It’s that time of year. If you’re reading this, you have your team pulled up and, even if you don’t want to admit it, you’re wondering, “How am I going to mess up this beautiful roster that I put together?”
We’ve all been there. Don’t worry, I’m a professional.
Well, at the very least, I try hard. Really hard. And with that, I present to you my Week 2 fantasy rankings that have far too much data supporting them to possibly be wrong.
FIND MORE POSITIONAL RANKINGS: QB | RB | WR | K | DEF | FLEX
Top 20 Fantasy Tight End Rankings
1) Sam LaPorta | Detroit Lions (vs. TB)
2) Trey McBride | Arizona Cardinals (vs. LAR)
3) Travis Kelce | Kansas City Chiefs (vs. CIN)
4) Dalton Kincaid | Buffalo Bills (at MIA)
5) Evan Engram | Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. CLE)
6) George Kittle | San Francisco 49ers (at MIN)
7) Kyle Pitts | Atlanta Falcons (at PHI)
8) Mark Andrews | Baltimore Ravens (vs. LV)
9) Brock Bowers | Las Vegas Raiders (at BAL)
10) Isaiah Likely | Baltimore Ravens (vs. LV)
11) Dallas Goedert | Philadelphia Eagles (vs. ATL)
12) Taysom Hill | New Orleans Saints (at DAL)
13) Dalton Schultz | Houston Texans (vs. CHI)
14) Pat Freiermuth | Pittsburgh Steelers (at DEN)
15) Jonnu Smith | Miami Dolphins (vs. BUF)
16) Hunter Henry | New England Patriots (vs. SEA)
17) Cole Kmet | Chicago Bears (at HOU)
18) Mike Gesicki | Cincinnati Bengals (at KC)
19) Zach Ertz | Washington Commanders (vs. NYG)
20) Noah Fant | Seattle Seahawks (at NE)
The Top Tight Ends To Start in Week 2
Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders (at Ravens)
I loved what I saw from the rookie in his debut. The Las Vegas Raiders showed us this preseason that he’d be used as a weapon in a variety of ways – that proved true as he led the team in catches and receiving yards last weekend.
Brock Bowers was on the field for 67.8% of snaps last week and nearly doubled up Michael Mayer in the routes department. This isn’t a committee situation; this is Bowers’ show, and that has him pushing for a top-10 ranking.
He has a chance to be the most valuable tight end in this game, and he should be started over veterans like Dallas Goedert and Pat Freiermuth with confidence, at the very least.
#Raiders rookie TE Brock Bowers started his rookie campaign off strong.
*Among TEs*
– 8 targets (#3)
– 6 receptions (#2)
– 58 yards (#2)Already establishing himself as one of the premier players at the position.
— SCOUTD (@scoutdnfl) September 11, 2024
Isaiah Likely and Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens (vs. Raiders)
As good as the opener was on Thursday night, fantasy managers can’t help but be sidetracked by this tight end situation that is trending toward a battle.
Isaiah Likely posted a 9-111-1 stat line against the Chiefs and missed another touchdown on the final play by less than an inch. The snaps (53-52 in favor of Mark Andrews) and routes (38-35 Andrews) were illuminating, as they point to Todd Monken essentially admitting that two of his three most dangerous pass catchers are tight ends.
That’s the good for managers sweating Andrews’ (2-14-0 line at Kansas City) situation. He’s on the field and running routes in a potent offense. Great.
Not so great is his ability to get open.
Receptions per route run:
- 2021: 17.3%
- 2022: 16.7%
- 2023: 16.3%
- Week 1: 5.3%
No, I don’t think the rate he posted last week is going to stick, but it’s very possible that Andrews is turning into a version of George Kittle without the spike-game upside due to his threat for opportunities playing the same position.
I’m not buying the Week 11 cracked fibula as a limiting factor, and Andrews turned 29 years old seconds after the Week 1 loss ended, putting him on the back nine of the age curve but not exactly in a spot to occupy fantasy hospice.
That said, it’s clear that Likely has juice that Andrews does not. Heck, there might not be six tight ends in the league today that have that sort of explosive potential.
Last season, 24 tight ends averaged 20+ routes run per game. That’s a low bar to clear, and for his career, Likely is averaging 11.6 PPR points per game when reaching that threshold, which would have been good for TE8 in 2023.
I mentioned the Kittle comparison earlier, and I think the 49ers’ trio could give us a blueprint as to what to expect. And by “blueprint,” I mean a frustrating spot to be in for fantasy managers who thought they were avoiding a headache by selecting Andrews in the fourth round, 120+ picks ahead of Likely.
Last season, a year in which Brock Purdy posted one of the 10 most efficient quarterback seasons of all-time, the Deebo Samuel Sr./Brandon Aiyuk/George Kittle trio all reached double figures in PPR points just three times, the first occurrence coming in Week 10.
If you stole Likely late in drafts or splurged in FAAB, you’ve got an asset, but I’m not sure that either TE is going to be as consistent as Andrews was in years past.
I wish I had better news, but this is going to be a weekly headache.
I’d caution against rage-benching Andrews this week. The Raiders had the lowest opponent aDOT last season, and that might be the role Andrews is destined to fill, as his aDOT was 48.5% lower than Likely’s in the season opener. Given the varied skill sets, it seems fair to project something similar moving forward.