Week 7 Fantasy Football Rankings: Top 25 Tight Ends in Standard-Scoring Leagues

Here are my top 25 tight ends for Week 7 (standard-scoring leagues).

This countdown identifies the weekend's best bets for catches, total yards, touchdowns and targets—a stat that must always factor into lineup strategies with receivers and tight ends. 

NOTE: The Broncos, Eagles, Chargers, Falcons, Dolphins and Chiefs are all on byes. 

Week 7: Top 25 Tight Ends

1. Vernon Davis vs. Seattle
2. Rob Gronkowski vs. N.Y. Jets
3. Jason Witten @ Carolina
4. Martellus Bennett vs. Washington
5. Jimmy Graham @ Tampa Bay
6. Aaron Hernandez vs. N.Y. Jets
7. Brandon Pettigrew @ Chicago
8. Greg Olsen vs. Dallas
9. Owen Daniels vs. Baltimore
10. Heath Miller @ Cincinnati
11. Kyle Rudolph vs. Arizona
12. Fred Davis @ N.Y. Giants
13. Jermaine Gresham vs. Pittsburgh
14. Scott Chandler vs. Tennessee
15. Jared Cook @ Buffalo
16. Coby Fleener vs. Cleveland
17. Brandon Myers vs. Jacksonville
18. Dustin Keller @ New England
19. Dennis Pitta @ Houston
20. Jermichael Finley @ St. Louis
21. Marcedes Lewis @ Oakland
22. Dallas Clark vs. New Orleans
23. Kellen Davis vs. Detroit
24. Benjamin Watson @ Indianapolis
25. Rob Housler @ Minnesota
25a. Lance Kendricks vs. Green Bay

Quick Hitters

1. Vernon Davis's three-year averages (six games total) against the Seahawks—six catches, 65 yards, 0.33 TDs—won't turn a lot of heads in the fantasy realm. But during that span, Davis also collected eight targets per game. For Thursday's brawny clash with Seattle, I'm thinking 85 yards and one score.

2. Owen Daniels (26 catches, 357 yards, 3 TD) has evolved into a regular starter with 12-team leagues. But I'm still a little leery of his Week 7 matchup. In his last three games against the Ravens, Daniels posted two or less catches twice (with no touchdowns).

3. Kyle Rudolph ranks third in tight end targets since Week 4 (23)—an encouraging stat that boosts his fantasy profile in standard-scoring and PPR leagues. In early September, he was only a starter-worthy asset in TD-only leagues.

4. In his last four games, Brent Celek has pedestrian tallies of 13 catches, 135 yards and one touchdown. To be fair, though, a short TD against the Lions (Week 6) was negated by a ticky-tack interference call. For the season, Celek has just one game of four-plus catches and 70-plus yards (Week 2).

5. I may be a fan of Jermaine Gresham's underrated talents, but that's no excuse to ignore his history against the Steelers. In his last three games against Pittsburgh, Gresham has a grand total of nine catches for 71 yards. Ouch!

6. The full-time return of Aaron Hernandez (one TD last week) should bolster Rob Gronkowski's across-the-board production (targets, catches, yards, TDs). Simply put, opposing defenses will no longer have the luxury of doubling Gronk (15 catches, 200 yards, 1 TD since Week 4) now that Hernandez, Wes Welker, Stevan Ridley and Brandon Lloyd are together again.

Wow! That's an embarrassment of riches for one team. Quite a stark contrast for the club that'll be lining up against New England on Sunday. 

Jay Clemons can be reached on Twitter, day or night, at @ATL_JayClemons.