Week 10 brings us back to tight ends for the column this week. The tight end position is extremely thin, especially now that George Kittle went down with an injury and will likely miss the remainder of the season. That being said, there are still tight ends worthy of a spot in your roster, and we will debate between Evan Engram and Rob Gronkowski.
Brody:
Engram started the season slow and did not live up to his draft day expectations. However, in recent weeks the Giant’s tight end has picked up his production. In Week 7, Engram registered nine targets and collected 10 more in Week 8. While he managed only six and five receptions, respectively, his increased involvement in the offense is encouraging.
Engram has the talent and athleticism to be a top 10 fantasy tight end. This year, partly due to New York’s offensive struggles, Engram has yet to have a truly dominant performance. But, he is trending in the right direction.
The tight end position is extremely volatile, and now the second-best tight end in fantasy (Kittle) is out. That means that fantasy managers will have to dig even further into the tight end pool for a starter, and Engram is a guy that is worthy of that starting spot.
This week against Philadelphia, Engram draws a favorable matchup. The Eagles rank 25th in fantasy against tight ends. With an increased role in the offense and the talent to explode at any time combined with the matchup, Engram has the chance to finally have that breakout game this week and I think he will.
The Eagles are stout up front, and the Giants struggle to run the ball. Darius Slay will likely reduce Darius Slayton’s role in the Giants’ offense, meaning that Daniel Jones will have to throw to someone else, and I believe that that will be Evan Engram.
Gronkowski has scored in three straight games entering Week 9. In Week 10, he plays the Panthers, a top-12 defense against tight ends. The star tight end is a fantasy starter, but I would temper expectations for him this week. His floor might be higher than Engram’s, but Engram has the higher ceiling. I’m playing Engram this week and banking on this being his breakout game.
Two players who will boom this week:
- James Robinson-He plays the Packers. They rank last against running backs.
- Mike Williams-The classic boom or bust player, Williams gets Miami this week. Bryon Jones will likely shadow Keenan Allen, and Justin Herbert has to throw to someone. Williams has a big game.
Two players who will bust this week:
- Adam Thielen-The Bears allow the fewest touchdown passes in the league and are phenomenal against receivers. Thielen will struggle, Dalvin Cook will feast.
- Josh Jacobs-Denver excels against the run, and Jacobs has been inconsistent this year. This is another down game for the Raider’s back.
Austin:
While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have developed into a full sound team on both sides of the ball, they have dealt with injures but that hasn’t stopped the Brady to Gronk connection. In weeks six through eight Gronk had an average of four receptions and 40 yards and a touchdown in all three weeks. His role will continue to be a go to factor for Brady especially given their connection from New England.
While Tampa Bay has many offensive weapons, this will not halt Gronk’s value due to him being Tom Brady’s big go to in crunch time. As we all know Brady and Gronk are arguably the best quarterback/tight-end duo to ever play together. Brady is always looking to get Gronk the ball with extreme confidence and in a tough game against the Panthers he will lean on his old reliable friend.
Not only is George Kittle out with injuries but this is Travis Kelce’s bye week with Kansas City. Darren Waller can’t be trusted in Vegas against the Broncos and not many other tight ends draw appeals to start in a tough week for match ups.
While Carolina is ranked 11 in covering tight ends, I find it tough for them to utilize their defense as they not only have to deal with Tampa’s running game with Fournette and Jones, but the receiving core of Mike Evans, Antonio Brown, and Chris Godwin. There just simply aren’t enough bodies on the Panthers defense to withstand the fire power the Buccaneers have and with Brady under center it only spells trouble for the Panthers.
The Giants have just been struck with the bug that is 2020 and only went downhill, the organization has started losing hope in Daniel Jones and without much help the offense is not there. Evan Engram is talented no doubt however one man simply cannot run the horrendous Giants offense, Barkley tried and he’s been hurt multiple seasons.
In this tough week for the tight end position my gut says to trust in Gronk and the high-power Tampa Bay offense instead of Engram and praying he doesn’t end up on injured list like his teammate.
Two players who will boom this week:
- David Montgomery – In a tough divisional game against the Vikings Montgomery should see huge numbers.
- JuJu Smith-Schuster – As the Steelers rally behind that amazing defense in 2020 their offense only shows signs of picking up and JuJu plays up to the hype.
Two players who will bust this week:
- Any Cincinati Receivers – This is a bold claim, but I believe that the Steelers defense is just too good, and they will have a field day.
- Derek Carr – With the Broncos finding their place on defense, Carr has struggled all year and has little help.