Scott Chandler Week 13 Fantasy Outlook After Rob Gronkowski Injury

While the news that New England Patriots All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski will miss Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles because of a knee injury is not good for the team, per ESPN.com's Mike Reiss, it does benefit Scott Chandler's fantasy owners.

Chandler's first season in the NFL was back in 2007, but he battled injuries and roster cuts for years. Ever since he became a regular for the Buffalo Bills in 2011, though, he has put up respectable numbers, especially for a tight end:

Year	Team	GP	GS	Targets	Receptions	Yards	TD
2011	Buffalo	14	9	46	38	389	6
2012	Buffalo	15	13	74	43	571	6
2013	Buffalo	16	7	81	53	655	2
2014	Buffalo	16	5	70	47	497	3
2015	New England	11	4	34	19	198	3

Even playing backup to the game's best tight end in New England, Chandler has managed to haul in three scores this year, including one in a Week 12 loss to the Denver Broncos.

Chandler stayed level-headed when asked if he could replace Gronkowski, per Doug Kyed of NESN.com: “I don’t know that it’s always that easy. There’s not a lot of Robs walking around. I’m just doing what I can here. I’m focused on that. I’m not trying to be Rob, because I would fail."

The former Iowa Hawkeyes star is right: It's hard to replace a guy who has 63 receiving touchdowns in 76 career games. But in terms of fantasy football this weekend, he becomes an enticing play.

Heading into Week 13, Chandler is the No. 28 tight end in fantasy points scored, which means he is better than a few starting tight ends in the league.

In addition to the fact that Chandler is talented, he also has one of the game's best quarterbacks throwing him the ball: Tom Brady. Brady's 28 touchdown passes lead the league, and he has a knack for making backup pass-catchers look good.

Chandler could start on many NFL teams—and he's worth a start on fantasy teams Sunday, especially against an Eagles defense that has allowed 10 touchdowns through the air over the past two weeks.

With Gronkowski out—and Cincinnati's Tyler Eifert also likely out after suffering a neck injury, per Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk—Chandler has a chance to put up numbers as good as any other tight end's stats this week. You should plug him into your starting lineup and feel good about it.

Fantasy numbers courtesy of ESPN.com.