Fantasy Football Week 11 tight end rankings: Tight end is deeper, but can you trust Kyle Pitts, T.J. Hockenson

Before Week 10, I said those famous last words a Fantasy analyst can utter: “Maybe tight end isn’t so bad anymore.” So, of course, only 12 players reached double figures in scoring even in PPR formats, a pretty typical number, with fringe types like Gerald Everett, Austin Hooper, and Albert Okwuegbunam making the number look better without actually helping many Fantasy players.

But I stand by what I said! I only have 10 tight ends projected for double-digits in Fantasy points this week, so I’m not over the moon about the position, but I would be fine starting Pat Freiermuth, Tyler Conklin, Dawson Knox, Jared Cook, or Hunter Henry if I needed to, which means the position runs 14 deep with guys I think you can trust. That’s better than we’re used to, and that’s with Tyler Higbee and Noah Fant on bye and Dallas Goedert dealing with a concussion. 

Tight end isn’t so bad right now, which may make you consider whether Kyle Pitts and T.J. Hockenson truly belong in your lineup this week. Neither has lived up to sky-high expectations, especially lately, and I understand many of you are frustrated. Pitts, in particular, has a tough matchup Thursday night against the Patriots, who have a way of taking away a team’s best passing game weapon. For the Falcons, that’s Pitts, and there is no close second. 

Starting him is a risky proposition, as is also the case with Hockenson, who may be playing with David Blough at QB. But I have a hard time going away from players who are as important to their offense as these two are. There simply aren’t many tight ends who have the potential for eight targets every week, and Pitts and Hockenson have double-digit potential, even. That’s hard to get away from, even as I share your concerns. 

Here are my tight end rankings for Week 11. To see the rankings of Jamey Eisenberg, Dave Richard, and Heath Cummings, make sure you head here. We’ll be updating this throughout the week with new notes and rankings as we get news and the rankings get tweaked, so make sure you bookmark the page.

Week 11 TE Rankings

1. Travis Kelce vs. DAL
2. Darren Waller vs. CIN — This has been a disappointing season for Waller, but it’s worth noting that he’s on pace for nearly as many targets as he had in 2020, so it isn’t a question of usage. You just have to trust that talent will win out. I believe it will. 
3. George Kittle @JAX — Kittle has come back and scored two touchdowns while putting up 151 yards on 11 catches in two games. You can’t ask for much more than that from one of the game’s elite tight ends, and his 25% target share is especially promising with Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk both playing full roles. 
4. Mark Andrews @CHI — Andrews probably deserves more credit for the second breakout season he’s having here. He is benefiting from the Ravens‘ more pass-heavy approach, and I don’t think that’s going to change, given the state of their running back room. 
5. Kyle Pitts vs. NE — In three games since Calvin Ridley left the team, Pitts has just 133 yards on nine catches. Pitts is still getting a healthy target share around 24% in that span, but the Falcons haven’t thrown the ball more than 30 times in any of those games. There’s still massive upside here, but Pitts isn’t quite breaking out the way I expected after his consecutive 100-yard games in Weeks 5 and 7, and now he has a really tough matchup. 
6. Mike Gesicki @NYJ — You never want to see a player put up a big fat zero, but you also don’t want to overreact to that kind of game. Gesicki still had a healthy 19.4% target share in that game, a mark few tight ends can best. With DeVante Parker and Will Fuller still on IR, Gesicki figures to continue to see a ton of targets against a bad defense. He’s a must-start TE. 
7. T.J. Hockenson @CLE — Hockenson is another TE who put up a zero last week, but he has an injured QB to deal with plus a worse matchup, hence the slightly lower ranking. I still think you have to have him in your lineup given his usage. 
8. Dan Arnold vs. SF — If you take away touchdowns (bear with me), Arnold has the fifth-most Fantasy points since being traded to Jacksonville. Obviously, touchdowns are incredibly important for Fantasy, but there’s also a degree of randomness to touchdowns. The point is, Arnold is playing well, and with better luck in the end zone, it’d be more obvious. 
9. Dalton Schultz @KC
10. Pat Freiermuth @LAC — Without Ben Roethlisberger, it’s a lot harder to trust Freiermuth, so hopefully Ben’s able to play in this one. 
11. Hunter Henry @ATL — Henry is the anti-Arnold; he’s averaging just 6.5 points per game from catches and yards over his past seven games but has seven touchdowns in that span. I don’t love relying on touchdown-dependent players, but I’ll keep riding him while he has Mac Jones‘ eye near the end zone.
12. Logan Thomas @CAR — If Thomas plays, here’s where I’ll rank him. 
13. Tyler Conklin vs. GB
14. Dawson Knox vs. IND — Knox’s Week 10 is a good example of why I don’t love relying on touchdown-dependent players — when they don’t score, they’re going to give you very, very little. 
15. Jared Cook vs. PIT
16. Cole Kmet vs. BAL
17. Zach Ertz @SEA — If Kyler Murray is able to play, I’ll feel a bit better about Ertz’s value, but he’ll likely still need a touchdown to be a top-12 guy. 
18. Austin Hooper vs. DET 
19. O.J. Howard vs. NYG
20. Adam Trautman @PHI
21. Evan Engram @TB
22. Cameron Brate vs. NYG
23. David Njoku vs. DET
24. C.J. Uzomah @LV

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