Fantasy Football Week 9 Rankings: Top 20 Tight Ends

At this point there is no question who the best fantasy tight end is, but there is some regression going on with some of the early-season darlings.

Can we continue to count on Dustin Keller or Tony Moeaki?  Has Jacob Tamme emerged as a must-start option?  Let’s take a look at how things currently look:

1. Antonio Gates – San Diego Chargers – at Houston
2. Jason Witten – Dallas Cowboys – at Green Bay
3. Tony Gonzalez – Atlanta Falcons – vs. Tampa Bay
4. Zach Miller – Oakland Raiders – vs. Kansas City
5. Visanthe Shiancoe – Minnesota Vikings – vs. Arizona
6. Jacob Tamme – Indianapolis Colts – at Philadelphia
7. Kellen Winslow – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – at Atlanta
8. Aaron Hernandez – New England Patriots – at Cleveland
9. Tony Moeaki – Kansas City Chiefs – at Oakland
10. Dustin Keller – New York Jets – at Detroit
11. Benjamin Watson – Cleveland Browns – vs. New England
12. Heath Miller – Pittsburgh Steelers – at Cincinnati
13. Brent Celek – Philadelphia Eagles – vs. Indianapolis
14. Owen Daniels – Houston Texans – vs. San Diego
15. Todd Heap – Baltimore Ravens – vs. Miami
16. Greg Olsen – Chicago Bears – at Buffalo
17. Jermaine Gresham – Cincinnati Bengals – vs. Pittsburgh
18. John Carlson – Seattle Seahawks – vs. New York Giants
19. Kevin Boss – New York Giants – at Seattle
20. Brandon Pettigrew – Detroit Lions – vs. New York Jets

Thoughts:

• Antonio Gates has been the best fantasy football tight end thus far in 2010.  Houston has been the worst passing defense in the league, allowing nearly 300 passing yards per game and 16 TDs.  Considering all the injuries to the San Diego receiving corps, you have to like his potential to have a huge game.
• Is there a hotter tight end in the league than Jason Witten?  Over his last two games he has 19 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns.  Over his last four games, he’s had three touchdowns.  Wasn’t that always the problem with him?  Well, he certainly has bucked that trend and is worth using in all formats.
• A healthy Zach Miller would be in line for a potentially monster week.  The problem is, he’s not healthy, making it hard to depend on him.  The early word is that he’s going to play, but you have to be cautious with the Raiders bye week coming in Week 10.  Monitor the news and have a replacement just in case.
• With Randy Moss gone, will Visanthe Shiancoe become a major cog in the Vikings passing attack?  He has done very little in the past five games, but was very good the first two weeks (10 catches, 162 yards and a touchdown).  I would consider him a mid-to-low end TE1.
• Owen Daniels appeared to be turning it around, huh?  Too bad he posted just one catch for eight yards in Week 8.  Until he becomes a consistent performer, it’s hard to play him.  Plus, the injury concerns appear to be creeping back up.
• Jacob Tamme did everything he could to make fantasy owners believe he could fill the shoes of Dallas Clark.  I wouldn’t call him a lock quite yet, as it was just one game, but he’s certainly usable.

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

Make sure to check out our Week 9 Rankings:

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

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