Koerner’s Week 6 Fantasy Football TE Tiers: Why Zach Ertz Remains Criminally Underrated

Below you’ll find my tight end tiers for Week 6 fantasy football. These are based on standard scoring.

As a reminder, these tiers are not updated after publication. If you want my most up-to-date rankings for PPR, Standard and Half-Point PPR leagues, check out this post.

And, yes, my tiers will be part of our Action Network subscription this season. Be sure to check out everything that comes with a sub here.

Koerner's Tight End Tiers

Tier 1
Travis Kelce (@ NE)

Kelce’s stock is on the rise while Gronk’s is on the decline. For now, Kelce has Tier 1 all to himself. Getting to see these top-two TEs face off head-to-head this week is going to be fun. I’m giving the slight edge to Kelce in this matchup.

Tier 2
Zach Ertz (@ NYG)
Rob Gronkowski (vs. KC)

Ertz has typically been No. 3 among this top-three tight end Tier, but recent form has him barely sneaking past Gronk this week. One of the most underrated assets in all of fantasy, Ertz brings consistency and stability to a position that is extremely volatile. He has four straight games of 70+ yards and two straight 100-plus-yard games.

Tier 3
Jared Cook (vs. SEA)
Jimmy Graham (vs. SF)
Jordan Reed (vs. CAR)
George Kittle (@ GB)

This is the only Tier that separates the top three and what I would consider borderline TE streamers. All four TEs make great Week 6 plays.

Cook is going to be inconsistent, but he has so much upside at such a weak position that you have to roll with him through the bad times in order to benefit from the good.

Starting some FA such as Austin Hooper, who had a big Week 5, over Cook is going to get you into the whack-a-mole mentality I have been urging you to avoid.

Tier 4
Cameron Brate (@ ATL)
Eric Ebron (@ NYJ)

This Tier is entirely dependent on the health of Brate and Ebron’s teammates.

O.J. Howard was expected to miss a couple weeks, but he surprisingly practiced on Wednesday. This puts him on track to possibly play this week and would drop Brate a few Tiers. If Howard ends up missing Week 6, this is right about where I will have Brate ranked.

Ebron has thrived with Jack Doyle out of the lineup. There is a chance Doyle returns this week, which would lower expectations for Ebron. It’s also worth noting that T.Y. Hilton’s status will also affect Ebron’s ranking this week.

Be sure to check my updated rankings after we have a better idea on their health and before you make any sit/start decisions.

Tier 5
Kyle Rudolph (vs. ARI)
Trey Burton (@ MIA)
David Njoku (vs. LAC)
Austin Hooper (vs. TB)
Vance McDonald (@ CIN)

Njoku’s stock has been rising ever since Baker Mayfield took over as the Browns starting QB. He’s worth keeping as an every-week TE1 in hopes that he breaks out soon.

Tier 6
C.J. Uzomah (vs. PIT)
Nick Vannett (@ OAK)
Jack Doyle (@ NYJ)
Greg Olsen (@ WAS)

Olsen is tentatively expected to return Week 6. It will be very tempting to insert him into lineups, but I would be cautious and let him play for a week on my bench before we can feel comfortable with him. We should get a better sense on what to expect from him later this week.

Tier 7
Ricky Seals-Jones (@ MIN)
Geoff Swaim (vs. JAX)
Ryan Griffin (vs. BUF)
Jeff Heuerman (vs. LAR)
Niles Paul (@ DAL)

Niles Paul joins this dart-throw TE streamer Tier after Austin Seferian-Jenkins was placed on IR. He is a pass-catching TE who could become one of Bortles’ preferred targets the rest of the season and definitely a name to watch in TE premium leagues.