Fantasy Football 2013 Tight End Rankings: Week 8

Author:
Mark Ross
Publish date:
Oct 24, 2013

He's not No. 1 on Athlon Sports' fantasy football Week 8 tight end rankings, but there's no mistaking the immediate impact Rob Gronkowski had in his long-delayed, much-anticipated season debut. Gronk led the Patriots with 17 targets, finishing the game with eight catches for 114 yards. As long as he doesn't experience any setbacks with his back during the week, he should have another solid game against Miami, a team that has struggled to defend against tight ends.

Jimmy Graham is still ahead of Gronk in the rankings, but for this week he appears to be the one who is a bigger question mark health-wise. Graham injured his foot in the Week 6 loss to the Patriots and apparently it isn't back to 100 percent even though the Saints were on bye last week. There's still time until Sunday's kickoff, but Graham's status needs to be monitored closely. If he does play against the Bills, don't expect him to finish the game with zero catches, which is what he did two weeks ago in New England.

Even with Gronk returning and as good as Graham, Jordan Cameron, Julius Thomas, Vernon Davis, Antonio Gates and others have been this season, it looks like there's a new kid on the block. Washington's Jordan Reed has not only replaced Fred Davis as the Redskins' top tight end, he is quickly establishing himself as one of the position's top playmakers. Reed has shown good chemistry with Robert Griffin III over the past month and blew up against the Bears last week with a nine catches for 134 yards and a touchdown. Is this a sign of things to come? Reed is a top-10 choice in our eyes this week, as the Broncos are ninth in fantasy points allowed to tight ends.

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 website can give you.

2013 NFL Week 8 Fantasy Football Rankings — Tight Ends
Teams on bye: Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Indianapolis, San Diego, Tennessee


Rk	Player	Team	OPP	Notes
1	Jimmy Graham	NO	vs. BUF	Injured his foot in last game, monitor status closely.
2	Rob Gronkowski	NE	vs. MIA	No surprise Brady locked on Gronk (8-114, 17 targets).
3	Vernon Davis	SF	vs. JAC (London)	Led team in targets (8) once again.
4	Tony Gonzalez	ATL	at ARI	Cardinals allowing most fantasy points to TEs.
5	Julius Thomas	DEN	vs. WAS	Leads all TEs with 8 TD receptions.
6	Jordan Cameron	CLE	at KC	Leads his position w/ 45 catches, also has 6 TDs.
7	Jason Witten	DAL	at DET	Lions have given up 1 TD to a TE this season.
8	Greg Olsen	CAR	at TB (Thurs.)	Appears to be over foot issue.
9	Heath Miller	PIT	at OAK	Only two catches, but TD vs. Ravens.
10	Jordan Reed	WAS	at DEN	Exploded (9-134-1) last week vs. Bears.
11	Charles Clay	MIA	at NE	Has caught a TD in each of last 3 games.
12	Kyle Rudolph	MIN	vs. GB	May not offer much until Vikes figure out QB situation.
13	Brandon Pettigrew	DET	vs. DAL	Only three catches, but first TD vs. Bengals.
14	Jeff Cumberland	NYJ	at CIN	Geno Smith keeping Cumberland involved.
15	Jared Cook	STL	vs. SEA (Mon.)	Will Kellen Clemens focus on Cook?
16	Brent Celek	PHI	vs. NYG
17	Tyler Eifert	CIN	vs. NYJ	Caught first career NFL TD last week vs. Lions.
18	Scott Chandler	BUF	at NO	Saints allowing second-fewest fantasy pts. to TEs.
19	Jermaine Gresham	CIN	vs. NYJ	Still looking for first TD catch of season.
20	Brandon Myers	NYG	at PHI	Has 7 total receptions in last 5 games combined.
21	Joseph Fauria	DET	vs. DAL	Lions cut Scheffler, could mean more work for Fauria.
22	Rob Housler	ARI	vs. ATL	Season-high 7 rec., 53 yds. vs. Seahawks.
23	Timothy Wright	TB	vs. CAR (Thurs.)	Glennon locked on VJax vs. Falcons.
24	Zach Miller	SEA	at STL (Mon.)	Tied for team lead w/ 7 targets vs. ARI, also had TD.
25	Anthony Fasano	KC	vs. CLE	Caught four passes in first game since Week 2.
26	Andrew Quarless	GB	at MIN	Starting job is his with Finley (spinal contusion) out.

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 8 Positional Rankings

Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
Defense/Special Teams
Kickers

Week 8 Waiver Wire