A few injuries will affect tight ends. Directly:
- George Kittle did wind up on IR. The earliest he can return is Week 6. Jake Tonges out snapped Luke Farrell in Week 2, although Farrell did haul in a TD. Tonges could be a watch: he caught 4 of 5 targets for 31 yards.
- Evan Engram practiced in full Thursday and Friday and returned to the field Sunday. Such as it was. He played 25 of 59 snaps, and the Broncos seem content to use the position as an extra lineman. Engram is dominating the routes, but Adam Trautman is out snapping Engram significantly.
- Brock Bowers’ Week 2 injury reports were iffy, and we didn’t get news he’d play in Week 2 until 90 minutes before kickoff. He played, but he’s far from 100%. The Chargers’ defense is going to be a problem for most teams, so let’s see how he moves around if he still has the knee brace Sunday against Washington.
- Dallas Goedert was ruled out on Friday for his Week 2 game on Sunday due to a sprained knee. No word yet on his Week 3 availability.
Indirectly:
- Joe Burrow is reportedly out for at least three months with a third-degree turf toe injury. He was replaced by Jake Browning on Sunday and presumably going forward. Mike Gesicki out snapped Noah Fant 36 to 17, but both had 4 targets and 3 receptions; Fant outgained Gesicki 28 yards to 18. If I want to play the lottery, I’ll play scratchers.
- J.J. McCarthy suffered an ankle injury Sunday night and could be out 2-4 weeks. Recently signed Carson Wentz is set to take over while McCarthy is out. T.J. Hockenson has been dominating the tight end snaps and routes, but only has 4 receptions and 27 (!) yards on 7 targets in the two games McCarthy was under center. Coincidentally, the Vikes will host the Bengals in Week 3. I already benched Hockenson for Harold Fannin in Week 2. With Cleveland hosting Green Bay, I’m going back to Hock. I’m trying to contain my excitement.
- Justin Fields suffered a concussion on Sunday. Concussions are tricky, and right now, I don’t think we see Fields back until Week 4 at least. I like Mason Taylor as a stash if I have the space on my roster, but the Jets’ tight ends have no business near our lineups right now.
- The other consequential new QB injury is on Jayden Daniels’ knee: he suffered a sprain, and his availability for Week 3 against the Raiders is in question. If Marcus Mariota plays, I’d downgrade Zach Ertz slightly. The bigger injury for the Commanders was the torn Achilles RB Austin Ekeler suffered that ended his season. That leaves Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Jeremy McNichols, and Chris Rodriguez as the backs, none of whom has shouldered a significant load in the NFL. I would expect McNichols to get the most work in the passing game; I also think more will fall on the shoulders of the receivers.
These rankings are for Week 3 games ONLY. If you want to speak about them, hit me up in the COMMENTS, which is also where I will post updates on Fridays.
These rankings are for base PPR leagues: 1 point per reception, 1 point for 10 yards rushing/receiving, 6 points per touchdown, and -2 points per fumble lost. No premiums or bonuses.
I’ll give player, player’s team, opponent this week, home or road game (H/R), day of game, time of game (early (E), late (L), or night (N)), opponent’s 2024 rank vs. tight ends, current projected team total per ESPNBET, PPR points per game (PPG), PPR PPG scoring rank for the season (Sc Rk), and percent rostered per FantasyPros (Rost %).
