Fantasy football: Engram among four must-start tight ends in Week 7

MIAMI, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Evan Engram is among my four must-start fantasy football tight ends for Week 7. Mark Andrews tops my weekly Top 20 rankings for the position.

George Kittle, Travis Kelce, Engram and Zach Ertz join Andrews in the Top 5 of my weekly Top 20 rankings, which are listed below.

All of my must-start options are within the Top 14 of my rankings, which means they should be started in leagues with at least 14 teams that require starting tight ends.

Dallas Goedert, Dawson Knox, Irv Smith Jr. and Tyler Higbee are among the tight ends who should be benched, as the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams have Week 7 byes.

Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram (L) is among my favorite fantasy football starts for Week 7 due to a great matchup. File Photo by Joe Marino/UPI

Evan Engram

Engram is my No. 4 option this week as the Jacksonville Jaguars host his former team, the New York Giants.

The Giants allowed the fifth-most receiving yards per game and tied for allowing the third-most catches per game to tight ends through six weeks.

Look for Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence to spread the ball around and throw at least two passing scores in this matchup. Engram is likely to come down with one of those touchdown grabs.

Los Angeles Chargers tight end Gerald Everett (R) is among my must-start tight ends for Week 7 of the fantasy football season. File Photo by Mike Goulding/UPI

Gerald Everett

Everett is a Top 12 fantasy football tight end so far this season, on a points per game basis.

This week, his Los Angeles Chargers will face the Seattle Seahawks, who allowed the most fantasy points per game to tight ends through six weeks.

The Seahawks also allowed the most receiving yards per game and tied for allowing the third-most touchdown catches to the position.

I expect this matchup to be high-scoring, with Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith and Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert each providing stellar performances.

Look for Herbert to target Everett at least six times. The tight end also will get several scoring opportunities and could be utilized more due to injuries to several Chargers wide receivers.

Green Bay Packers tight end Robert Tonyan is worth a fantasy football start in Week 7, but only if your league requires starting the position. File Photo by Mark Black/UPI

Robert Tonyan

Tonyan is another player who could draw more targets this week due to injuries to wide receivers on his team's roster.

The Green Bay Packers tight end is a borderline TE1 so far this season, on a points per game basis, but is getting more involved in the offense as of late.

Tonyan totaled a season-high 12 targets for 10 catches and 90 yards in Week 6. He averaged more than six targets per game over his last four appearances.

This week, the Packers will face the Washington Commanders.

The Commanders are decent at defending tight ends, but I expect Tonyan to see enough targets to warrant streaming consideration.

He is my No. 10 option for Week 7, but likely needs a score to end the week in that range.h

Hayden Hurst

Hurst is my No. 12 play for Week 7. The Cincinnati Bengals tight end is another touchdown-or-bust fantasy football option, but should get a great shot at scoring against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday in Cincinnati.

The Falcons allowed just one touchdown, but also surrendered the third-most receiving yards (438) and second-most catches (42) to opposing tight ends through six weeks.

Bengals star Joe Burrow is my No. 1 fantasy football quarterback for Week 7. Look for Burrow to total at least 300 passing yards and three scores in this matchup.

One of those scores will likely go to Hurst when the Bengals reach the red zone.

Week 7 fantasy football tight end rankings

1. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens vs. CLE

2. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers vs. KC

3. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs at SF

4. Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. NYG

5. Zach Ertz, Arizona Cardinals vs. NO

6. David Njoku, Cleveland Browns at BAL

7. Gerald Everett, Los Angeles Chargers vs. SEA

8. Darren Waller, Las Vegas Raiders vs. HOU

9. T.J. Hockenson, Detroit Lions at DAL

10. Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packers at WAS

11. Mike Gesicki, Miami Dolphins vs. PIT

12. Hayden Hurst, Cincinnati Bengals vs. ATL

13. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons at CIN

14. Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints at ARI

15. Austin Hooper, Tennessee Titans vs. IND

16. Hunter Henry, New England Patriots vs. CHI

17. Noah Fant, Seattle Seahawks at LAC

18. Tyler Conklin, New York Jets at DEN

19. Jordan Akins, Houston Texans at LV

20. Daniel Bellinger, New York Giants at JAX