National Tight End Day was a huge success, with 12 different tight ends reaching the end zone, and most of them being players we typically see toward the top of the tight end rankings. Sure, Charlie Kolar and Jake Tonges scored twice, but the rest of the list reads like a who’s who of tight end royalty. George Kittle and Travis Kelce were obvious choices to score, as co-founders of Tight End University. Dallas Goedert and Tucker Kraft each had two touchdowns, and four rookies—Mason Taylor, Harold Fannin, Orande Gadsden, and Gunnar Helm—made their mark by reaching the painted paradise this past weekend. Tyler Warren missed out on scoring but was still relevant in fantasy, with over 50 yards receiving on five targets. While it was a down week compared to his high standards in his rookie season, we can accept him if TE14 overall is what we get during a poor week.
Now that we’re at the season’s halfway point, we have a good sense of each team’s identity and how they plan to use their pass catchers from week to week. Moving forward, it will be interesting to watch this crop of rookies continue to develop, as there’s plenty more to come from the mentioned newcomers, as well as other rookies like Colston Loveland, Elijah Arroyo, and Terrence Ferguson, just to name a few. The Jets, Browns, Eagles, and Bucs are all off this week, so we won’t see Taylor, Fannin, Otton, or Goedert. Let’s take a look at this week’s top-10 tight end rankings and see who made the grade for the upcoming week.
Week 9 Tight End Rankings
1) Trey McBride vs. Cowboys
Trey McBride fantasy
Photo Credit: Michael Chow-Arizona Republic
McBride and the Cardinals were off last week, so he wasn’t able to celebrate the “holiday” with his tight end teammates. McBride thrived in his two games with Jacoby Brissett at QB, posting his best two games of the season with 18 receptions on 24 targets and 3 touchdowns combined. In the first 5 games of the season with Kyler Murray, he had just one score. Hopefully, Kyler learned a thing or two from watching a couple of games from the sideline, and he can find his top target in the end zone this week as he’s scheduled to return against a Dallas defense ranked near the bottom across the league. This game should feature a lot of scoring, so start any Cardinals players you might have, including Marvin Harrison and Bam Knight. McBride remains one of the safest options at an otherwise uncertain position.
2) Tyler Warren vs. Steelers
tyler warren
As we mentioned earlier, Week 8 was a bit of a disappointment for Warren as he failed to find the end zone for the first time in five weeks. This week, he faces a great matchup against a Steelers defense ranked at the bottom of the league against the pass and 30th in the league, DVOA, against the tight end position. Look for Jones to get the big rookie going early and for the Colts to spread the wealth around a little more. It’s not like Jonathan Taylor is going to score three touchdowns every week, right? While it may happen again, it most likely won’t come against the Steelers this week since the easiest way to beat them is through the air. I actually suspect that Pittsburgh will come ready to play and will game plan specifically to stop Taylor, forcing Jones and the Colts’ offense to move the ball through the air. Look for Warren to flirt with his first 100-yard game of the year and make it back into the end zone.
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