Be sure to check out the latest tools on Razzball.com: Slot vs. Wide PPG Allowed | WR Slot vs. Wide| DEF Targets Allowed | Home vs. Away | Wins vs. Losses | TD Tool
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THE TOP 30
|
Rank |
Player |
Team |
Opp |
H/R |
Day |
E/L/N |
Imp Pts |
Opp Rk |
PPR YTD |
PPR Pt/Gm |
Sc Rk |
Rost % |
|
1 |
Trey McBride |
ARI |
SF |
R |
SUN |
L |
21.50 |
6 |
25.9 |
13.0 |
5 |
99.7% |
|
2 |
Tucker Kraft |
GB |
CLE |
R |
SUN |
E |
25.00 |
22 |
34.3 |
17.2 |
1 |
87.4% |
|
3 |
Tyler Warren |
IND |
TEN |
R |
SUN |
E |
23.50 |
4 |
26.8 |
13.4 |
4 |
93.1% |
|
4 |
Sam LaPorta |
DET |
BAL |
R |
MON |
N |
23.00 |
20 |
19.5 |
9.8 |
14 |
99.5% |
|
5 |
Travis Kelce |
KC |
NYG |
R |
SUN |
N |
25.00 |
1 |
22.8 |
11.4 |
11 |
98.5% |
|
6 |
Brock Bowers |
LV |
WAS |
R |
SUN |
E |
21.00 |
11 |
24.1 |
12.1 |
7 |
99.8% |
|
7 |
Juwan Johnson |
NO |
SEA |
R |
SUN |
L |
17.00 |
14 |
31.5 |
15.8 |
2 |
18.0% |
|
8 |
Zach Ertz |
WAS |
LV |
R |
SUN |
E |
23.50 |
30 |
30.0 |
15.0 |
3 |
50.1% |
|
9 |
Dalton Kincaid |
BUF |
MIA |
H |
THU |
N |
31.00 |
21 |
22.5 |
11.3 |
12 |
78.4% |
|
10 |
David Njoku |
CLE |
GB |
H |
SUN |
E |
17.50 |
23 |
14.7 |
7.4 |
20 |
94.2% |
|
11 |
Jake Ferguson |
DAL |
CHI |
R |
SUN |
L |
24.00 |
19 |
24.1 |
12.1 |
8 |
73.3% |
|
12 |
T.J. Hockenson |
MIN |
CIN |
H |
SUN |
E |
22.00 |
32 |
6.7 |
3.4 |
44 |
97.8% |
|
13 |
Kyle Pitts |
ATL |
CAR |
R |
SUN |
E |
24.50 |
31 |
20.6 |
10.3 |
13 |
74.3% |
|
14 |
Harold Fannin |
CLE |
GB |
H |
SUN |
E |
17.50 |
23 |
23.4 |
11.7 |
9 |
36.1% |
|
15 |
Hunter Henry |
NE |
PIT |
H |
SUN |
E |
23.00 |
24 |
12.5 |
6.3 |
22 |
50.2% |
|
16 |
Mark Andrews |
BAL |
DET |
H |
MON |
N |
28.50 |
2 |
2.9 |
1.5 |
55 |
94.8% |
|
17 |
JaTavion Sanders |
CAR |
ATL |
H |
SUN |
E |
19.00 |
15 |
17.1 |
8.6 |
18 |
3.8% |
|
18 |
Brenton Strange |
JAC |
HOU |
H |
SUN |
E |
23.00 |
12 |
14.6 |
7.3 |
21 |
27.9% |
|
19 |
Chig Okonkwo |
TEN |
IND |
H |
SUN |
E |
20.00 |
28 |
12.4 |
6.2 |
24 |
22.2% |
|
20 |
Dalton Schultz |
HOU |
JAC |
R |
SUN |
E |
21.50 |
26 |
11.7 |
5.9 |
28 |
13.9% |
|
21 |
Jonnu Smith |
PIT |
NE |
R |
SUN |
E |
21.50 |
17 |
19.2 |
9.6 |
15 |
43.3% |
|
22 |
Pat Freiermuth |
PIT |
NE |
R |
SUN |
E |
21.50 |
17 |
11.9 |
6.0 |
26 |
13.3% |
|
23 |
Cade Otton |
TB |
NYJ |
H |
SUN |
E |
25.50 |
9 |
5.5 |
2.8 |
47 |
15.4% |
|
24 |
Cole Kmet |
CHI |
DAL |
H |
SUN |
L |
25.50 |
7 |
9.0 |
4.5 |
33 |
4.0% |
|
25 |
Evan Engram |
DEN |
LAC |
R |
SUN |
L |
21.50 |
8 |
7.3 |
3.7 |
40 |
90.2% |
|
26 |
Tyler Higbee |
LAR |
PHI |
R |
SUN |
E |
20.50 |
3 |
7.7 |
3.9 |
38 |
3.9% |
|
27 |
Noah Fant |
CIN |
MIN |
R |
SUN |
E |
20.00 |
27 |
18.4 |
9.2 |
16 |
2.4% |
|
28 |
Theo Johnson |
NYG |
KC |
H |
SUN |
N |
19.50 |
29 |
8.9 |
4.5 |
34 |
4.3% |
|
29 |
AJ Barner |
SEA |
NO |
H |
SUN |
L |
24.50 |
10 |
12.0 |
6.0 |
25 |
1.2% |
|
30 |
Austin Hooper |
NE |
PIT |
H |
SUN |
E |
23.00 |
24 |
8.8 |
4.4 |
35 |
0.6% |
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