It’s Week 11 fantasy football and so here are my tight end rankings for the week!

We’re just going to get right in to a few comments about particular players, and a few suggestions for waiver wire pickups this week.

Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

I feel silly even adding ‘Kansas City Chiefs’ after Travis Kelce’s name because if you’re reading this and you’re not my mom (hi mom), you know who Travis Kelce is. But, I do want to take a minute to recognize just how dominant a force Kelce is and has been as a tight end. As well, let’s take a minute to recognize how amazing the Chiefs offense is in general. During these ‘hard times’ in Kansas City, Kelce remained the TE1 through nine weeks. Patrick Mahomes was having, by far, the worst stretch of his career and he remained in the top-5 at QB. So, let’s use this moment to remember a few fundamentals of fantasy.

Teams and players generally go through ups and downs throughout the season. With Kansas City, there was no real structural explanation for why they were struggling, meaning, they hadn’t lost their QB or had big offensive line injuries, or even just all of a sudden become the worst defense in the NFL. The big change, from what I’ve seen, is that they are not hitting as many huge-huge shot plays, a big part of the offense. Through these ‘hard times’, the Chiefs were still around a .500 team, still had Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Tyreek Hill with Andy Reid at the helm.

Now I don’t want over-react to the Chiefs big win over a Raiders side that IS going through some key structural changes, but I want to use this moment to remind myself as much as everyone else that few bad games does not make a bad season. While we should be open to moving players who are under-performing and still carry a lot of name cache, we should also remain open to being patient and betting on talent to win out in the end. So, obviously, be patient but not too patient. Easy, right?

George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

I might as well write about another no-brainer, very much with trade deadlines fast approaching. Kittle is back and back to his top form after missing a few games with injury. Kyle Shanahan is committed to Jimmy Garoppolo, and this is going to give Kittle steady opportunity albeit with a less than stellar upside.

If you hit on your backup for Kittle—say you picked up Pat Freiermuth or Dan Arnold—don’t be afraid to move Kittle after his two big games if you need help elsewhere. With all the movement at running back, with receivers like Michael Pittman and Elijah Moore available at reasonable prices, take this chance to build that bully of a team that can not just get you to the playoffs but get you a championship.

Tyler Conklin, Minnesota Vikings

Conklin is only rostered in about 38% of CBS leagues, and the young TE is coming really coming on lately. In the past, the Vikings offense has produced fantasy-worthy tight ends, and we’re beginning to see Cousins involve Conklin regularly. If you’re TE is letting you down, Conklin is worth a shot.

Gerald Everett, Seattle Seahawks

Full disclosure, I touted Gerald Everett so hard as a sleeper tight end at the beginning of the year. I also have a hard time giving up on guys. Having said that… Everett is basically unrostered and had another good week with Russell Wilson back under center, so… worth a shot, right?

Week 11 Tight End Rankings