Tight end is already a shallow position, and the combination bye weeks and injuries makes the group even tougher to figure out. It’s time to play the tight end streamer game, and our Week 6 fantasy TE rankings can help you identify the top options on the waiver wire and in free agency. As always, tight ends who aren’t the elite of the elite can always bust, but we’ll help you figure out who to start.
Kyle Pitts is the most notable tight end affected by a Week 6 bye. George Kittle’s 49ers are on a bye, too, but he’s been placed on IR with a calf injury. Juwan Johnson has had some standard-league streaming appeal this year, and he has the week off, too.
WEEK 6 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | D/ST | Kicker
So, with those options off the table, Mike Gesicki (@ Jaguars), Tyler Higbee (@ Giants), and Dawson Knox (@ Titans) are thrust into our top-10 tight ends this week. The Giants and Jaguars have been bottom-10 defenses against TE this season, so there’s a lot to like here. Tennessee has been the No. 1 defense against tight ends, but let’s face it — the best TE they’ve faced has been Mo Alie-Cox or Maxx Williams. Their fantasy points allowed to tight ends figure is misleading, especially after they gave up a touchdown to Jacob Hollister in Week 5. Knox is also simply too hot to sit. Ricky Seals-Jones (vs. KC), who was among Washington’s target leaders in Week 5, is a legit streaming option, as well.
WEEK 6 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Dalton Schultz (@ Patriots), Tyler Conklin (@ Panthers), and Evan Engram (vs. Rams) figure to have difficult matchups, though the Pats did give up a TE touchdown to the Texans last week. Schultz has been good enough that he has to be started anyway, but it will be an uphill battle for Conklin or Engram to produce anything solid from a fantasy perspective unless they sneak in a receiving touchdown.
WEEK 6 FANTASY: Sleepers | Busts | Start ’em, sit ’em
Rob Gronkowski (@ Eagles) would obviously be a must-start if he’s active, and since he hasn’t been placed on IR, there is a chance he plays through his ribs injury. If he’s out again, Cameron Brate is always a boom-or-bust option thanks to Tampa’s high-powered offense.
WEEK 6 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel | Yahoo
The reality is the tight end position is tough to evaluate, and matchups are everything. That said, don’t be shocked to see Gesicki right below the elite class of Travis Kelce (@ Washington), Darren Waller (@ Broncos), and T.J. Hockenson (vs. Bengals). In standard leagues, you’re really just hoping for a touchdown. It’s difficult for many of the middle-of-the-pack TEs to even sniff 100 yards, so be watching for red-zone targets and touchdowns allowed to tight ends when making your start ’em, sit ’em decisions.
We’ll be updating these TE rankings as needed throughout the week, so check back for the latest changes and analysis.
Fantasy TE Rankings Week 6: Who to start at tight end
Rankings based on standard, non-PPR scoring
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | Travis Kelce, KC @ WAS |
| 2 | Darren Waller, LV @ DEN |
| 3 | Mark Andrews, BAL vs. LAC. After being a bust in Week 1, Andrews has re-established himself as elite over the past few weeks. He had drawn 33 targets over the past four weeks and has two 100-yard performances in his past three games. He won’t always put up insane production, but he’s one of the most highly targeted tight ends in the league, meaning you have to start him. The Chargers’ defense has given up four touchdowns to tight ends and allowed David Njoku to go for 149 yards and a touchdown last week. This appears to be the weakness of their defense, so Andrews is a top-five play. |
| 4 | T.J. Hockenson, DET vs. CIN |
| 5 | Mike Gesicki, MIA @ JAX. With George Kittle (calf) on a bye and IR, Gesicki gets his turn as a top-four fantasy tight end this week. Jacksonville was absolutely shredded by C.J. Uzomah for 95 yards and two touchdowns in Week 4, and Gesicki has six or more targets in his past four games. |
| 6 | Dawson Knox, BUF @ TEN. Knox looks like this year’s Robert Tonyan, but even more explosive. He’s already caught five touchdowns this season and is a threat to score from any place on the field. Tennessee gave up a touchdown to Jacob Hollister and 64 yards to Dan Arnold last week against Jacksonville, the first time all year the Titans allowed a TE to dent the end zone or go for over 20 receiving yards, so we know Knox can be a top-five tight end this week despite a statistically difficult matchup. |
| 7 | Zach Ertz, PHI vs. TB. Tampa Bay is a Super Bowl contender, but apparently, their secondary is trying to change that. They’ve been awful against WRs and TEs and have sustained multiple injuries on the back end of their defense. Kyle Pitts, Jonnu Smith, Hunter Henry, and Tyler Higbee all either scored a touchdown or put up 70-plus yards on them. Ertz is one of the top targets for Jalen Hurts, especially with the Dallas Goedert being placed in the COVID-19 protocol. He’s the top streaming this week as the primary tight end. |
