We are now in the third week of the fantasy football season. As always, it is crucial to know what players are the preferable starts. Taking player talent, performance, and matchup into account, here are my Week 3 TE rankings.
Top 30 Fantasy TE Rankings
1) Trey McBride | Arizona Cardinals (vs. DET)
2) Brock Bowers | Las Vegas Raiders (vs. CAR)
3) Sam LaPorta | Detroit Lions (at ARI)
4) Dalton Kincaid | Buffalo Bills (vs. JAX)
5) Mark Andrews | Baltimore Ravens (at DAL)
6) Travis Kelce | Kansas City Chiefs (at ATL)
7) Jake Ferguson | Dallas Cowboys (vs. BAL)
8) Hunter Henry | New England Patriots (at NYJ)
9) Isaiah Likely | Baltimore Ravens (at DAL)
10) Zach Ertz | Washington Commanders (vs. CIN)
11) Dallas Goedert | Philadelphia Eagles (at NO)
12) Kyle Pitts | Atlanta Falcons (vs. KC)
13) Pat Freiermuth | Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. LAC)
14) Colby Parkinson | Los Angeles Rams (vs. SF)
15) Dalton Schultz | Houston Texans (at MIN)
16) Eric Saubert | San Francisco 49ers (at LAR)
17) Taysom Hill | New Orleans Saints (vs. PHI)
18) Jonnu Smith | Miami Dolphins (at SEA)
19) Mike Gesicki | Cincinnati Bengals (vs. WAS)
20) Brenton Strange | Jacksonville Jaguars (at BUF)
21) Cole Kmet | Chicago Bears (at IND)
22) Tyler Conklin | New York Jets (vs. NE)
23) Jordan Akins | Cleveland Browns (vs. NYG)
24) Tucker Kraft | Green Bay Packers (at TEN)
25) Noah Fant | Seattle Seahawks (vs. MIA)
26) Cade Otton | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. DEN)
27) Dawson Knox | Buffalo Bills (vs. JAX)
28) Chigoziem Okonkwo | Tennessee Titans (vs. GB)
29) Greg Dulcich | Denver Broncos (at TB)
30) Juwan Johnson | New Orleans Saints (vs. PHI)
The Top Tight Ends To Start in Week 3
Dalton Kincaid, TE, Buffalo Bills (vs. JAX)
It was admittedly tough to pinpoint a tight end to start this week. Given the state of the position, even if you’re disappointed with Dalton Kincaid through two weeks, you’re probably still starting him due to the lack of an alternative.
Kincaid’s Week 1 usage was a disaster. He only saw four targets in Week 2, but fantasy managers should actually be encouraged. He caught all four of them for 33 yards.
Most importantly, those four targets represented a 21% target share. Josh Allen only attempted 19 passes in a game where James Cook ran wild. That is not going to be the norm.
Curtis Samuel is clearly just a situational role player. Mack Hollins is out there running wind sprints. Keon Coleman is not ready. Khalil Shakir can’t be the only guy.
Kincaid is probably not going to be an elite TE1, but he is definitely startable. I expect him to have his best game of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3.
Colby Parkinson, Los Angeles Rams (vs. SF)
The tight end position is not fun this year. That makes a guy like Colby Parkinson very much in play, despite coming off a game where he caught one pass for 12 yards.
The Los Angeles Rams are decimated at wide receiver. They’re down Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. Although Matthew Stafford is the wide receiver kingmaker, asking him to create a masterpiece out of Demarcus Robinson, Tyler Johnson, and Jordan Whittington is a challenge.
Parkinson is playing over 80% of the snaps and has run a route on 92% of Stafford’s dropbacks. He currently leads all tight ends in routes run. In a game where the Rams project to be chasing on the scoreboard, Parkinson makes sense as a back-end TE1.