by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

We all know that there are three clear “elite” options at tight end, while a solid group of second tier options finally emerging.  That grouping takes a hit due to the bye weeks, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t solid (though risky) options.  Who are the ones to try and capitalize in Week 8?  Let’s take a look:

1. Travis Kelce – Kansas City Chiefs – vs. Denver
2. Zack Ertz – Philadelphia Eagles – vs. San Francisco
3. Rob Gronkowski – New England Patriots – vs. Los Angeles Chargers
4. Kyle Rudolph – Minnesota Vikings – at Cleveland
5. Hunter Henry – Los Angeles Chargers – at New England
6. Jimmy Graham – Seattle Seahawks – vs. Houston
7. Jordan Reed – Washington Redskins – vs. Dallas
8. Jason Witten – Dallas Cowboys – at Washington
9. Tyler Kroft – Cincinnati Bengals – vs. Indianapolis
10. Austin Seferian-Jenkins – New York Jets – vs. Atlanta
11. Jack Doyle – Indianapolis Colts – at Cincinnati
12. Cameron Brate – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – vs. Carolina
13. Austin Hooper – Atlanta Falcons – at New York Jets
14. Jared Cook – Oakland Raiders – at Buffalo
15. Benjamin Watson – Baltimore Ravens – vs. Miami
16. Zach Miller – Chicago Bears – at New Orleans
17. Ed Dickson – Carolina Panthers – at Tampa Bay
18. A.J. Derby – Denver Broncos – at Kansas City
19. Jesse James – Pittsburgh Steelers – at Detroit
20. Julius Thomas – Miami Dolphins – at Baltimore

Thoughts:

• Based on the matchup we are going to place Travis Kelce atop our rankings for this week, but keep in mind that it could easily be Zack Ertz or Rob Gronkowski getting the nod.  They are the clear top options week in and week out, with everyone else trying to catch them.
• With the receiving corps seemingly back to full health Austin Hooper was targeted 1 time by Matt Ryan in Week 7.  Sure he is a promising matchup and is going to be a low-end TE1 due to the upside, but it’s impossible for us to push him any further up the rankings.  There is simply too much risk for the looks to go elsewhere.
• Can we count on Austin Seferian-Jenkins scoring a TD each week?  That’ll be a tough sell, but he’s now scored in three straight (and it should be 4 TD in three games) and has become one of the go to targets for Josh McCown.  The problem is that he’s not getting much yardage, and that means if he is kept from the end zone is value will be close to nil.  Keep that in mind before pushing him near the top of the rankings.
• Kyle Rudolph has been targeted at least 7 times in three straight games and should operate as the safety valve for Case Keenum in an extremely favorable matchup.  The Browns have allowed the third most points per week to opposing tight ends, including 497 yards and 5 TD.  Look for the Vikings to try and exploit this opportunity.
• It has been a solid season for Cameron Brate, but after seeing O.J. Howard go off in Week 7 is it a guarantee that he remains atop the TE depth chart in Tampa Bay?  That risk is going to drag both players down and place them more in the TE2 range.

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Make sure to check out all of our Week 8 rankings: