2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends

Tier 1

• Dallas Clark, Indianapolis

• Antonio Gates, San Diego

Clark is by far the #1 TE in fantasy football. The only real concern about him are concussions, he has stated if he has another serious one, he could up and retire, and that his family is more important than, a game. I don’t blame him. Gates if the #1 TE for the first 3 weeks that Jackson is out, he automatically becomes the #1 option in a pass heavy offense, after that he reverts to #2.

Tier 2

• Vernon Davis, San Francisco

• Jason Witten, Dallas

• Jermichael Finley, Green Bay

• Brent Celek, Philadelphia

• Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta

Davis experience a breakout year last season, he was the #1 option for an up and coming Alex Smith, he should experience similar numbers this year, I wouldn’t expect all the TDs though. Witten had a bit of a down year last season; he came in the #1 TE and really fell, but still remains an elite option. If Driver loses efficiency, Finley becomes an elite tier 1 TE. I have faith in Celek’s game even with Kolb. I’m waiting for the year we see Gonzos numbers plummet due to age, this could be the year.

Tier 3

• Owen Daniels, Houston

• Chris Cooley, Washington

• Zach Miller, Oakland

• John Carlson, Seattle

• Heath Miller, Pittsburgh

The only reason Daniels is not a tier 2 TE is because he’s coming back from a major injury. Cooley and Miller both received HUGE upgrades at QB, and could end up at tier 2 themselves. Carlson is a big candidate for a breakout season. Heath Miller’s value skyrockets once Ben comes back.

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Tier 4

• Kellen Winslow, Tampa Bay

• Kevin Boss, New York(Giants)

• Fred Davis, Washington

• Jeremy Shockey, New Orleans

• Dustin Keller, New York(Jets)

• Tony Scheffler, Detroit

• Bo Scaife, Tennessee

• Greg Olsen, Chicago

• Visanthe Shiancoe, Minnesota

Winslow should continue to be his usual half way disappointing self. If a Giants WR goes down Boss’ value jumps up a little, otherwise he remains a borderline TE starter in deep leagues. Fred Davis is the only thing keeping Cooley from being an elite TE. If only NO didn’t have 800 WR to throw to, is all I can say about Shockey. I like Keller, even more with Sanchez. I’m not much on anyone other than Johnson from the Titans offense. Olsen would be the first TE in a Martz system to be relevant. Shiancoe goes from an every week starter to a bench or undrafted TE without Favre.

Tier 5

• Daniel Fells, St. Louis

• Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati

• Ben Watson, Cleveland

• Rob Gronkowski, New England

• Todd Heap, Baltimore

• Mercedes Lewis, Jacksonville

• Ben Patrick, Arizona

• Anthony Fasano, Miami

• Jimmy Graham. New Orleans

• Brandon Pettigrew, Detroit

• Dante Rosario, Carolina

• Ed Dickson, Baltimore

• Aaron Hernandez, New England

I don’t think any of these guys will be relevant, but I felt the need to cover my tracks.

By Patrick Ruschmeyer
ProFootball-fans.com Fantasy Football Director of Content