Fantasy Football Player Notes
2021 Rest of Season Rankings
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1.
George Kittle
SF (at LAR)
Kittle's talent is undeniable. His biggest issue from a fantasy perspective is the run-heavy nature of San Francisco's offense, in addition to his elite blocking abilities. Kittle found the end zone in three straight games entering Week 12, but he was given just two targets against Minnesota. It's a reminder of his floor in the 49ers' offense, but fantasy managers should hold strong. This type of usage can happen, but it won't be common. With some other upper echelon tight ends currently struggling, Kittle has re-cemented himself as one of the most elite options.
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2.
Travis Kelce
KC (at DEN)
In two games since the Chiefs' bye week Kelce has been held to three receptions and 27 yards in each contest. For the season, the 32-year-old tight end has a lower ADOT and a lower yards per route run than we're used to seeing from him. While it would be premature to completely write him off, we need to acknowledge that he hasn't been as dominant as we're used to seeing. Kelce has found the end zone just once since Week 5. George Kittle should be viewed as the TE1 down the stretch.
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3.
Mark Andrews
BAL (vs . PIT)
Entering Monday night, Andrews leads all tight ends in fantasy points per game (PPR). He's an obvious starter for Week 17, but we're highlighting him here because there will likely be some "Andrews overall TE1" conversations happening throughout the offseason. There might even be a case for George Kittle as well. Travis Kelce has dominated the position for so long, but we'll now have multiple options at the top of draft boards entering '22.
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4.
Rob Gronkowski
FA (BYE)
Including playoffs, Gronk now has 11 touchdowns over his past 16 games. In his past three contests, he has secured 15-of-16 targets for 186 yards and four TDs. That's fantastic, but the future Hall-of-Famer is still fighting the age model in a crowded receiving corps. It was tempting to tag him as a "sell", but the Week 1 results are just impossible to ignore.
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5.
Dallas Goedert
PHI (vs . DAL)
Goedert has yet to fully pop in the box score, but his underlying usage has been fantastic since the Zach Ertz trade. On Sunday against the Saints he caught 5-of-8 targets for 62 yards. He had a 33% target share. The Eagles have transformed into a run-heavy offense over the past month, which limits Goedert's ultimate upside. Still, the profile is that of a mid-tier TE1.
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6.
Kyle Pitts
ATL (vs . NO)
It really seemed as if Pitts had broken out following back-to-back 119+ yard games after Week 7. However, the absence of Calvin Ridley has seemingly been too much to overcome. Opposing defenses have keyed in on the unicorn rookie. Frustratingly, Pitts has just one touchdown this year and has been held to 62 yards or less in seven straight contests. He isn't a top-five tight end for fantasy purposes moving forward. Some might argue he isn't top-10.
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7.
Dalton Schultz
DAL (at PHI)
The return of Michael Gallup could wind up having a major impact on Schultz, who took a backseat in the receiving game in Week 10. Schultz saw just 6.1% of the targets after being at 19.8% from Weeks 2-9 sans Gallup. Game script was weird in this one as Dallas didn't need to do much in the second half, but this isn't what Schultz managers were hoping for. He's still tied to an elite offense, which keeps him in the low-end TE1 conversation, but expectations should be tempered with all of the Cowboys pass catchers healthy at the moment.
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8.
Dawson Knox
BUF (vs . NYJ)
Through five weeks, Knox's share of targets per routes run doesn't support the production he has been registering. However, he's attached to a high-end passing attack in an elite offense, so low-end TE1 numbers are doable moving forward.
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9.
Mike Gesicki
MIA (vs . NE)
Entering Sunday night, Gesicki has been a top-seven PPR tight end in three of his last four games. It's especially encouraging that he once again produced despite the offense shifting from Jacoby Brissett back to Tua Tagovailoa. Gesicki is likely benefiting from the absences of both DeVante Parker and Will Fuller, but with bye weeks coming up he's a sure fire TE1 until further notice.
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10.
