RADIO
The tight end can be a maddening position in fantasy football, because Rob Gronkowski is basically the only one expected to have a big game every week. There are a few others who are classified as second-tier tight ends, but none of them produce the kind of numbers that knock it out of the park. Still, a tight end must be started every week, and there are a few who have the ability to do some damage on Sunday.
Even without the monster numbers to back it up, Delanie Walker has been a focal point of the Tennessee Titans offense. Now, that offense isn’t very good, but Walker has proved to be the most reliable part of it.
Walker ranks 12th among tight ends in standard scoring leagues with 6.6 fantasy points per game. In five of the games he’s played this season, only two of them have resulted in fewer than seven receptions. He’s caught 26 passes over his last four games and remains a safety blanket for whoever is under center in Tennessee.
In San Diego, Ladarius Green has served as an excellent replacement for Antonio Gates, and helped to reassure the Chargers that he will make a solid permanent replacement once Gates hangs up his cleats. Green has scored a touchdown in three of his last four games and has averaged 10 fantasy points per game over those four games.
With Gates expected to miss another week and Philip Rivers averaging 390 yards per game over the last month, look for Green to rack up more points against a depleted Baltimore secondary.
Gary Barnidge has been the most surprising tight end of the season. The Cleveland Browns haven’t had much to cheer for this year, but the emergence of Barnidge as a solid receiving option has been one of them.
Even though the Browns are in for a tough matchup with the Arizona Cardinals this week, Barnidge remains a must-start play. He’s scored double-digit fantasy points in five straight weeks and is averaging about six catches per game in that span. It’s tough to justify benching a guy who’s scored at least 10 points five weeks in a row.
