Fantasy Football Week 11: Who's Hot, Who's Not at the TE Position

Most fantasy football teams cannot survive without a productive tight end to thrust that team over the top.  In Week 11 of the 2011 season, do you have the right guy starting for you at tight end?

Over the past couple of seasons there have been mainstays at the tight end position that were guaranteed to produce solid numbers every week.

In 2011, however, the balance of power at the tight end position looks to be shifting.

Make sure you're paying attention to these trends and not relying on a tight end's past accomplishments.

Your fantasy football season is riding on this info.

*All fantasy point sourcing in this article is presented in Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football modified scoring.  The difference is 20 yards per receiving point instead of 10 yards per point as in the default league scoring format.  Six points per touchdown*

Hot: Jimmy Graham

Avg. fantasy points - Last 4 weeks: 10.87

Fantasy points in Week 10: 13.60

New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham has been Drew Brees' favorite target in 2011.  He's having a team MVP-caliber season to this point and has lifted the mediocre Saints receiver corps to the next level.

After Jeremy Shockey was sent packing by the Saints in the offseason, Graham has stepped in and performed tremendously.

He is on a bye in Week 11 but will look to continue his hot streak heading into the New York Giants matchup in Week 13.

Not: Vernon Davis

Avg. fantasy points - Last 4 weeks: 4.65

Fantasy points in Week 10: 9.50

San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis has been a fixture of the 49ers passing game over the past three seasons.  However, recently, the 49ers have added higher caliber wide receivers such as Michael Crabtree and free agent Braylon Edwards.

The hard-nosed, predominantly running offense employed by rookie head coach Jim Harbaugh has also created vast opportunity for Davis to excel on play-action passing.

Davis has not performed to his potential, though, and looks to be regressing thus far in 2011.

He performed very well in Week 10 against the New York Giants, but has been inconsistent over the last few weeks and throughout the season.

Hot: Rob Gronkowski

Avg. fantasy points - Last 4 weeks: 14.99

Fantasy points in Week 10: 21.65

Second-year New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has carried the New England passing game on his shoulders at times in 2011.  Between Gronkowski and Wes Welker, the offseason signing of Chad Ochocinco looks to have been a mistake in hindsight.

Gronkowski has blown up over the past two weeks and has performed well in every game but two this season.

If you were lucky enough to pick Gronkowski over teammate Aaron Hernandez, your team should be in good shape right now.  He's performing at the level of a WR1 and doesn't show any signs of slowing down as long as Tom Brady continues to throw him the rock.

Not: Greg Olsen

Avg. fantasy points - Last 4 weeks: 4.74

Fantasy points in Week 10: 2.25

The Carolina Panthers acquired Greg Olsen via trade from the Chicago Bears in hopes he would aid rookie quarterback Cam Newton during his NFL transition.

Cam Newton doesn't look to need help at this point.

Olsen is coming off a rough week in which he dropped a key pass and fumbled near the end zone.  His numbers have been there, but like Vernon Davis, he has been inconsistent and is now hurting his team with untimely errors.

Olsen may rebound with a good game here or there, but you can do better than him moving forward.

Hot: Tony Gonzalez

Avg. fantasy points - Last 4 weeks: 9.52

Fantasy points in Week 10: 12.55

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has relied on Tony Gonzalez a lot in 2011 due to the frequent injuries to rookie wide receiver Julio Jones.  The Falcons gave up their immediate future stock in the NFL draft in order to obtain Jones, whom they thought would elevate their passing game to the next level.

Gonzalez, though, has been solid as a rock and shows no signs of aging or slowing down as he continues his remarkable 15th NFL season.

He continues to perform and build on all of his record-setting career accomplishments.

Not: Visanthe Shiancoe

Avg. fantasy points - Last 4 weeks: 5.07

Fantasy points in Week 10: 2.15

When Brett Favre commanded the Minnesota Vikings' huddle, Visanthe Shiancoe was a big fixture in fantasy football discussions.  However, since Favre's departure and Donovan McNabb's brief stint as the starting quarterback, things have changed a little for Shiancoe.

The Vikings' switch to rookie Christian Ponder looked like a great move for Shiancoe's fantasy owners.  He had a breakout game against the Green Bay Packers in Week 7 but has failed to replicate those numbers over the last two weeks.

If Ponder can involve Shiancoe more and the offensive line can give him the time to do it, Shiancoe has the ability certainly to turn his season around.

But as of right now, he is a risky play at best.

Hot: Antonio Gates

Avg. fantasy points - Last 4 weeks: 9.20

Fantasy points in Week 10: 5.22

The struggles of the San Diego Chargers are not likely due to anything Antonio Gates is or isn't doing.  Gates does one thing really well: he gets open in space and gives Phillip Rivers a sure target.

Injuries have derailed Gates for half of the season but he is performing excellently over the past four weeks despite the Chargers' and Rivers's struggles.

Gates is the best tight end out there when healthy.

It looks like that's finally happened.  You can feel safe employing Gates moving forward.

Not: Dustin Keller

Avg. fantasy points - Last 4 weeks: 3.62

Fantasy points in Week 10: 2.85

The New York Jets have been an enigma in 2011.  Their preseason mantra was that they were going to become a pass-first team like the New England Patriots.  This boded very well for Dustin Keller given his skill set is that of a primarily pass-catching tight end.

Things have not panned out so well for Keller, though, or the Jets for that matter.  The Jets have since reverted back to their run-heavy offense in hopes of revitalizing their offense and their season.

In either case, Keller hasn't done much on the field since Week 2 and has been more inconsistent than in previous seasons.

Hot: Ed Dickson

Avg. fantasy points - Last 4 weeks: 7.70

Fantasy points in Week 10: 20.95

The Baltimore Ravens are finally seeing dividends in their move to let veteran tight end Todd Heap walk this past offseason.  Second-year tight end Ed Dickson, who was in competition with Dennis Pitta, has emerged as the starting tight end in Baltimore in 2011.

He was targeted 14 times in Week 10 and recorded two touchdowns.  His four-week average of 7.70 points is largely skewed because of his huge performance last week.

Dickson, though, is living up to potential right now.  If quarterback Joe Flacco can continue to involve him in the offense, his great performance of Week 10 could become the norm in the coming weeks.

Not: Mercedes Lewis

Avg. fantasy points - Last 4 weeks: 1.90

Fantasy points in Week 10: 0.30

The Jacksonville Jaguars have not done much at all effectively on offense.  Maurice Jones-Drew is the focal point of anything and everything they have done.

It was to be expected though, after the Jaguars cut loose longtime starting quarterback David Garrard in the offseason in favor of journeyman Luke McKown.

The dramatic drop off in Mercedes Lewis' production was not anticipated though.  With a rookie quarterback like Blaine Gabbert, though, Lewis was expected again to flourish as a safety valve for him.

However, the opposite has happened again.  It's shocking how truly invisible he has been.