargers with five receptions and 54 receiving yards. He squares off against the Chiefs this week, and if history is any indicator, a big game is looming. Gates has caught four touchdowns in his last five games against Kansas City, with no fewer than 55 receiving yards in any of those games. The Chiefs are tied for 26th in the NFL in passing touchdowns allowed, and have the second-fewest sacks in the league, so Philip Rivers should have plenty of time to pick them apart and find Gates often.
Point Projection: 13 points

3. Jason Witten (Dallas Cowboys) @ Philadelphia

Considering that the Cowboys ran for nearly 300 yards against the helpless Rams last week, the team didn’t really need to do much throwing. Nonetheless, Witten had five receptions for 35 yards and scored a touchdown in the contest. He faces the Eagles this week, a team that he has had great success against over the years. Since Witten’s second year, 2004, he has played in 14 regular season contests against them, and has totaled 84 catches for 991 yards and seven touchdowns. That would be a fantastic regular season for Witten, but like we said, these numbers have come in just 14 games.
Point Projection: 12 points

4. Fred Davis (Washington Redskins) @ Buffalo

We mentioned Davis in the intro because now that Chris Cooley won’t be around to snag any more of Davis’s targets, he should be one of the premier players at the position for the rest of the season. He showed why last week, when he snared six passes for 80 yards and scored a touchdown against the Panthers. He was the ‘Skins co-leader in targets with eight, and quarterback John Beck should be looking for him a lot this week against the Bills. Buffalo has the league’s third-worst pass defense, in part because they’ve sacked the quarterback a pathetic four times this season (fewest in the NFL).
Point Projection: 11 points

5. Owen Daniels (Houston Texans) vs. Jacksonville

Arian Foster led the Texans in catches and receiving yards last week in Houston’s dominating win over the Titans, but Daniels was right behind him, with four receptions for 71 yards. He has at least seven fantasy points in five of his last six games, and that streak will undoubtedly continue this week against Jacksonville. The Jags have given up the fifth-most fantasy points in the NFL to tight ends, but no team has allowed players at the position to catch more passes.
Point Projection: 10 points

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6. Vernon Davis (San Francisco 49ers) vs. Cleveland

Davis has been a boom-or-bust fantasy proposition this season, having scored double-digit fantasy points in three of his six games, but less than five points in the other three games he’s played. Fellow Niners tight end Delanie Walker has stolen some of Davis’s thunder, having scored the same amount of touchdowns (three) as Davis. But Davis has a superb match-up this week with Cleveland, a team that is allowing the fourth-most fantasy points per game to tight ends, and who is tied for the second-most touchdowns allowed to players at the position.
Point Projection: 9 points

7. Aaron Hernandez (New England Patriots) @ Pittsburgh

Hernandez has only played in four games this year, which is three less than many other tight ends, yet he still ranks 11th at the position in fantasy scoring. That’s because he’s scored a touchdown in three of those four games, and has at least 55 receiving yards in each of them. He would be higher in the rankings if not for his opponent this week, the Steelers. Pittsburgh is allowing the seventh-fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends, and just twice in their seven games have they given up more than five points. We still think Hernandez will get his share, but maybe not to the extent he would if he was facing a different team.
Point Projection: 9 points

8. Brandon Pettigrew (Detroit Lions) @ Denver

Last week in Detroit’s loss to the Falcons, Pettigrew was second on the team (behind Calvin Johnson, obviously) with four receptions, 31 yards and six targets. Okay, so those numbers aren’t going to be the reason you may have come away victorious last week, but they do speak to a trend that has seen Pettigrew become the team’s second-best receiving option. His 38 catches this season are second only to Jimmy Graham’s 45, and his 56 targets are fewer than only Graham’s 66 and Kellen Winslow’s 58. Translation: opportunities abound for Pettigrew.
Point Projection: 8 points

9. Greg Olsen (Carolina Panthers) vs. Minnesota

Olsen easily had his least productive game of the season last week against the Redskins, catching only one pass for four yards. It was only the second time this season – and the first time since Week 2 – that he had fewer than four fantasy points, which is not a trend we expect to continue. The Vikings rank among the better teams in the league in fantasy points allowed to tight ends, but that’s because they’ve only allowed a player at that position to score once. Yet that seems like a fluke when you consider that in seven games they’ve allowed tight ends to catch 43 passes for 402 yards. Only two teams in the NFL have given up more receptions to tight ends, and only eight have allowed more receiving yards.
Point Projection: 8 points

10. Rob Gronkowski (New England Patriots) @ Pittsburgh

It’s hard to put the player who has the second-most fantasy points among tight ends this low in our rankings, but we have good reasons to. Gronkowski hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 3, and despite the fact that Aaron Hernandez has played in two fewer games than Gronkowski, he has three more targets. Add in to it a difficult match-up with the Steelers, and you have a decent but not great fantasy option.
Point Projection: 7 points

11. Jermaine Gresham (Cincinnati Bengals) @ Seattle

Gresham was on a bye last week, but he returns this week to continue what has been a solid season. He isn’t a premier option by any means, but he is producing at a steady rate. He’s had a few clunkers in his six games this year, but some very good moments as well. Gresham has accumulated at least eight fantasy points in half of his games this year, and is facing a Seahawks team that has allowed at least 50 receiving yards to tight ends in each of their last four contests.
Point Projection: 6 points

12. Ed Dickson (Baltimore Ravens) vs. Arizona

We’re going to keep banging the Dickson drum, even though he has not had a lot of success this season. But we just see too much potential and opportunity to ignore him. Dickson is a potential mismatch due to his athleticism, and the Ravens know this as well, which is why they’ve targeted him 40 times this season, which is more looks than players like Rob Gronkowski, Jermichael Finley and Vernon Davis have gotten. For whatever reason, Dickson hasn’t translated those opportunities to fantasy points, but we see that changing somewhat this week against Arizona, who in six games have given up at least nine fantasy points to tight ends four times.
Point Projection: 6 points

13. Visanthe Shiancoe (Minnesota Vikings) @ Carolina

Last week against the Packers, Shiancoe was the Vikings co-leader in targets with eight. He caught four of those passes, including one for a touchdown, and gained 45 yards in the process. Shiancoe has had some encouraging performances of late, with at least 45 receiving yards in three of his last four games, and a pair of touchdowns over his last five games. Only the Bears have given up more receiving yards to tight ends than the Panthers, so you could do worse than Shiancoe if you need to pick up a tight end off the waiver wire due to a bye.
Point Projection: 5 points

14. Jared Cook (Tennessee Titans) vs. Indianapolis

We like Cook a lot this week, based on a number of factors. First off, he scored a touchdown last week (the only one the Titans scored) against the Texans, and it was his second score in the last three games. He’s also facing a Colts team that can’t stop the pass. Indy is No. 23 in the league in pass defense, but has allowed the most passing scores in the league, and opposing quarterbacks have a ridiculously high rating of 113.0 against them, which is easily the highest that any team is allowing.
Point Projection: 5 points

15. Dallas Clark (Indianapolis Colts) @ Tennessee

Clark didn’t even have so much as a single target last week against the Saints in Indy’s humiliating primetime loss to the Saints, marking the second time in his last three games that he failed to register a single fantasy point. With that type of production, he would usually be lower in the rankings, but he faces a Titans team this week that has really struggled against tight ends recently. Tennessee has allowed double-digit fantasy points to the tight end position in each of their past three games, and even though Clark has barely registered as a blip on fantasy radars this season, we do have some hope for him week.
Point Projection: 5 points

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Please use this link to enter:  Week 8 $350 Contest  (click to register)