Tight end non-PPR rankings for Week 7 fantasy football

Final injury report

Out: Dawson Knox (calf), Austin Hooper (illness), Tyler Eifert (neck)

Doubtful: None

Questionable: Robert Tonyan (ankle), Jordan Akins (ankle, concussion), Jake Butt (hamstring)

Thursday injury report

The Broncos look like they’ll get Noah Fant back from his ankle sprain this week, as he was able to practice in full on Thursday. Rob Gronkowski returned to practice on Thursday and got in limited work. He’s an old man now, so he needs more time to heal. Tyler Higbee didn’t practice on Thursday with a hand injury. With a Monday night game on tap against the Bears, Higbee still has time to get back out there.

One piece of news that will be important to track is the status of Bucs-Raiders. The game was flexed out of Sunday Night Football to an afternoon start. The reasoning is concern over a potential need to postpone the game due to Covid-19. If that happens, Rob Gronkowski and Darren Waller would be the tight ends impacted.

Wednesday injury report

The Giants and Eagles open the week on Thursday Night Football, and Philadelphia will be without their top two tight ends. Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert are both sidelined with ankle injuries, leaving Richard Rodgers atop the tight end depth chart. Beyond that issue, Robert Tonyan and Jordan Akins present the two biggest questions for fantasy football managers. Both were Wednesday DNPs and will be worth tracking heading into Thursday and Friday.

DNP: Dawson Knox (calf), Logan Thomas (neck), Robert Tonyan (ankle), Jordan Akins (ankle, concussion), Rob Gronkowski (shoulder)
Limited: David Njoku (shoulder), Marcedes Lewis (knee), Tyler Eifert (neck), Jonnu Smith (ankle)

Another week in the books, and we continue with a firestorm of tight ends that nobody plugged into their lineups taking the lead. Some top-10 TEs for Week 6? Trey Burton, Anthony Firkser, Darren Fells, Adam Shaheen, Logan Thomas, Nick Boyle. I’d bet a decent amount of money that these guys were not drafted in your fantasy football leagues.

Injury news

Keep an eye out for Noah Fant to potentially return from his ankle injury in Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Prior to the injury, Fant was on pace for 76 receptions for 876 yards and 8 TDs — a major focal point of the Broncos offense.

The biggest injury this week was to Eagles TE Zach Ertz — AKA, your 2020 fourth-round redraft pick. Ertz has been wildly ineffective in 2020, performing as the TE22 in non-PPR scoring formats despite his 19% team target share. Teammate Dallas Goedert is trending in the right direction to return from his own ankle injury and looked like the better receiver in his limited playing time before injury. This may be the nail in the coffin that allows fantasy managers to release Ertz to waivers (and breathe a sigh of relief that they’re no longer obligated to play him).

Yet another ankle injury at tight end this week was to Titans TE Jonnu Smith. It was luckily considered a minor injury, though his status for Sunday is questionable. If he does return, we’ll likely expect a down week for Smith against the Steelers, who have allowed just a single touchdown to a TE so far in 2020.

Jaguars TE Tyler Eifert aggravated a neck injury in Week 6 that was suffered the week prior. If Eifert sits, James O’Shaughnessy remains an intriguing DFS play.

Bye weeks

Though the Colts, Dolphins, Vikings and Ravens are all on bye, there’s really only one tight end fantasy managers will truly be missing: Mark Andrews. Andrews has continued to be a touchdown machine with Lamar Jackson under center, totaling five scores already on the season.

Streaming options

Austin Hooper, Cleveland Browns

Austin Hooper has largely been a disappointment for fantasy managers, but it does appear as though he’s gaining more traction with QB Baker Mayfield. He’s had five receptions in each of the last three games, with at least 50 receiving yards in his last two outings. He’ll face the Cincinnatti Bengals in Week 7, who are allowing the seventh-most receiving yards to tight ends in 2020.

T.J. Hockenson, Detroit Lions

This may not necessarily be a streamer, but T.J. Hockenson should be on your “must-play” list for Week 7. Hockenson is averaging five targets per game over the season and started the year with three-consecutive games of 50 or more receiving yards. He’s scored a touchdown in each of his last two outings, and next gets the Saints, who have averaged a whopping 1.2 TD allowed per game to the TE position.