December 10, 2016

Ben Ruppert's 2016 Week 14 tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings analysis and tiered ranks. His rankings and start/sit advice for your Week 14 tight end matchups.

Below you will find our Week 14 tight end rankings, to help determine your TE starts/sits for this week, brought to you by Bill Dubiel (@Roto_Dubs), Nick Mariano (@NMariano53) and Ben Ruppert (@Ben_Ruppert_21).

Featured writer Ben Ruppert also highlights some TE rankings and matchups analysis for Week 14, and draws some matchup conclusions. He tells you who he likes, who he doesn't, and most importantly who he thinks you should be starting in Week 14. You can also check out RotoBaller's overall player rankings here.

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Week 14 Tight End - Rankings & Matchups Analysis

The Buccaneers versus Saints game in New Orleans is expected to be a shootout, with two below average defenses meeting tow above average offenses. Mike Evans has far and away been Jameis Winston’s favorite target this season, but after him we have TE Cameron Brate. Brate has 47 receptions on 66 targets for 528 yards and six TD, all of which rank second on the team behind Evans. He is coming off one of his best games of the season, catching 6-of-9 targets for 86 yards and a TD in the win over the Chargers. If he can get that number of targets again this week against a weaker defense, he could be in line for a big week. The Saints have been in the middle of the pack at defending the TE position, with mixed results all season. They have limited Travis Kelce and Jimmy Graham, but allowed Vance McDonald and Lance Kendricks to have good games against them. TE can be a difficult position to predict, but all signs are looking good for Brate; highly targeted, potential showdown, with a beatable defense. Brate should be played in all formats this week.

Ladarius Green had a huge welcome to 2016 party last week, posting his finest game as a Steeler since returning from injury. Green caught six of a team-leading 11 targets for 110 yards and TD. He played in a season-high 48% of the team’s snaps. Green was brought in in the offseason to be the offensive TE the team lost when Heath Miller left, but injuries kept him out until Week 10. Now back and ready to take on a full load of snaps, Green has TE1 potential the rest of the season. He can slip right into the second receiver spot behind Antonio Brown in the offense, with LeVeon Bell getting snaps at WR as well from time to time. This week they face a Bills defense that has some holes; they allowed Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham to have huge days, along with Martellus Bennett before Tom Brady’s return. If he is involved as much as he was last week, he has an excellent chance to post his second solid game in a row.

Dennis Pitta hasn’t reached the end zone in quite a long time. Before last week, he had not found pay dirt since Week 1 of the 2013 season. That was the year bitcoin became a huge thing, Twitter took off, and the Boston Marathon bombings took place. Last week Pitta had his best fantasy game in years, with nine receptions on a team-leading 11 targets for 90 yards and two TD. The Ravens threw the ball 47 times, their third highest total of the season. This week the Ravens draw the Patriots, who have been good against opposing TE limiting them to the 12^th fewest fantasy points this season. They only allowed one TE to eclipse 53 yards, and have allowed one TD to a TE since Week 5. The Ravens will likely need to throw to keep up with the Patriots offense, so expect close to double digit targets for the reliable TE. He likely won’t score twice again, but finding the end zone isn’t out of the question.

If you’re looking for a desperation play this week, check out Jermaine Gresham with the Cardinals. He has been getting more involved in the offense lately, with six targets in three of the past four games. Last week he posted his highest yardage total of the season, catching 5-of-6 targets for 52 yards. Over the past four weeks he is averaging four receptions for 40 yards, and has a touchdown in two of four games. The Cardinals have been battling injuries at WR with Malcolm Floyd and John Brown dealing with different ailments at different times, leaving Larry Fitzgerald as the only consistent WR in the offense. Behind Fitz and David Johnson, Gresham is carving himself out a role where he catches short yardage passes and gets some red zone looks as a big-bodied receiver. He won’t post huge numbers like Ladarius Green did last week, but something like five receptions for 50 yards and a TD isn’t out of the question for him. Miami has given up the seventh most fantasy points to the TE position this season, and just allowed the aforementioned Dennis Pitta to have a huge game against them.

Week 14 Fantasy Football Rankings - Tight Ends