Which tight ends do you want to utilize this week?  Which big names have virtually played themselves out of viability?  Let’s take a look as we prepare for Week 13:

1. Owen Daniels – Houston Texans – at Tennessee
2. Jimmy Graham – New Orleans Saints – at Atlanta
3. Tony Gonzalez – Atlanta Falcons – vs. New Orleans
4. Aaron Hernandez – New England Patriots – at Miami
5. Jason Witten – Dallas Cowboys – vs. Philadelphia
6. Antonio Gates – San Diego Chargers – vs. Cincinnati
7. Brandon Myers – Oakland Raiders – vs. Cleveland
8. Jermaine Gresham – Cincinnati Bengals – at San Diego
9. Vernon Davis – San Francisco 49ers – at St. Louis
10. Brandon Pettigrew – Detroit Lions – vs. Indianapolis
11. Kyle Rudolph – Minnesota Vikings – at Green Bay
12. Dallas Clark – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – at Denver
13. Greg Olsen – Carolina Panthers – at Kansas City
14. Dennis Pitta – Baltimore Ravens – vs. Pittsburgh
15. Dustin Keller – New York Jets – vs. Arizona
16. Dwayne Allen – Indianapolis Colts – at Detroit
17. Jermichael Finley – Green Bay Packers – vs. Minnesota
18. Marcedes Lewis – Jacksonville Jaguars – at Buffalo
19. Martellus Bennett – New York Giants – at Washington
20. Heath Miller – Pittsburgh Steelers – at Baltimore
21. Tony Moeaki – Kansas City Chiefs – vs. Carolina
22. Benjamin Watson – Cleveland Browns – at Oakland
23. Logan Paulson – Washington Redskins – vs. New York Giants
24. Brent Celek – Philadelphia Eagles – at Dallas
25. Scott Chandler – Buffalo Bills – vs. Jacksonville

Thoughts:

• The question when it comes to Owen Daniels is always his health and nothing more.  He has the talent and, in Week 13, he has a favorable matchup against the Titans (who have allowed eight touchdowns to opposing tight ends).  Tough to argue for using anyone else over him at this point.
• So much for Vernon Davis’ revival thanks to Colin Kaepernick, huh?  He was held without a reception in Week 12, making his Week 11 “breakout” look more like the aberration.  He has upside, but it’s hard to consider him as anything but a low-end TE 1 option (and a risky one at that).
• Over his past five games Jason Witten has posted 49 catches for 390 yards, though he has been held without a touchdown.  In fact, he has scored just one touchdown all season long (and that came back in Week 4).  You have to think that, eventually, he’ll accidentally find the end zone, wouldn’t you?  The Eagles appear to be in shambles, though he hasn’t actually scored a touchdown against them since Week 17 of 2010.  He’s a viable option, but the lack of touchdowns is going to limit his ranking for now.  If he had been scoring, he easily could’ve been the top choice.
• Without Rob Gronkowski, you have to think a healthy Aaron Hernandez will make an impact in Week 13.  Being able to play in Week 12, as well as having 10 days to prepare for the Dolphins, it’s easy to consider a Top 5 option.
• Brandon Myers was targeted six times (five receptions for 37 yards) in Week 12 and continues to be one of the most targeted tight ends in the league.  Those six targets were actually his fewest targets since Week 8.  In fact, in five of his previous six games he was targeted at least seven times (including three of at least 10).  It’s impossible not to like him as a TE1 at this point.
• Will Dwayne Allen continue to be the go to tight end option upon Coby Fleener’s expected return?  At this point it’s hard to think that he won’t, but time will tell.  With a favorable matchup against the Lions, he’s a solid TE2 (only due to the Fleener question).
• Dallas Clark continued to see his role in the Tampa Bay offense expand in Week 12, with four receptions for 65 yards.  He now has 11 receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown over the past two weeks.  Taking on a Broncos’ defense that has struggled stopping opposing tight ends this season, he has suddenly risen to borderline TE1 status for the coming week.
• If Charlie Batch is behind center once again, how can anyone trust any Steeler skill player?  Heath Miller generally would be a good option, but it’s impossible to consider him more than a TE2.

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Make sure to check out all of our Week 13 rankings:

• Top 25 Quarterbacks
• Top 40 Running Backs
• Top 15 Kickers