Fantasy Football 2013 Rankings: Top 25 Tight Ends

We’ve gotten some encouraging news on Rob Gronkowski, as well as seeing some players both perform well and struggle during the preseason.  With the regular season only a week away, let’s take a look at how our tight end rankings currently look:

1. Jimmy Graham, New Orleans Saints
2. Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
3. Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys
4. Vernon Davis, San Francisco 49ers
5. Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta Falcons
6. Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers
7. Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings
8. Jermichael Finley, Green Bay Packers
9. Brandon Myers, New York Giants
10. Owen Daniels, Houston Texans
11. Jared Cook, St. Louis Rams
12. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers
13. Jermaine Greshem, Cincinnati Bengals
14. Martellus Bennett, Chicago Bears
15. Fred Davis, Washington Redskins
16. Jordan Cameron, Cleveland Browns
17. Zack Sudfeld, New England Patriots
18. Brent Celek, Philadelphia Eagles
19. Ed Dickson, Baltimore Ravens
20. Scott Chandler, Buffalo Bills
21. Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati Bengals
22. Heath Miller, Pittsburgh Steelers
23. Dwayne Allen, Indianapolis Colts
24. Rob Housler, Arizona Cardinals
25. Zack Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles

 

Thoughts:

• According to Paul Domowitch of the Philadelphia Daily News (click here for the article), “But when the Eagles open the season in less than 2 weeks against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field, Celek, 28, once again will be their starting tight end.”  In the third, and most important, preseason game Celek led the Eagles with seven targets, four receptions and 54 receiving yards.  He’s not going to be a TE1, nor does he have the upside of some other options, but he’s well worth considering as a mid-level TE2.
• Will Coby Fleener or Dwayne Allen hold more value in Indianapolis?  Time will tell, but with both sounding like they will be available Week 1, they both take a bit of a hit in potential value.
• Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston (click here for the article) is reporting, “While it’s not realistic to think Gronkowski would be ready for the season-opener on Sept. 8, as previously reported by ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, a late September return might not be that far off the mark.”  That means Gronkowski will likely miss only a game or two, at least hopefully.  It’s still a risk, so he is going to remain third on our rankings, but if you want to bump him back up to second, no one is going to argue.
• Rob Housler is a popular tight end sleeper, but a high ankle sprain is going to hurt his early season production.

Make sure to check out all of our 2013 preseason rankings:

• Quarterbacks (as of August 28, 2013)
• Running Backs (as of August 27, 2013)
• Wide Receivers (as of August 26, 2013)
• Defenses (as of August 15, 2013)
• Kickers (as of July 26, 2013)