Fantasy Football Week 5 Rankings: Top 20 Tight Ends

Antonio Gates is having a monster season, unseating Dallas Clark atop our weekly rankings.  How does everyone else shake out?  Let’s take a look:

1. Antonio Gates – San Diego Chargers – at Oakland
2. Dallas Clark – Indianapolis Colts – vs. Kansas City
3. Jermichael Finley – Green Bay Packers – at Washington
4. Tony Gonzalez – Atlanta Falcons – at Cleveland
5. Dustin Keller – New York Jets – vs. Minnesota
6. Vernon Davis – San Francisco 49ers – vs. Philadelphia
7. Chris Cooley – Washington Redskins – vs. Green Bay
8. Brent Celek – Philadelphia Eagles – at San Francisco
9. Jason Witten – Dallas Cowboys – vs. Tennessee
10. Zach Miller – Oakland Raiders – vs. San Diego
11. Visanthe Shiancoe – Minnesota Vikings – at New York Jets
12. Kellen Winslow – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – at Cincinnati
13. Tony Sheffler – Detroit Lions – vs. St. Louis
14. Greg Olsen – Chicago Bears – at Carolina
15. Tony Moeaki – Kansas City Chiefs – at Indianapolis
16. Marcedes Lewis – Jacksonville Jaguars – at Buffalo
17. Kevin Boss – New York Giants – at Houston
18. Brandon Pettigrew – Detroit Lions – vs. St. Louis
19. Benjamin Watson – Cleveland Browns – vs. Atlanta
20. Jeremy Shockey – New Orleans – at Arizona

Thoughts:

• Antonio Gates has been amazing this season.  He has at least five receptions and one TD in all four games he’s played.  In the last two, he has 14 catches for 253 yards.  In total, he has six TD on the season.  Yeah, the Raiders have given up just 143.8 passing yards per game, but they have allowed eight passing TDs, one behind the league leaders.  It’s hard to bet against him at this point.
• Minnesota’s defense is among the best, but you just can’t question the rapport that has been developed between Dustin Keller and Mark Sanchez.  Even with just four catches for 28 yards in Week 4, he still managed a pair of TDs.  That gives him five TD over his last three games.  Minnesota is tough against the run, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Keller and Sanchez hook up again.
• The injury to Michael Vick likely means improved play from Brent Celek.  He has proven to be Kevin Kolb’s safety valve, and it shouldn’t be a surprise that he scored his first TD in Week 4.  Don’t give up on him yet, this could be his best game to date in 2010.
• Is the Cowboys offense just built to not get Jason Witten into the end zone?  Since Week 6 of 2008 (30 games), he’s scored just four TD.  He has to find the end zone sooner or later, doesn’t he?
• Zach Miller is suffering from a hip injury, but you certainly wouldn’t have known it by his 11 catch, 122 yard, 1 TD performance in Week 4.  That was against the Texans, however, who have been burned by the pass all year.  This week he gets a tougher challenge against the Chargers, but he is arguably the best receiver on the Raiders.  Look for him to continue to perform.
• The acquisition of Randy Moss means that defenses are going to have to focus more on him, potentially opening up other options.  Percy Harvin could be one benefactor, as can Vishante Shiancoe.  While he has just 11 catches for 169 yards and 1 TD on the year, he’s worth considering as a low-end TE1 this week.
• At this point you have to consider Owen Daniels unusable until he actually makes an impact on the field.
• Both the Lions TE, Tony Sheffler and Brandon Pettigrew, have been playing well, but Sheffler appears to be the better end zone target (Pettigrew has yet to score in 2010).  That gives him the edge in our rankings.
• After watching Zach Miller torch the Texans defense in Week 4, you have to think Kevin Boss could make an impact this week.  Of course, the Giants have significantly more weapons then the Raiders, so temper the expectations.  Boss is a mid-range TE2.

What are your thoughts on these rankings?  Who’s too high?  Who’s too low?

Make sure to check out the rest of our Week 5 Rankings:

• Top 25 Quarterbacks
• Top 40 Running Backs
• Top 60 Wide Receivers
• Top 15 Kickers
• Top 15 Defenses (coming soon)
• Waiver Worthy
• Start ‘Em or Sit ‘Em
• Sunday Sleepers (coming soon)

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