The opening week of the NFL season was abysmal for tight ends across the board. Two backup tight ends, Isaiah Likely and Foster Moreau, led the position in scoring. Week 2 was a step in the right direction, with an actual fantasy-relevant tight end, George Kittle leading the way (thus far) in fantasy scoring.
Two young players also held their own in Week 3. Brock Bowers finished with a stat line of 9/98/0 as he quickly solidifies himself as the Raiders' complementary weapon to Davante Adams. Trey McBride had a strong outing as well, finishing the day with six receptions for 67 yards and a score. It seems that Kyler Murray, Marvin Harrison Jr., and McBride have something special cooking up in Arizona.
Looking to Week 3, we're hopeful that a couple of the elite TEs will have bounce-back performances. Sam LaPorta and Travis Kelce have yet to completely take over a game like we saw at times last year, but they still remain atop our rankings.
Be sure to check back here often, as we'll be regularly updating our rankings throughout the week.
WEEK 3 FANTASY PPR RANKINGS
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Fantasy TE Rankings Week 3: Who to start, sit at tight end
Rankings based on PPR scoring. These rankings were updated on Sept. 19 and will be updated throughout the week, so check back often.
Players who have already played are in italics.
| RANK | PLAYER NAME | TEAM | OPPONENT | CHANGE |
| 1 | Sam LaPorta | DET | at ARI | Down 1 |
| 2 | Travis Kelce | KC | at ATL | Down 1 |
| 3 | Trey McBride | ARI | vs. DET | Down 1 |
| 4 | Brock Bowers | LV | vs. CAR | Up 1 |
| 5 | Mark Andrews | BAL | at DAL | Up 1 |
| 6 | Jake Feguson | DAL | vs. BAL | NR |
| 7 | Hunter Henry | NE | at NYJ | Up 2 |
| 8 | Dalton Kincaid | BUF | vs. JAC | Up 2 |
| 9 | Kyle Pitts | ATL | vs. KC | Down 4 |
| 10 | Colby Parkinson | LAR | vs. SF | Up 1 |
| 11 | Isaiah Likely | BAL | at DAL | Up 2 |
| 12 | Mike Gesicki | CIN | vs. WAS | Up 12 |
| 13 | Dalton Schultz | HOU | at MIN | Down 1 |
| 14 | Dallas Goedert | PHI | at NO | Down 2 |
| 15 | Jonnu Smith | MIA | at SEA | Up 14 |
| 16 | Zach Ertz | WAS | at CIN | Down 1 |
| 17 | Pat Freiermuth | PIT | vs. LAC | Down 2 |
| 18 | Juwan Johnson | NO | vs. PHI | Up 2 |
| 19 | Eric Saubert | SF | at LAR | NR |
| 20 | Noah Fant | SEA | vs. MIA | Down 2 |
| 21 | Chigoziem Okonkwo | TEN | vs. GB | Down 2 |
| 22 | Greg Dulcich | DEN | at TB | Down 7 |
| 23 | Cole Kmet | CHI | at IND | Up 9 |
| 24 | Cade Otton | TB | vs. DEN | Down 3 |
| 25 | Tyler Conklin | NYJ | vs. NE | Down 3 |
| 26 | Tucker Kraft | GB | at TEN | Down 2 |
| 27 | Will Dissly | LAC | at PIT | Down 2 |
| 28 | Austin Hooper | NE | at NYJ | Down 2 |
| 29 | Luke Musgrave | GB | at TEN | Down 2 |
| 30 | Gerald Everett | CHI | at IND | |
| 31 | Ja'Tavion Sanders | CAR | at LV | |
| 32 | Daniel Bellinger | NYG | at CLE | |
| 33 | Johnny Mundt | MIN | vs. HOU | |
| 34 | Michael Mayer | LV | vs. CAR | |
| 35 | Kylen Granson | IND | vs. CHI | |
| 36 | Hayden Hurst | LAC | at PIT | |
| 37 | Dawson Knox | BUF | vs. JAC | |
| 38 | Josh Oliver | MIN | vs. HOU | |
| 39 | Theo Johnson | NYG | at CLE | |
| 40 | Ben Sinnott | WAS | at CIN |
Who are the best fantasy TEs Week 3?
