Week 13 Tight End Preview: Is Brenton Strange Already A Fantasy Starter?
Top Fantasy TEs for Week 13
Let's break down the key usage notes and matchups that are driving our Week 13 TE Rankings.
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1. Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
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McBride hasn't seen fewer than nine targets in any of Jacoby Brissett's six starts. He's averaging 11.2 targets, 8.5 catches, 87.0 yards, and 1.0 TDs over that span. A pass-funnel Bucs D doesn't look likely to alter things this week.
2. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
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Bowers has rebounded from the brutal 1-catch Thursday night at Denver to snag 13 of 21 targets over the past two games.
3. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
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TEs have had some success against the Browns. Cleveland allows the 14th-most points to the position. The Browns have allowed a TE to top 11 PPR points in back-to-back games, and Kittle is a good bet to make that three straight in Week 13.
4. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
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Played on Thursday.
5. Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts
Houston allows the sixth-fewest fantasy points to TEs, so it's a less-than-ideal matchup for Warrren. But Warren has caught 13 of his 17 targets in the last two games and remains a high-end TE1 due to his consistent volume and red-zone role. Week 13 shapes up to be a difficult matchup for the Colts' passing attack, but Warren is an every-week, top-5 option.
6. Oronde Gadsden II, Los Angeles Chargers
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Gadsden's numbers suffered with the rest of the passing game over the past two games. But he caught 5+ balls in four straight games before that. Will the Chargers try to rely on a run game that's expected to return Omarion Hampton this week? Maybe. But it sure looks like they need to get a talent-rich passing game going again as well. Gadsden's playing time also got back to normal last time out after he left Week 10 early with a knee injury. He's off this week's injury report altogether.
7. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
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Played on Thursday.
8. Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys
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Played on Thursday.
9. Theo Johnson, New York Giants
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QB Jaxson Dart's return looks like good news for Johnson. He totaled nine targets from QB Jameis Winston over the past two weeks after averaging 5.9 targets per game from Dart over the previous seven. Johnson gets a plus matchup on Monday night against the Patriots' 27th-ranked TE defense.
10. Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
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Schultz quietly ranks sixth among all TEs with an 18.4% target share. He's topped 11 PPR points in five of his last seven and should benefit with C.J. Stroud back. And this week's matchup looks solid. The Colts have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing TEs. Schultz comes in as a low-end TE1 in Week 13.
11. Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
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Johnson enters the weekend as a clear TE1. He's the TE6 in total PPR points this season. Plus, he draws a Miami pass defense that’s bottom-five in fantasy points allowed to TEs. Now, there’s a chance the Saints are without Chris Olave, who’s battling a back injury.
12. Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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If you're looking for a TE with enticing upside, then you should probably look elsewhere. But if you just need someone with a pretty good shot at 4 catches, Otton's tallied 4+ in six of his past seven contests.
13. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
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Pitts has caught just two balls in three straight games. But he's still garnered 16% of Atlanta's targets over that stretch and ranks fourth among all TEs with a 20% target share on the season. Remember that Pitts caught nine balls in QB Kirk Cousins' first start of the season. He gets a fine matchup on Sunday against the Jets' 17th-ranked TE defense.
14. Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars
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Week 12 brought the return of Strange, who missed significant time with a hip injury. He notched 5 grabs for 93 yards and looked fully healthy. Even if Brian Thomas returns this week, Strange is playable as a fringe TE1 in a nice scoring matchup vs. Tennessee.
15. Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
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Goedert's coming off a season-low-tying two targets in the Dallas loss. But his team opened that contest with a pass-leaning plan and never got the run game working in the first start without RT Lane Johnson (foot injury). There's been no sign that Philly's rushing is verging on a rebound, so passing volume could rise again vs. a soft Bears D. Chicago enters the week as the eighth-best scoring matchup for TEs by our adjusted fantasy points allowed.
16. Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns
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Since breaking out in Week 8, Fannin has been a modest fantasy producer. He ranks second in route rate (75%) and target share (24%) among Cleveland players in those three games, but has scored between 4.6 and 8.4 PPR points in each. Consistent, but not difference-making. This week, he'll face a Niners defense that has surrendered the seventh-most fantasy points to TEs. That, and the targets, keep Fannin in the TE2 conversation for Week 13.
17. Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals
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Played on Thursday.
18. Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
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Henry delivered in his turn against the Bengals' league-worst TE defense last week. Remember, though, that he hadn't reached 10 PPR points in any of his previous seven games. Henry is back to TE2 status for Monday night's game against the Giants' 10th-ranked TE defense.
19. Zach Ertz, Washington Commanders
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Ertz has caught exactly four passes in four straight games, averaging 5.8 targets per game over that span. He'll need to contend with the return of WR Terry McLaurin this week. But in four games with both McLaurin and WR Deebo Samuel this season, Ertz has averaged 5.5 targets and 4.0 catches per game. He remains a viable-if-unexciting PPR option.
20. Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens
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Played on Thursday.
21. Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears
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Loveland has maintained decent reception and yardage totals even with Cole Kmet back (following the rookie's huge week without him against the Bengals). But it's tough to like him against an Eagles defense that presents the league's second-worst scoring matchup for TEs, according to our adjusted fantasy points allowed.
22. A.J. Barner, Seattle Seahawks
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Barner's routes dipped back down to 64% in Sunday’s win over Tennessee. And note: His 10-catch Week 11 sandwiched outings of 0 catches (vs. Arizona) and 2 catches (at Tennessee). Barner’s still a risky TE2.
23. Evan Engram, Denver Broncos
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Engram has caught 4+ balls in six of his last eight games and gets the Commanders' 21st-ranked TE defense on Sunday night. But he's remained a part-time player, running a route on just 58% of Denver's pass plays for the season. That makes Engram tough to trust in fantasy lineups.
24. Mason Taylor, New York Jets
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Taylor's playing time is down lately: A 69% route rate over the last three games. He's averaged just 3.7 targets, 2.7 catches, and 18 yards per game over that span. Taylor would be a shoddy Week 13 fantasy play.
25. Darren Waller, Miami Dolphins
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Waller hasn’t played since Week 6, but he’s a candidate to return after practicing in full on Thursday. The long layoff adds risk to Waller’s outlook and puts him deep in TE2 territory, if active.
