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2012 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings: Week 3

VernonDavis_2011_332.jpg

Each week during the NFL season, we will rank enough players at each position to appease everyone from those in 8-team leagues to 16-team leagues, those that can start two QBs, two TEs, three RBs and four WRs. We cut out the rest, because if you're looking at who the 50th-best running back or the 17th-best kicker is for that week, you need more help than any Web site can give you.

The top-scoring tight end in fantasy football last week was none other than San Diego's Dante Rosario, who caught three touchdown passes against Tennessee. However, you won't see him listed below because Antonio Gates, whose absence because of a rib injury made Rosario's big day possible, is already back at practice and is expected to go on Sunday against Atlanta. One tight end who will not be playing this Sunday or for several weeks to come is New England's Aaron Hernandez. He suffered an ankle injury that is expected to sideline him for multiple weeks. His absence only helps increase teammate Rob Gronkowski's value, although Gronk still sits behind Jimmy Graham on this week's rankings. Brandon Pettigrew, already a solid weekly starting option, could be in for a career day against Tennessee considering the Titans were the team that surrendered the three touchdown catches to Rosario last week. Martellus Bennett continued his strong start to the season as he posted six more catches for 73 yards and his third touchdown on the season in the Giants' win over Carolina on Thursday night. If Bennett's able to maintain this production over the course of the season, the tight end position becomes even deeper than it was believed to before the start of it.

2012 NFL Week 3 Fantasy Football Rankings — Tight Ends

Rk

Player

Team

OPPONENT

1

Jimmy Graham

NO

vs. KC

2

Rob Gronkowski

NE

at BAL

3

Brandon Pettigrew

DET

at TEN

4

Vernon Davis

SF

at MIN

5

Jermichael Finley

GB

at SEA (Mon.)

6

Tony Gonzalez

ATL

at SD

7

Brent Celek

PHI

at ARI

8

Martellus Bennett

NYG

at CAR (Thurs.)

9

Antonio Gates

SD

vs. ATL

10

Jason Witten

DAL

vs. TB

11

Dennis Pitta

BAL

vs. NE

12

Owen Daniels

HOU

at DEN

13

Kyle Rudolph

MIN

vs. SF

14

Jared Cook

TEN

vs. DET

15

Coby Fleener

IND

vs. JAC

16

Jacob Tamme

DEN

vs. HOU

17

Jermaine Gresham

CIN

at WAS

18

Greg Olsen

CAR

vs. NYG (Thurs.)

19

Scott Chandler

BUF

at CLE

20

Fred Davis

WAS

vs. CIN

21

Brandon Myers

OAK

vs. PIT

22

Dustin Keller

NYJ

at MIA

23

Marcedes Lewis

JAC

at IND

24

Heath Miller

PIT

at OAK

25

Dallas Clark

TB

at DAL

26

Todd Heap

ARI

vs. PHI

Injury-Related News:
Fred Davis, WAS: Sustained head injury in last week's game, but passed concussion tests and was back at practice on Wednesday. He should start on Sunday against Cincinnati.
Antonio Gates, SD: Missed last week's game with rib injury, but was back at practice on Wednesday and should play Sunday against Atlanta.
Todd Heap, ARI: Is considered day-to-day after suffering a sprained PCL in his left knee during last Sunday's game. His status for this week is uncertain.
Aaron Hernandez, NE: He is expected to miss the next several weeks due to an ankle injury sustained last week.
Dustin Keller, NYJ: Missed last week's game because of a hamstring injury. He was back at practice on Thursday, so the team is hopeful he will be able to play in Miami on Sunday.
Heath Miller, PIT: He sustained a rib cartilage injury last week and missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday. There's a strong possibility he will not be able to play in Oakland on Sunday.

Rankings are based upon Athlon Sports' standard scoring system:

OFFENSIVE SCORING
All touchdowns are 6 points
1 point for 25 yards passing
1 point for 10 yards rushing/receiving
Receptions are .5 points
Interceptions/fumbles are minus-2 points

Additional Week 3 Positional Rankings

Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
Kickers
Defense/Special Teams

Week 3 Start or Sit

— By Mark Ross, updated on Sept. 21, 2012