Top 30 tight end rankings for Week 12 fantasy football

UPDATE

The absence of JuJu Smith-Schuster should push more targets to Vance McDonald. He’s been moved up to TE9.

Nelson Agholor will likely miss, which should open up more targets underneath, so Dallas Goedert gets a boost to TE6 in a good matchup.

Phillip Dorsett and Mohamed Sanu look unlikely to play, which moves Ben Watson up the rankings.

Jonnu Smith also gets a boost with Delanie Walker doubtful.

The big surprises last week at the tight end position were Ryan Griffin, Kyle Rudolph, Ross Dwelley, and Cameron Brate. Overall, it wasn’t as crazy as many weeks are at the position.

Travis Kelce put up a big game on Monday night and is back as the top play each week. Unfortunately for his backers, he’ll be on a bye in Week 12.

This week we don’t get the Cardinals to pick on, and Austin Hooper is likely out again in a great matchup with Tampa Bay.

Bye Weeks

Arizona Cardinals, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings

TEs on bye: Travis Kelce, Hunter Henry, Kyle Rudolph, Irv Smith Jr.

Injury/Status Report

George Kittle’s status is still up in the air, and we likely won’t know more until Wednesday’s practice. If he plays, he’s, of course, a must start.

Austin Hooper could return to practice this week, but the odds of him playing appear long at this point in the week.

Evan Engram believes he’s made enough progress to have a chance to play this week against the Bears. He doesn’t appear primed for a return just yet, but we’ll have to wait to see if he can practice.

TE Ranking Tiers

Tier 1

If Kittle can go, he’s the top play this week. His backup, Ross Dwelley, scored twice in his absence, but he also faced the worst tight end defense in the league. Zach Ertz saw a huge amount of targets last week and now gets a good matchup at home against Seattle. Darren Waller hasn’t been on fire of late but bounced back last week with a strong game. He remains a top play through usage alone.

Tier 2

Top plays thin out quickly this week. We get Jacob Hollister back, and he’s shown well as one of Russell Wilson’s top targets. As long as their game in Philadelphia is close or the Eagles get a lead, Hollister should get enough work to have fantasy value.

TE Streamers

The Bills are tough against tight ends, but Noah Fant has seen enough targets of late to take a flier on if you’re hurting at the position.

It’s hard to trust Ryan Griffin, but he’s produced lately and gets a nice matchup against the Raiders, who allow the third-most fantasy points to the position.