LestersLegends.com » Playoff Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings


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Here’s a look at the LestersLegends’ Super Bowl XLVII fantasy football tight end rankings.
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1. Vernon Davis, San Francisco 49ers
Davis was a forgotten man for most of the regular season, but stepped up his game in the NFC Championship against the Atlanta Falcons. Davis hauled in five of his six targets for 106 yards and a touchdown. His size and speed combination is a nightmare to deal with when he’s an active part of the game plan.
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2. Dennis Pitta, Baltimore Ravens
Pitta doesn’t have the upside that Davis does, but he is the more reliable option. He averaged 45.7 yards in the three playoff wins, but he scored in two of the three games. Going back to last year, he has scored in three of his past four playoff games. Pitta has seven touchdowns in his past 11 games. He’s a significant red zone threat.
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3. Delanie Walker, San Francisco 49ers
Walker finished the season as the preferred tight end target for Colin Kaepernick, but has been quiet during the playoffs. Walker caught just one pass in each game for a total of 37 yards. It is certainly possible that he will re-emerge in the passing game, but it’s a bit of a risk.
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4. Ed Dickson, Baltimore Ravens
Dickson combined for 53 yards in the Ravens’ first two playoff wins, but was not targeted against the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship. He’s not a good option for the Super Bowl.
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Super Bowl XLVII logo


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Here are the Lester’s Legends tight end rankings for the  the AFC & NFC Conference Championship Games of the 2012-13 NFL Playoffs.
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1.  Aaron Hernandez, New England Patriots
Aaron Hernandez caught six passes for 85 yards last week. With Rob Gronkowski down, the Patriots will lean heavily on Hernandez. He missed the first meeeting with the Baltimore Ravens, but should be a focal point in the AFC title game.
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2. Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta Falcons
Gonzo won his first career playoff game. He caught six passes for 51 yards and a touchdown along the way. The San Francisco 49ers allowed eight tight end touchdowns during the season.
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3. Dennis Pitta, Baltimore Ravens
Pitta caught three passes for 55 yards against the Denver Broncos. He scored a touchdown in the Wild Card win over the Indianapolis Colts. He’ll be leaned on heavily against the Patriots. He had 50 yards and a touchdown against them in Week 3 and 41 yards and a touchdown against them in last year’s AFC title game.
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4. Vernon Davis, San Francisco 49ers
Davis and Delanie Walker were each targeted five times in the Divisional Round. They each caught one pass. Davis went for 44 yards. While Walker has been more productive down the stretch, Davis still has more upside. Davis has more upside while Walker is probably the safer play.
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5. Delanie Walker, San Francisco 49ers
See Davis, Vernon.
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6. Ed Dickson, Baltimore Ravens
Dickson has started to see a little more work of late, but he’s typically the sixth option for the Ravens in the passing game.
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Here are the Lester’s Legends fantasy football tight end rankings for the Wild Card Round.
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1.  Jermichael Finley, Green Bay Packers
Finley finished strong, averaging 56.6 yards in his past six games. He averaged 66 yards in two games against the Minnesota Vikings. He is averaging 68 yards with two touchdowns in five career games against the Vikes.
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2. Dennis Pitta, Baltimore Ravens
Pitta scored five touchdowns during Weeks 10-16. He averaged 75.7 yards and a touchdown during Weeks 14-16.
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3. Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals
Gresham’s 737 yards were the most among the tight ends playing in the Wild Card Round.
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4. Owen Daniels, Houston Texans
Daniels struggled down the stretch, but finished with the second most yards (716) of the Wild Card tight ends.
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5. Kyle Rudloph, Minnesota Vikings
Rudolph’s nine touchdowns are the most of the Wild Card tight ends. He had just 20 yards in Week 17 against the Packers, but had 55 yards and a score in the first meeting.
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6. Zach Miller, Seattle Seahawks
Miller averaged 22 yards with two touchdowns in his last four games. He’s a decent option against a weak Redskins secondary.
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7. Dwayne Allen, Indianapolis Colts
Allen and Coby Fleener give the Colts two solid tight ends. Unfortunately there isn’t enough for either to be reliable fantasy options.
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8. Coby Fleener, Indianapolis Colts
Fleener scored last week, giving him two touchdowns in the past five game. He hasn’t had multiple receptions since Week 8.
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9. Logan Paulsen, Washington Redskins
Paulsen had just two receptions for 14 yards in the last two games of the year. He’s not a quality option.
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Here are the Super Bowl XLVI Lester’s Legends fantasy football tight end rankings.
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Rob Gronkowski is a bit of a concern because of his high ankle sprain.  He was able to return to the AFC Championship game, and had an extra week to  heal. He built on his monster season with 15 catches for 232 yards and three TDs in two playoff games. This really is a choice, on paper anyway, between the two Patriots’ tight ends. Personally, I would go with the record-setter.
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Aaron Hernandez may not have the production of Gronk, but he is nothing to sneeze at. He has 11 catches for 121 yards and a TD. He has also ran for 70 yards. He finished with 79 catches for 910 yards and seven TDs on the year. If you fear Gronk’s ankle, Hernandez is the safe choice for Super Bowl XLVI.
