Tight end PPR rankings for Week 12 fantasy football

Week 11 is officially a wrap with yet another week of wild names cranking their way into the top-15. With the fantasy playoffs right around the corner, we’ll take a look at the injuries around the league, bye weeks and some favorable matchups to set your fantasy football lineups this week.

Injury news

Rob Gronkowski made a return in Week 11 after several injuries have kept him out of a full game’s allotment of snaps since Week 3. He saw a full workload, reeling in six of eight targets for 71 receiving yards.

Geoff Swaim (concussion) isn’t a name that has been in many (or any) fantasy lineups this season outside of a YOLO desperation play. However, if he misses a second consecutive game recovering from a concussion, Anthony Firkser could be an interesting DFS play. Firkser saw seven targets in Sunday’s loss to the Texans, where Ryan Tannehill threw a season-high 52 pass attempts.

Steelers TE Eric Ebron suffered a knee injury after logging his first TE1 performance of the season in PPR leagues in Week 11. Though he’s totaled just 18 targets so far on the season, his absence does free up a couple of targets per game to slot over to rookie Pat Freiermuth. Since Week 6, Freiermuth has ranked as the TE5 in PPR leagues — ahead of the much-hyped rookie superstar Kyle Pitts (TE10).

Saints tight end Adam Trautman suffered a sprained MCL injury in Week 11 and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with the injury.

Washington TE Logan Thomas has been out since Week 4 with a hamstring injury and is likely to make his return to the lineup in Week 12. He’s a viable TE1 in fantasy football on opportunity alone.

Bye weeks

The Cardinals and Chiefs are on a Week 12 bye. Fantasy managers will be without elite TE Travis Kelce and Zach Ertz, who has redeemed some of his fantasy value following his trade from Philly to Arizona.

Week 12 TE Streamer

Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys vs. Las Vegas Raiders

As noted in our WR rankings for this week, the Cowboys could be short-handed for pass-catchers in Thursday’s game, as Amari Cooper is out on the COVID list and CeeDee Lamb recovers from a concussion. This paves the way for one of Dak’s most reliable weapons in 2021, Dalton Schultz, to potentially lead the team in targets. The Raiders are allowing an average line of 6 catches for 66 yards and more than half a touchdown per game to opposing tight ends, amounting to the fifth-most fantasy points allowed to TEs per game. It’s the perfect recipe for a big Schultz day.