The aforementioned Trey McBride is looking like he will be a staple in the top-5 tight end rankings as many had hoped. McBride had a 30-percent target share in Week 1 and followed it up with a 29-percent target share in Week 2. Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing is getting the most out of the young talent in Arizona, and they will need to keep things rolling in Week 3 against the Lions. McBride should continue to be a featured part of an ascending offense.
Our top five also includes last year's TE1 and TE3, Sam LaPorta and Travis Kelce. Neither have been particularly strong fantasy assets this season, but through just two games, it's difficult to be too pessimistic about their outlook. It's not time to hit the panic button just yet.
Who are the best fantasy TE waiver pickups Week 3?
The Patriots' offense is actually showing some signs of life with Jacoby Brissett under center. Rhamondre Stevenson was the star of the show in Week 1, with Hunter Henry starring in the second act in Week 2. Henry looked like his old Chargers self on Sunday, finishing with eight receptions for 109 yards. Lacking talent in the wide receiver room, Henry can become a key piece of New England's passing attack.
Moving from the current Patriots tight end to New England's former tight end, Mike Gesicki played a big role in Cincinnati's offense this week. Gesicki finished with 91 yards on seven receptions, making some quality plays for the offense. It's unlikely that Gesicki will maintain this sort of usage when Tee Higgins returns, but there are few tight ends who can earn nine targets in a game. He is worth a stash on TE-needy teams in deep leagues.
WEEK 3 DFS ADVICE
Best Values | TNF DFS Lineups | Top DFS Stacks | Main Slate DFS
Who are the best fantasy TE sleepers Week 3?
Jonnu Smith saw an expanded role in the Dolphins' Week 2 defeat to the Bills on Thursday Night Football. He ran a route on 69 percent of dropbacks, earning eight targets in the process. The Dolphins' offensive outlook takes a hit with Tua Tagovailoa sidelined. However, it doesn't take much to be fantasy-relevant at tight end, and Smith could compile his way to starter-level production in PPR leagues.
We're going to go right back to our waiver pickup Mike Gesicki as a Week 3 sleeper. He's another player who could compile his way to relevancy in PPR leagues. It also helps that the Washington secondary is chock full of Walmart greeters; they're only there to say hello as you pass them by. Gesicki could turn a favorable matchup into a strong fantasy performance.
WEEK 3 FANTASY ROSTER MANAGEMENT ADVICE
Buy Low, Sell High | Sleepers | Busts | Usage Report | Stock Watch | Start/Sit
What are the biggest TE injuries Week 3?
Thankfully, there were no significant injuries during Week 2 action. However, Evan Engram injured his hamstring during warmups before the Jaguars' game. He was unable to take the field following the injury. There is no certainty as to whether this will impact his Week 3 availability, making this a situation to monitor during practice this week.
The other two key injuries at tight end are carrying over from last week. Both David Njoku and Jake Ferguson were drafted to be starting tight ends in fantasy and were both injured when the Browns and Cowboys squared off in Week 1. Neither looked particularly close to taking the field in Week 2, so it wouldn't be shocking to see one, or both, miss time again in Week 3. Once again, these are both situations that fantasy managers should keep an eye on.
George Kittle did pop up on Thursday's injury report with a hamstring injury. Kittle had just moved into our No. 1 slot in this week's rankings, and with Deebo Samuel already out, this would be a big blow to the 49ers' offense. He was ruled out on Saturday, so he's been pulled out of the rankings, and his replacement, Eric Saubert, checks in at TE19.
Taysom Hill was also ruled out on Saturday. Though he's listed as a tight end, Juwan Johnson is more of the prototypical TE, but we did move Johnson up a couple of spots to TE18.