Week 14 Tight End Outlooks: Gary Barnidge, Delanie Walker and Antonio Gates

Much like the kicker, the tight end can be one of the most maddening positions in fantasy football. Unless you have Rob Gronkowski or Greg Olsen, chances are you’re almost always limiting the amount of production you think your tight end will get you during the week. With that being said, there have been a few tight ends who have surpassed expectations this year, including two we’ll discuss in this article.

Gary Barnidge, who has apparently been in the NFL for eight years, has come out of nowhere to lead the Cleveland Browns’ offense this season. Barnidge isn’t enjoying the success he did during the first half of the season, but he’s still getting a healthy amount of targets. Barnidge has at least five catches in four of his last five games, though he hasn’t reached the endzone since Week 10.

With Johnny Manziel expected to start, Barnidge’s production should drop since Josh McCown targets him much more than Manziel does, according to ESPN. He’ll also be in for a tough matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, who have only allowed three touchdowns to opposing tight ends this year.

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It’s hard to find a more successful tight end over the last five weeks than Tennessee’s Delanie Walker. Since Week 9, Walker has 32 catches and 64 fantasy points, an average of more than 12 fantasy points per game.

Walker has been Marcus Mariota’s favorite target this season, and he’ll be sure to get plenty of targets against the New York Jets on Sunday. According to ESPN, the Jets have allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to tight ends this year, but Walker is still the Titans’ best offensive weapon. He may not find the endzone, but he’ll still get a fair share of looks.

It’s been an awful season for the San Diego Chargers, including tight end Antonio Gates. Like most of the Chargers, Gates has dealt with his share of injuries this year, and that’s not counting the four games he missed due to his early-season suspension.

Gates has 66 fantasy points in seven games this season, though 38 of them came in two games combined. Gates has been hit-or-miss this year, and he won’t be in for an easy day against the Kansas City Chiefs who limited him to just one catch for six yards in Week 11.