Fantasy Football Week 10 Rankings: Top 20 Tight Ends

With Antonio Gates and Zach Miller among the tight ends missing this week due to bye weeks, along with some of the better tight ends putting up bad numbers in 2010, and the tight end group appears a little thin this week.  Let's take a look at how they currently rank for me:

1. Jacob Tamme – Indianapolis Colts – vs. Cincinnati
2. Aaron Hernandez – New England Patriots – at Pittsburgh
3. Vernon Davis – San Francisco 49ers – vs. St. Louis
4. Tony Gonzalez – Atlanta Falcons – vs. Baltimore
5. Jason Witten – Dallas Cowboys – at New York Giants
6. Marcedes Lewis – Jacksonville Jaguars – vs. Houston
7. Dustin Keller – New York Jets – vs. Cleveland
8. Chris Cooley – Washington Redskins – vs. Philadelphia
9. Todd Heap – Baltimore Ravens – at Atlanta
10. Tony Moeaki – Kansas City Chiefs – at Denver
11. Kellen Winslow – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – vs. Carolina
12. Heath Miller – Pittsburgh Steelers – vs. New England
13. Visanthe Shiancoe – Minnesota Vikings – at Chicago
14. Brent Celek – Philadelphia Eagles – at Washington
15. Owen Daniels – Houston Texans – at Jacksonville
16. Brandon Pettigrew – Detroit Lions – at Buffalo
17. Greg Olsen – Chicago Bears – vs. Minnesota
18. Benjamin Watson – Cleveland Browns – vs. New York Jets
19. Kevin Boss – New York Giants – vs. Dallas
20. John Carlson – Seattle Seahawks – at Arizona

Thoughts:

• Marcedes Lewis has shown a propensity to find the end zone, scoring seven touchdowns thus far this season (putting him second among tight ends). The Texans have allowed a league leading 20 touchdown passes. It certainly appears like this is a perfect matchup for Lewis, making him a definite TE1 this week.
• It was a big week for Jacob Tamme, who had 11 receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown. Then again, it is hard to imagine him getting 17 targets again (though, with Austin Collie hurt, it appears much more possible). With the potential for a shootout with the Cincinnati, he should once again be a top option.
• Last time Brent Celek faced Washington, he had three catches for 27 yards and a touchdown. However, on the season he hasn't had more then four catches or 47 yards in any game. He has a favorable matchup and could finally breakout, but he's way too big of a risk given how poorly he's produced.
• The Giants defense is good, but it did allow Jason Witten to have nine catches for 95 yards and a touchdown in their last meeting.  He's got to be considered a TE1 this week.
• Owen Daniels has been struggling with injuries and has been inconsistent throughout the season. Until he proves trustworthy, he’s a TE2.
• Heath Miller's high for the season is four receptions, coming in Week 1. He hasn't had more then 50 yards in a game and has scored just one touchdown. Good matchup or not, he's more of a TE2, though he's usable this week as a TE1 depending on your format.
• Without Randy Moss, it is very possible Visanthe Shiancoe becomes a big red zone target in Minnesota. He scored in Week 9, though he has just two TDs on the season and the Bears have allowed just five passing TDs. Consider him a low-end TE1/high-end TE2 for this week.

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

Make sure to check out Rotoprofessor's Week 10 Rankings:

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

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM/FOOTBALL