Rotobahn

Tight End Rankings Week 3

Graham again
By: Pete Davidson : September 22, 2012 9:11am

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Welcome to the week three TE rankings.  The guys from the Giants and Panthers have been removed since they have already played.  This week’s rankings are a great example of just how deep the TE position is. Aaron Hernandez is out and both Greg Olsen and Martellus Bennett have already played, yet we have at least 19 guys remaining who can start for you. There is just no need to overpay for TEs unless you are talking about one of the consistent game-breakers.
I'll be back around noon with the receivers.  Feel free to check out our weekly starts and sits column at weei.com.  As usual, I'll be tweeting injury news on Sunday, so sign up to follow us.
 

Rank	PLAYER	TEAM	Opponent	THE SKINNY
1	Jimmy Graham	NO	KC	Locked in as the best tight end.
2	Vernon Davis	SF	@MIN	A total stud. You’d be nuts to sit him.
3	Rob Gronkowski	NE	@BAL	A lock starter. As I said last week, he just might score.
4	Antonio Gates	SD	ATL	Assuming he plays, which looks likely, he should go off.
5	Brandon Pettigrew	DET	@TEN	Good matchup. Get him in there!
6	Tony Gonzalez	ATL	@SD	Solid matchup and he’s been very good.
7	Brent Celek	PHI	@ARI	Being targeted a ton, so keep him active
8	Jason Witten	DAL	TB	He looks to be all the way back now, so start him with confidence.
9	Dennis Pitta	BAL	NE	We like him as you know and he appears to have worked his way into TE1 status. Flacco looks for him more then any receiver they have and with them running no huddle ...
10	Jermichael Finley	GB	@SEA	Jermichael has looked pedestrian when you consider how talented he is, but he’s still involved and has great TD potential. Keep him active, even in this rough matchup.
11	Owen Daniels	HOU	@DEN	He’s back in his old role and with a big pass rush coming in week three, he will be used often as an outlet.
12	Jermaine Gresham	CIN	@WAS	Good matchup and they will look to get him more involved now that he is fully healthy.
13	Kyle Rudolph	MIN	SF	As I said in our start/sit column, Rudolph is physical enough to compete with the 49ers safeties. He should be a solid option in spite of the nasty matchup.
14	Jared Cook	TEN	DET	Cook will be a good option on most weeks, especially with Britt back to make safeties lives miserable. Use him if you normally would.
15	Coby Fleener	IND	JAC	We expect a solid bounce back. Fleener just missed a score last week. He’s going to be solid on most weeks.
16	Fred Davis	WAS	CIN	TE1 potential, but he and RGIII need to develop some chemistry. Adding Davis as a throw in is not a bad idea. We expect him to close with a flourish.
17	Scott Chandler	BUF	@CLE	He scores touchdowns and with Davis Nelson finished, he is their primary big target in the red zone.
18	Jacob Tamme	DEN	HOU	His role is not as well defined as we’d hope, so consider other options for now. He still has outstanding potential.
19	Brandon Myers	OAK	PIT	He’s been active. We’re not buying all the hype, but for now he looks like a decent bet for some production.
20	Marcedes Lewis	JAC	@IND	He’ll bounce back after a down week. He’s one of the more reliable targets they have and they wasted him as a blocker in week two. We doubt they make the same mistake this week.
21	Kellen Davis	CHI	STL	He’s going to keep getting better, but not much more than TE2 upside. He’s been targeted but he needs to take better advantage and hold onto the ball.
22	Anthony Fasano	MIA	NYJ	He is a reasonable reach play as he got involved last week and scored. The Jets can be had in the middle of the field.
23	Heath Miller	PIT	@OAK	Miller gets looks, but he is nursing ribs, so we’d avoid him this week if you can.
24	Dallas Clark	TB	@DAL	He did show up at the end of last week’s game, so he’s worth keeping an eye on as he is obviously healthy now. For big leagues only.
25	Tony Moeaki	KC	@NO	Moeaki has a future, but we’re not advocating making your present. He’s worth rostering in large formats and long term leagues.
26	Dustin Keller	NYJ	@MIA	Keller is a good guy to pick up if he’s been dropped, but he is a risky play until we see him running free and easy. This hamstring injury has lingered because they brought him back too soon, so be careful with making him active.
27	Kevin Boss	KC	@NO	He’s been involved so far, but they have Cassel at the helm and Moeaki as the “Joker” TE.
28	Dwayne Allen	IND	JAC	He’s a very talented player and we expect his role to grow, but starting him now is not the way to go unless you are desperate. He did score last week on his only reception.
29	Ben Watson	CLE	BUF	Fading and uninvolved.
30	Kellen Winslow	NE	@BAL	Definitely a guy to watch this week and perhaps worth rostering in deep format if you are somehow without a TE worth playing. We doubt he’s much more than insurance, but the guy does have talent.
31	James Casey	HOU	@DEN	He makes plays, but they use him in more of a gimmick role, so we’d avoid him.
32	Rob Housler	ARI	PHI	Housler is a guy we like and he may get his shot with Heap banged up. Keep an eye on this guy.
33	Joel Dreessen	DEN	HOU	Rostering Dreessen is a sneaky move as he may get more and more involved as time passes. He’s playing more snaps than Tamme right now and Dreessen has proven to be a very capable target in the past. A sneaky add in very large formats as a stash.
34	Todd Heap	ARI	PHI	He’s questionable to play. You can do better.
35	Ed Dickson	BAL	NE	He’s fallen behind Pitta despite being the better athlete, so we’d leave him on the bench for now. They do play plenty of 2TE, so he’s still a guy to watch.
36	Lance Kendricks	STL	@CHI	He’s just not involved enough.
37	Anthony McCoy	SEA	GB	He looked good last week, but we’d hold off adding him or playing him at the point, but he’s a guy to watch as they need options in Seattle.
38	Dante Rosario	SD	ATL	If Gates doe sit, Rosario is a solid option after his 2 score barrage in week two.
39	Zach Miller	SEA	GB	McCoy was more involved.