Week Six Fantasy Rankings: Top 15 Tight Ends

We all know that tight end is one of the most unpredictable positions to rank from week-to-week, with any player having the potential to post a big day. With that said, let’s take a look at how I’d rank them for the upcoming week:

1. Antonio Gates—San Diego Chargers vs. Denver Broncos
2. Tony Gonzalez—Atlanta Falcons vs. Chicago Bears
3. Owen Daniels—Houston Texans at Cincinnati Bengals
4. Kellen Winslow—Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers
5. John Carlson—Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals
6. Brent Celek—Philadelphia Eagles at Oakland Raiders
7. Heath Miller—Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns
8. Chris Cooley—Washington Redskins vs. Kansas City Chiefs
9. Dustin Keller—New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills
10. Greg Olsen—Chicago Bears at Atlanta Falcons
11. Jeremy Shockey—New Orleans Saints vs. New York Giants
12. Jermichael Finley—Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions
13. Todd Heap—Baltimore Ravens at Minnesota Vikings
14. Zach Miller—Oakland Raiders vs. Philadelphia Eagles
15. Vishantae Shiancoe—Minnesota Vikings vs. Baltimore Ravens

Quick Thoughts:

• The Broncos have the fifth best passing defense, so it seems a little bit odd to rank a tight end facing them as the best in the league for this week. What the Broncos have done well is to limit 20+ yard plays (nine) and 40+ yard plays (one). That would appear to open things up for some dump down passes, wouldn’t it?
• Celek may be the biggest surprise from the tight end position in 2009 and a game against the lowly Raiders shouldn’t slow him down. He did see his production slip a bit last week with the return of Donovan McNabb, however, so keep that in mind.
• While Keller hasn’t quite lived up to expectations thus far, with Jericho Cotchery out of action this week it opens the door for him to make an impact. Like the Broncos, the Bills have also limited the big plays, so look for the Jets to work the short passes.

Other Week 6 Rankings:

• Top 20 Quarterbacks
• Top 25 Runningbacks
• Top 35 Wide Receivers

What are your thoughts?  Who was left off the list?  Who should be higher?  Who should be lower?

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