| 8 | Noah Fant, DEN vs. LV. Fant has been inconsistent this year, but his talent alone keeps him inside the top six at a scarce position. Las Vegas gave up touchdowns to Jared Cook and Donald Parham in Week 5 and allowed Mike Gesicki to put up 86 yards against them in Week 3. Las Vegas has been strong against WRs, but teams have been able to exploit its weak linebackers by feeding their tight ends. |
| 9 | Tyler Higbee, LAR @ NYG. The Giants haven’t given up any insane performances to tight ends, but they also haven’t been particularly strong against the position. Juwan Johnson, Ricky Seals-Jones, Lee Smith, and Albert Okwuegbunam have all scored against them. Matthew Stafford has looked Higbee’s way in the red zone six times, which is tied for fourth among tight ends. Based on the data, he should at least have a good opportunity to score his third touchdown of the season this week. |
| 10 | Hunter Henry, NE vs. DAL. Henry enjoyed his best game as a Patriot in Week 5, catching six-of-eight targets for 75 yards and a touchdown. He looks like the primary tight end in New England and will face a Dallas defense that gave up 90 yards and two touchdowns to Rob Gronkowski and 119 yards and a touchdown to Dallas Goedert and Zach Ertz combined. This is a great chance for Henry to put up a TE1 performance. Of course, Jonnu Smith could always have the better day of the two, so he’s worth consideration, too, but it seems like Henry is getting more targets at deeper depths. |
| 11 | Dalton Schultz, DAL @ NE. New England is the best defense against fantasy tight ends, but let face it, the best TE they’ve faced was probably Cameron Brate. We’ll take their success against tight ends with a grain of salt and trust Schultz, who has six or more targets in four-of-five games and has three touchdowns to his name. He’s strong in PPR and standard leagues. |
| 12 | Ricky Seals-Jones, WAS vs. KC. We identified Seals-Jones last week as a potential solid streamer, but we didn’t know for sure if he’d get a ton of looks. It turns out he was the second-most targeted player for Washington, behind only Terry McLaurin. He caught six-of-eight targets for 41 yards and gets Kansas City this week, who just gave up 117 yards and a touchdown to Dawson Knox. RSJ possesses adequate athleticism to take advantage in this game. |
| 13 | Jonnu Smith, NE vs. DAL. See Hunter Henry. |
| 14 | Tyler Conklin, MIN @ CAR. Conklin hasn’t done much since his Week 3 breakout, but the targets have been fairly regular (average of five per game), so he has more upside than most tight ends. Carolina gave up two TE touchdowns in Week 4 and should’ve given up one last week had Dallas Goedert not dropped it. There’s some boom-or-bust potential here. |
| 15 | Dan Arnold, JAX vs. MIA. Arnold became a factor early in his Jaguars career, catching six-of-eight targets for 64 yards against the Titans. The Jaguars traded their 2020 first-round pick, C.J. Henderson, for Arnold, so they obviously intend to feature him in the offense. Miami has been in the bottom half of the league against tight ends in fantasy. Most notably, it gave up one touchdown to Dawson Knox and two touchdowns to Mo Alie-Cox. |
| 16 | Jared Cook, LAC @ BAL. Baltimore has given up the most fantasy points to the tight end position, but they’ve faced Darren Waller, T.J. Hockenson, and Travis Kelce. Cook is not on their level, but he is a respectable piece of this electric Chargers’ offense. His only issue is targets come and go for him. He’s had three games with five or more targets and two games with just three targets. He’s on the start-or-sit bubble and you can expect a boom-or-bust performance. |
| 17 | Evan Engram, NYG vs. LAR. Funny enough, Engram saw his fewest target total this season (4) but was most productive in Week 5. He caught all four targets for 55 yards on the receiving end of Mike Glennon. We’ll see if Daniel Jones (concussion) plays this week, but obviously, Glennon felt comfortable looking Engram’s way. The Rams have given up four or more receptions to five tight ends this season, so surely Engram can match or exceed that total with Saquon Barkley (ankle) not there to take the shallow and intermediate targets. |
| 18 | Cameron Brate, TB @ PHI |
| 19 | Mo Alie-Cox, IND vs. HOU |
| 20 | C.J. Uzomah, CIN @ DET |
| 21 | Robert Tonyan Jr., GB @ CHI |
| 22 | David Njoku, CLE vs. ARI |
| 23 | Austin Hooper, CLE vs. ARI |
| 24 | Jack Doyle, IND vs. HOU |
| 25 | Gerald Everett, SEA @ PIT |
| 26 | Pat Freiermuth, PIT vs. SEA |
| 27 | Cole Kmet, CHI vs. PIT |
| 28 | Blake Jarwin, DAL @ NE |
| 29 | O.J. Howard, TB @ PHI |
| 30 | Eric Ebron, PIT vs. SEA |
| 31 | Pharaoh Brown, HOU @ IND |
| 32 | Anthony Firkser, TEN vs. BUF |
| 33 | Jimmy Graham, CHI vs. GB |
| 34 | Will Dissly, SEA @ PIT |