By Zack Cimini
notjustagame23@gmail.com

There were plenty of under the radar tight ends that had a larger fantasy role than anticipated week one. Other middle tier tight ends struggled such as Owen Daniels, rookie Lance Kendricks, etc. The rule of thumb is to not get overly jumpy to roam the waiver wire for a tight end. Sure, there may be a few that will break out of no where like Mercedes Lewis last year. Yet, if you waited to draft a tight end then you’ll have to ride out the averages. Here is a look at week two tight end rankings.

1. Antonio Gates
Gates continues to be a viable weekly double digit fantasy point producer. He will likely battle nagging injuries the rest of his career, but that hasn’t slowed him down yet. Facing the Patriots should electrify offensive numbers for numerous Chargers. Expect Gates to have a typical hundred yard outing and at least one touchdown.

2. Jermichael Finley
Finley was the forgotten weapon that makes this Packers team even more dangerous. Carolina’s secondary struggled last week vs. the Cardinals tight ends including Todd Heap. Finley will stretch the field and have a monster day vs. the Panthers.

3. Jason Witten
Witten had a productive first game against the Jets but failed to get in the end zone. He garners plenty of looks from Tony Romo which usually leads to a connection. Romo looks like he will rise to a tier one quarterback, which will pad Witten’s yearly average stats slightly more.

4. Dustin Keller
Last year the Jets were working in new receiver Santonio Holmes and dealing with the second year woes of Mark Sanchez. Towards the end of the 2010 season it seemed as if Sanchez finally got it. With Plaxico Burress in the mix, teams are going to have to pick their poison. Keller already has a natural chemistry with Sanchez. Keller’s matchup against the Jaguars has red zone opportunities written all over it, especially with the Jets struggling with the ground game.

5. Brandon Pettigrew
It’s scary how loaded the Detroit Lions truly are on both sides of the football. As long as Matthew Stafford can stay healthy, Pettigrew will easily finish in the top eight for fantasy tight ends. The Bills absolutely torched the Chiefs over the middle, as tight end Scott Chandler caught two touchdowns.

6. Dallas Clark
It’s rare to see Clark this low on any weekly tight end rankings. The fact of the matter is though that the Colts are lacking heart and a leader at the moment. With rumors circling that Collins may be benched, the free fall to an even worse quarterback appears to be likely. Garbage fantasy points late in games might be the most reliant fantasy numbers you’ll get from Clark.

7. Kellen Winslow
Tampa Bay has the most simplistic red zone offense, yet teams can’t stop the two targets that Josh Freeman throws to. It’s either Winslow or Mike Williams who corrals the touchdowns. With the turnover prone and stagnant Vikings there will plenty of short field opportunities for Winslow and company.

8. Vernon Davis
As bad as the 49ers offense was in week one versus Seattle, I won’t over react and drop Davis out of the top ten. Davis proved last year that he is now a weekly fantasy worthy tight end. Alex Smith may rank in the bottom tier of fantasy quarterbacks, but the one quality he does do is deliver the ball to Davis.

9. Jimmy Graham
Graham brings the extra element to the tight end position than Jeremy Shockey did just based on his athleticism. With the Saints having a few receivers dinged up expect Graham to shoot up the tight end charts.

10. Heath Miller
This is a non typical spot for Miller to be, but the Steelers are going to annihilate the Seahawks. Miller should get in the range of ten to twelve fantasy points this weekend.

11. Owen Daniels
12. Aaron Hernandez
13. Tony Gonzalez
14. Ed Dickson
15. Todd Heap
16. Rob Gronkowski
17. Mercedes Lewis
18. Anthony Fasano
19. Scott Chandler
20. Ben Watson
21. Jared Cook
22. Lance Kendricks
23. Visanthe Shiancoe
24. Zach Miller
25. Jermaine Gresham