Fantasy football: Week 6 tight end rankings

Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Our Week 6 fantasy football tight end rankings are topped with a familiar face.

Yes, New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski leads this pack into the week's action.

But other big names like Jimmy Graham, Charles Clay and Jason Witten are going to be sitting at home with bye weeks.

That means some other names will shoot up the weekly tight end rankings due to a more shallow pool.

Some of the players I like as possible streamers include Ed Dickson, Ryan Griffin and Zach Miller.

If you own one of the players on a bye and don't have a backup, get ready to pull the trigger on your waiver wire. Here are my top players to add and top players to drop for Week 6.

Here are my Top 20 options at the position this week.

TOP 20 WEEK 6 RANKINGS BELOW

TOP SHELF

Martellus Bennet and the Green Bay Packers are coming off of a huge Week 5 win and will be tested again by facing the NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings on the road. The Vikings are allowing the eighth-most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends. Bennett has nine of his 31 targets this season in his last two appearances. I'm expecting a lot more looks this weekend against the Vikings in a game I believe the Packers win.

Veteran pass catcher Benjamin Watson and the Baltimore Ravens host the Chicago Bears on Sunday. This year the Bears have allowed the 11th most receiving yards to the position. Chicago has allowed six receptions to tight ends in back-to-back games. Despite last week's two catch for two yards debacle, I'm not scared of starting Watson again as a TE1 this week in this matchup.

SNEAKY PLAYS

Expect to see Evan Engram as a reliable TE1 for the remainder of the season. He is one of Eli Manning's only remaining options in this passing game after the losses of Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall. This week I have the rookie ranked No. 10 against the Denver Broncos. This typically revered defense is allowing the seventh-most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends. Engram ranks No. 5 among tight ends with 34 targets on the season. Expect a load of looks from Manning to Engram in this one.

Atlanta Falcons tight end Austin Hooper is a fringe TE1 this weekend against the Miami Dolphins. I fully expect the Falcons to dominate this home game and Matt Ryan to carve up this secondary. This year the Dolphins are allowing the ninth-most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends. Hooper had a season-high five receptions in the Falcons' Week 4 loss to the Buffalo Bills. I expect the Dolphins to attempt to emulate Buffalo's strategy to stop this passing attack and Hooper will see a similar target total. Miami allowed three tight ends to get involved in its win last weekend against the Tennessee Titans and watched Phillip Supernaw score a touchdown. I'm taking the talent here with this streaming play.

LONGSHOTS

If you are looking for a jolt and a shot at a touchdown, take a look at Houston Texans tight end Ryan Griffin. The better Deshaun Watson plays, the more the Texans' targets should see an uptick in fantasy football value. This weekend should prove that point for Grffin, who faces a Cleveland Browns defense allowing the most fantasy points per game, most touchdowns, most targets, most receptions and the fifth-most receiving yards to opposing tight ends. Griffin is my No. 18 tight end for Week 6, but he is definitely capable of filling in for your bye week blues.

Chicago Bears tight end Zach Miller travels to battle the Baltimore Ravens this weekend. The Ravens are allowing the sixth-most fantasy points and second most touchdowns to opposing tight ends in 2017. Miller scored his first touchdown of the season in Week 6 against the Vikings. He is a look-and-hope-for-a-touchdown-play in this matchup and comes in at No. 19 for me. Miller at baltimore

Week 6 Tight End Rankings