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If you opted to load up elsewhere, Jake Ballard is still a pretty decent option (assuming his knee is healthy enough to go). He finished the season with 38 catches for 604 yards and four TDs.
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Travis Beckum‘s value depends on whether or not Ballard is able to give it a go. If Ballard can’t go Beckum is a low-end option. He has seven catches for 45 yards in the playoffs. If Ballard does play, then Beckum is a complete roll of the dice, hoping he can snag a touchdown. New England’s tight ends are obviously the preference.
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Here are the Lester’s Legends tight end rankings for the Conference Championship round of the NFL Playoffs.
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1.  Rob Gronkowksi vs. Baltimore Ravens:  What a stunning display. After shattering the NFL record with 17 TD passes in the regular season (plus one rushing score) he goes out and catches three in a playoff game. Gronk appears to be unguardable right now. His combination of size, speed, and hands are too much. Plus, Brady and Belichick know how to use him perfectly.
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2.  Vernon Davis vs. New York Giants:  The dude turned in one sick performance catching seven passes for 180 yards and two scores. He has the size and speed thing going for him as well. Makes him a real tough cover. The Giants do a good job against tight ends, but Davis is the primary target for Alex Smith and Harbaugh will look for ways to get him the ball.
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3.  Aaron Hernandez vs. Baltimore Ravens:  The Patriots are very creative in getting Hernandez the ball. He lined up at halfback and picked up 61 yards on five carries against he Broncos. He also caught four passes for 55 yards and a score. He’d be a star if he was on a different team (or if Gronk wasn’t around), but he’s still a top two or three option this week.
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4.  Jake Ballard @ San Francisco 49ers:  Ballard may have caught just one pass for 17 yards, but it wasn’t from a lack of looks. He saw eight targets last week and is a good bet to show improvement in the NFC title game.
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5.  Dennis Pitta @ New England Patriots:  It’s really a coin toss to see who will have a better game between Pitta and Ed Dickson. Pitta has been better of late so I’ll choose him this week.
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6.  Ed Dickson @ New England Patriots:  Had just one catch for 14 yards and two catches combined over the past two games. He could break out, but the odds aren’t great.
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7.  Travis Beckum @ San Francisco 49ers:  Caught a pair of passes for 22 yards
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Here are the Lester’s Legends tight end rankings for the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs.
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1.  Rob Gronkowski vs. Denver Broncos:  Just got finished having the best season a tight end has even had in NFL history.
2.  Jimmy Graham @ San Francisco 49ers:  Graham is darn close to Gronk, and that is saying a ton. Almost always leads the Saints in targets. When Brees is looking for you that frequently, particularly in the red zone, you’re a great bet.
3.  Aaron Hernandez vs.  Denver Broncos:  Picked apart Denver for nine catches for 129 yards and a score last time. With as much attention as Gronk and Welker get, Hernandez could be the poison that Denver picks.
4. Vernon Davis vs. New Orleans Saints:  Averaged 81.3 yards in his past three games. The Niners are going to have to air it out more than usual against the Saints.
5.   Jermichael Finley @ New York Giants:  His speed and size make him a tough cover.
6.  Jake Ballard vs. Green Bay Packers:  He didn’t do much (two catches, 16 yards), but he’s healthy. He had three catches for 47 yards in the first meeting with Green Bay.
7.  Ed Dickson vs. Houston:  Just a hunch, but Dennis Pitta was the guy in Week 17 so it’s Dickson’s turn.
8.  Joel Dreessen @ Baltimore:  With Owen Daniels suffering a broken hand last week I would roll with Dreessen given the choice between the Texans’ TEs. I don’t really like either as Joel didn’t catch a pass last week.
9.  Daniel Fells @ New England:  Had 57 yards last week, but is not a huge part of the game plan other than blocking.
10.  Owen Daniels @ Baltimore:  He’s going to try to play through the broken hand, but that concerns me too much to even consider using Daniels.
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Here is the Lester’s Legends fantasy football tight end rankings for the Wild Card Round.
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1.  Jimmy Graham vs. Detroit Lions:  With 1310 yards and 11 TDs there isn’t even another consideration for the top slot this week.
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2.  Brandon Pettigrew @ New Orleans:  Pettigrew is averaging 75.5 yards and 0.5 TDs in his past four games.
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3.  Tony Gonzalez @ New York Giants:  Gonzo put together another strong season finishing with 875 yards and seven TDs. He has taken a major step back in recent weeks though.
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4.  Jermaine Gresham @ Houston Texans:  Has ten catches for 128 yards in his past two games.
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5.  Tony Scheffler @ New Orleans:  Scheffler has 112 yards in his past two games. It’s going to be all hands on deck for the Lions.
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6.  Heath Miller @ Denver Broncos:  He’s been quiet in recent weeks averaging 33.5 yards in his past four games. He has the ability if he’s given the opportunity.
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7.  Owen Daniels vs. Cincinnati:  Only has three catches in the past two games, but Andre Johnson could open things up for him.
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8.  Jake Ballard vs. Atlanta Falcons:  Ballard is going to try to give it a go. I just can’t trust him.
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