Conference Championship TE Fantasy Football Rankings Led by Henry and Parkinson
Analyzing matchups, targets, and risk for Conference Championship fantasy football tight ends.
We are halfway through our fantasy football rankings for the Conference Championship Games. Let's knock off another position by looking over tight ends here.
We looked at quarterbacks and running backs already, and will cover wide receivers in a story to come, so check back for that. Also be sure to look at our story on fantasy matchups, and come back later in the week for a story on projections, plus more start/sit analysis.
Use the FantasySP start/sit tool to help determine the best options for the Conference Championships.
1. Hunter Henry
Henry is my top fantasy tight end for the upcoming round. Spoiler alert, but I don't really love any of the tight end options this week.
Henry has a good matchup against Denver, who allied 15 fantasy points per game to tight ends this season. That comes out as the second-best fantasy matchup for the week.
Henry is easily the top New England tight end, but he is coming off a down showing. He had a five-yard catch across two targets last week.
He went for 64 yards and a score across three catches and five targets in the first playoff game the Pats played. So I'm hoping for something like that this week.
I don't have a ton of confidence in Henry after last week, but the matchup says to try him.
Parkinson is the top Los Angeles tight end going into the conference title game. He and his TE teammates have the best matchup of the week.
Seattle also allowed tight ends to score 15 fantasy points per game this season. Parkinson had 14 yards and a score across two catches and three targets in the first meeting against Seattle this regular season. Parkinson had 21 yards on two grabs and four targets in the second game.
The matchup says to believe in Parkinson this week, and I gave him the No. 2 ranking as a result. He could deliver a line similar to last week, but that might be enough for the No. 2 fantasy finish among tight ends, if not the top spot.
3. AJ Barner
Barner is the top Seattle tight end, and only one I'm going to mention in these rankings.
His clash against the Rams is just below average overall. LA allowed 13 fantasy points per game to tight ends. That's actually the toughest fantasy matchup a tight end has, so tight ends are set up pretty well overall.
Barner had 70 receiving yards on 10 catches and 11 targets in the first game against LA this regular season. He then went for 49 yards and a score across four catches and six targets in the second game.
Barner could be a sneaky-good fantasy asset this week, but I'm also not super confident in him. He didn't catch a pass, and wasn't even targeted in the team's only playoff game so far.
Ferguson only had one catch last week for LA, but he was targeted five times, so I'm gambling on him at the No. 4 TE ranking.
He didn't do anything in the first regular season tilt against Seattle, but he managed 33 yards on three grabs and four targets in the second game. A repeat of that last showing against the Seahawks could be good enough for the No. 4 fantasy TE finish this week.
Again, he's not a very confident fantasy starting option, but with limited options, I have him as a higher-end asset.
5. Evan Engram
Engram is the top tight end in Denver, or so the depth chart says. He had an underwhelming season, and didn't do much in the team's first postseason game last week.
Engram was targeted three times at least, but he only caught one for a seven-yard gain. Engram has three or more targets in his past five contests, so that's something at least.
His matchup against the Patriots is as average a fantasy test as a TE could have. New England allowed 13 fantasy points per game to TEs this season.
Engram could surprise, but it'd likely take a touchdown to get there. With Bo Nix not starting, I'm not high on many Denver pass catchers, and especially not a sparsely-used tight end.
We are digging deep to point out a few more fantasy tight ends. Let's put Hooper, the Patriots' No. 2 TE, at No. 6 in the rankings.
He had a 14-yard catch across two targets this past week. Hooper was also targeted twice in the first New England playoff game.
In a good matchup, maybe Hooper could deliver a few fantasy points for those in really deep fantasy/DFS setups.
7. Tyler Higbee
Higbee only played eight offensive snaps last week, so I decided to rank him at No. 7.
He had two targets in that game still, catching one for a 27-yard gain. Higbee had 45 yards across two catches and targets in the first LA playoff game.
Higbee only faced Seattle once this season, catching a 23-yard pass across two targets.
Maybe he could post a couple fantasy points with a catch or two in a favorable matchup.
I decided to mention Trautman, and he will cap my rankings here.
He had two targets last week, not catching either. Trautman led Denver tight ends in snaps, so I felt like he deserved a mention.
With Jarrett Stidham back there instead of Nix, maybe Denver utilizes its tight ends more. Trautman could surprise with a couple grabs if that happens, but he's still not a very good fantasy option.
