After missing last week, Trey McBride leads our fantasy football TE rankings for Week 5, with George Kittle, Dalton Kincaid, Travis Kelce, and Brock Bowers rounding out the top five.
After those players, however, how do the rest of the tight end rankings look for this week? Let’s dive right into the rankings and evaluate the fantasy outlooks for two intriguing players at the position.
WEEK 5 POSITIONAL RANKINGS: QB | RB | WR | K | DEF | FLEX
Top 35 Fantasy Tight End Rankings
1) Trey McBride | Arizona Cardinals (at SF)
2) George Kittle | San Francisco 49ers (vs. ARI)
3) Dalton Kincaid | Buffalo Bills (at HOU)
4) Travis Kelce | Kansas City Chiefs (vs. NO)
5) Brock Bowers | Las Vegas Raiders (at DEN)
6) Jake Ferguson | Dallas Cowboys (at PIT)
7) Pat Freiermuth | Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. DAL)
8) Evan Engram | Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. IND)
9) Tucker Kraft | Green Bay Packers (at LAR)
10) David Njoku | Cleveland Browns (at WAS)
11) Cole Kmet | Chicago Bears (vs. CAR)
12) Dalton Schultz | Houston Texans (vs. BUF)
13) Isaiah Likely | Baltimore Ravens (at CIN)
14) Kyle Pitts | Atlanta Falcons (vs. TB)
15) Zach Ertz | Washington Commanders (vs. CLE)
16) Mike Gesicki | Cincinnati Bengals (vs. BAL)
17) Mark Andrews | Baltimore Ravens (at CIN)
18) Tyler Conklin | New York Jets (vs. MIN {London})
19) Noah Fant | Seattle Seahawks (vs. NYG)
20) Hunter Henry | New England Patriots (vs. MIA)
21) Colby Parkinson | Los Angeles Rams (vs. GB)
22) Taysom Hill | New Orleans Saints (at KC)
23) Cade Otton | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at ATL)
24) Noah Gray | Kansas City Chiefs (vs. NO)
25) Greg Dulcich | Denver Broncos (vs. LV)
26) Jonnu Smith | Miami Dolphins (at NE)
27) Johnny Mundt | Minnesota Vikings (vs. NYJ {London})
28) Juwan Johnson | New Orleans Saints (at KC)
29) Jordan Akins | Cleveland Browns (at WAS)
30) Brenton Strange | Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. IND)
31) Elijah Higgins | Arizona Cardinals (at SF)
32) Dawson Knox | Buffalo Bills (at HOU)
33) Luke Musgrave | Green Bay Packers (at LAR)
Which TEs Are Intriguing for Week 5?
Pat Freiermuth’s Fantasy Outlook
That’s four straight top-15 finishes for Freiermuth, with the 5-57-1 line last week in Indianapolis easily being his best output of the season (his most catches, targets, yards, and his first score of 2024).
That’s not to say Freiermuth is some rockstar or difference-maker at the position, but boring can be effective, especially at a position like tight end where simply having a pulse puts players on the radar.
TE route participation – Week 4
94% – Travis Kelce
93% – Elijah Higgins
90% – Tyler Conklin
86% – Jake Ferguson
86% – Sam LaPorta
86% – Tucker Kraft
86% – Zach Ertz
83% – Pat Freiermuth
82% – Cade Otton
81% – Colby Parkinson
81% – Brock Bowers
80% – George Kittle
80% – Hunter…— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23)
Dallas is going to have to get creative on the defensive side of the ball to overcome its rash of injuries, something that, in my opinion, makes two things likely — (1) an increase in exotic blitzes and/or (2) the desire to prevent splash plays.
Both of those schemes put Freiermuth in a position to again provide enough production in PPR formats for managers to be satisfied. He’s caught all five of his targets this season when Fields is pressured (teammates: 55.6%), and he leads the team with 15 short receptions.
Pencil in Freiermuth for another 4-5 catches and 40-50 yards. Winning your matchups this season can be as much about not losing ground at the TE position as it is gaining ground — Freiermuth checks that box most weeks. I see no reason for that to change any time soon.
Tucker Kraft’s Fantasy Outlook
Kraft has seen over 18% of the targets when he’s been on the field in three straight games. And with Jordan Love back under center, that level of involvement alone is enough to justify going in this direction.
The 2023 third-round pick has yet to post an average depth of target over 3.5 yards in a game this season. While that caps his ceiling, those of us streaming the position are more worried about a reasonable floor than any sort of upside case.
The number of viable tight ends seems to decline by the week, and with two of them on bye, Kraft — Week 4’s top scorer at the position — is a top-12 option in this spot, one whom I’m playing over both of Baltimore’s options and the ever frustrating Kyle Pitts.
All stats are from TruMedia unless otherwise stated.