Zach Ertz
ARI (vs . SEA)
With DeAndre Hopkins finally back in the mix, Ertz caught just one pass against the Bears in Week 13. Arizona has so many mouths to feed that it's going to be tough for Ertz to be a consistent fantasy presence moving forward. Consider him a volatile TE2 for now.
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11.
Hunter Henry
NE (at MIA)
Henry continues to run more routes entering Week 7, and he leads the Patriots with a 67% end zone share for the season. That's enough to make him a TE1 streamer while bye weeks are piling up.
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12.
Tyler Conklin
NYJ (at BUF)
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13.
Jared Cook
FA (BYE)
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14.
Darren Waller
LV (vs . LAC)
Waller is an elite buy-low option entering Week 7. All of the under-the-radar utilization appears as promising as ever; 89% routes, 24% target share, 21% TPRR, and a 10.3 ADOT. A monster blowup performance is coming soon, and it could very well occur in Week 7 against the Eagles.
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15.
Noah Fant
SEA (at ARI)
Denver was finally trailing for most of the game in Week 4, which led to Fant putting up a 28% target share while catching six passes for 46 yards and a score. He remains an efficient player, but the Broncos simply don't like to throw the ball while leading. Moving forward, Fant should only be considered a strong start in games where we expect Denver to be playing catchup.
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16.
Pat Freiermuth
PIT (at BAL)
Eric Ebron returned in Week 10, but it didn't stop Freiermuth from maintaining the strong target shares he was putting up in the past three weeks. A high-end prospect coming out of college, Freiermuth is worth rostering everywhere as a low-end TE1 moving forward.
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17.
Gerald Everett
LAC (at LV)
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18.
C.J. Uzomah
NYJ (at BUF)
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19.
Ricky Seals-Jones
NYG (vs . WAS)
"RSJ" was a popular tight end streamer this week and he produced for fantasy managers who employed him. Seals-Jones hauled in 4-of-6 targets for 58 yards and a score in Sunday's loss to the Chiefs. More importantly, the utilization was fantastic. RSJ was in on 100% of Washington's offensive snaps while running a route on 95% of the team's dropbacks and receiving an 18% target share. He faces the Packers in Week 7 and will once again be on the streaming radar with Logan Thomas sidelined.
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20.
Evan Engram
JAC (vs . IND)
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21.
Cole Kmet
CHI (at MIN)
Kmet made sense as a Kelce fill-in for Week 16, so he could already be on some rosters. The 22-year-old caught 4-of-5 targets for 49 yards in the Bears' win over the Seahawks. Unfortunately, he was once again "vultured" by Jimmy Graham and still has zero touchdowns for the year. Kmet has now topped 40 receiving yards in five straight contests and draws 5+ targets more often than not. The Giants are an attackable Week 17 matchup.
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22.
Brock Wright
DET (vs . GB)
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23.
David Njoku
CLE (vs . CIN)
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24.
Austin Hooper
TEN (at HOU)
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25.
Albert Okwuegbunam
DEN (vs . KC)
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26.
Foster Moreau
LV (vs . LAC)
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27.
Cameron Brate
TB (vs . CAR)
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28.
Jack Doyle
FA (BYE)
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29.
Jonnu Smith
NE (at MIA)
Smith saw just two targets in Week 5 and was held to 27 yards. The Patriots appear mildly interested in using him around the goal-line as a potential TD threat, but the offense overall just isn't creating enough explosiveness for him to be a TE1 in fantasy land. Consider Smith a mid-range TE2 until further notice.
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30.
Brevin Jordan
HOU (vs . TEN)
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31.
Josiah Deguara
GB (at DET)
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32.
Anthony Firkser
ATL (vs . NO)
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33.
Adam Trautman
NO (at ATL)
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34.
Geoff Swaim
TEN (at HOU)
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35.
James O'Shaughnessy
CHI (at MIN)
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36.
John Bates
WAS (at NYG)
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37.
Zach Gentry
PIT (at BAL)
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