MIAMI, Nov. 15 (UPI) — David Njoku is among my four must-start fantasy football tight ends for Week 11.
Travis Kelce leads my Top-20 tight end rankings, which are listed below. My Week 11 quarterback, running back and wide receiver rankings also are available. These positional rankings will be updated based on developments, including injuries. My top free agent targets for Week 11 are available here.
Dawson Knox, Pat Freiermuth and Will Dissly join Njoku as my must-start options. Brock Bowers, Mark Andrews and T.J. Hockenson join Njoku and Kelce in the Top 5 of my weekly rankings.
Those with stock in Sam LaPorta and other injured tight ends should monitor their status before plugging them into starting lineups. Players from the Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers should be benched, as those teams are on bye.
David Njoku
Njoku is a Top-5 option in my Week 11 rankings. The Cleveland Browns target scored in two of his last three appearances. He received 35 targets over the last four weeks.
This week, Njoku and the Browns will battle a New Orleans Saints defense that allowed the 12th-most receiving yards (56) per game to opposing tight ends through 10 weeks.
The Saints allowed at least 41 receiving yards to a tight end in four-consecutive games. Njoku likely needs to score a touchdown to justify this high ranking, but I think he has a great shot to find the end zone against a Saints secondary that just shipped out top cornerback Marshon Lattimore in a trade and is dealing with injuries.
He is my No. 3 play.
Dawson Knox
Knox and the Buffalo Bills are set to participate in one of the most anticipated matchups of the week when they meet the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in Orchard Park, N.Y.
The undefeated Chiefs (9-0) have one of the NFL’s top defenses, but were vulnerable against opposing tight ends through the first half of the season, when they allowed a league-high 77.6 receiving yards per game to the position. They also surrendered a league-high 6.7 catches per game and the second-most fantasy points per game to tight ends through 10 weeks.
Knox hasn’t received a ton of targets, but totaled at least 40 receiving yards in two of his last three games. He should continue to have increased usage with fellow Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid ruled out for this matchup, and can be plugged in as a low-end TE1 in leagues that require starting the position. He is my No. 9 play.
Pat Freiermuth
Freiermuth sits at No. 12 in my Week 11 tight end rankings. The Pittsburgh Steelers pass catcher was among the best options at the position in Week 10, when he caught three passes for 17 yards and a score.
Like most tight ends, his value is strongly tied to his ability to reach the end zone. I like his chances to do so for the fourth time this season in Week 11, when the Steelers host the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC North divisional matchup with playoff implications.
The Ravens have the No. 1 offense in the NFL and the league’s top run defense, but also allowed more passing yards that any other team through the first 10 weeks of the season.
They allowed the second-most catches (6.3), third-most receiving yards (68) and ninth-most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends.
I expect this to be a high-scoring matchup, with Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson provided a high passing yardage total. Look for Freiermuth to haul in at least five catches for 60 yards.
Will Dissly
Dissly is a solid streaming option this week for the Los Angeles Chargers-Cincinnati Bengals meeting — another matchup I expect to be high scoring.
The Chargers tight end received a decent amount of targets (32) over the last five weeks. He hauled in at least four catches in four of his last five games, including an 8-catch, 81-yard effort in Week 7.
I expect Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow to log plenty of passing attempts in this matchup. Herbert will likely target Dissly a handful of times against this defense, which allowed the seventh-most receiving yards (59.8), tied for allowing the second-most touchdowns (0.6) and surrendered the fourth-most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends so far this season.
They also surrendered touchdowns to the position in four of their last six games. Dissly, who has a great chance to continue that trend, is my No. 13 play.
Week 11 fantasy football tight end rankings
1. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs at BUF
2. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders at MIA
3. David Njoku, Cleveland Browns at NO
4. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens at PIT
5. T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings at TEN
6. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers vs. SEA
7. Hunter Henry, New England Patriots vs. LAR
8. Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars at DET
9. Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills vs. KC
10. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons at DEN
11. Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers at CHI
12. Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. BAL
13. Will Dissly, Los Angeles Chargers vs. CIN
14. Jonnu Smith, Miami Dolphins vs. LV
15. Tyler Conklin, New York Jets vs. IND
16. Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints vs. CLE
17. Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears vs. GB
18. Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans at DAL
19. Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints vs. CLE
20. Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals at LAC
