Just when you thought your team was in the clear, the lot of Jordan Cameron, Kyle Rudolph, and Greg Olsen all hit their byes this week. Fortunately, there are once again a few fortuitous matchups to take advantage of while your TE1 takes the week off.
Antonio Gates returns Monday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers and will immediately be thrust back into the offense, Though Ladarius Green has filled in quite nicely (14 receptions for 174 yards and two touchdowns), one of two things is bound to happen. Either Green will have his role only slightly reduced, falling from the Top 12 to the meddling 20-plus range, or he'll become obsolete. Un-steroided Gates remains the optimal red zone target and guy you want if holding a tight end in that offense.
Charles Clay has also seen his number called as of late, piecing together back-to-back games of at least 11 fantasy points scored (even more if you roster him in PPR formats). Now considered to be the focal point of their passing offense (especially with Sammy Watkins currently out of the mix), Clay could not only be used with confidence this week against the Tennessee Titans, but potentially remain on rosters as a Top 5 tight end given one more immense showing.
For the Cleveland Browns, Gary Barnidge has been fun (and is still probably a character in Spongebob), but will most likely see his recent success come to a screeching halt this Sunday. The Baltimore Ravens have allowed the fewest fantasy points to opposing tight ends, limiting the opposition to less than one point per game (!!!).
Oh, and the ultimate bye-week streamer? That's easy. Owen Daniels ... come on down! You're the next contestant on "The Oakland Raiders defense makes everything right!!"
| Week | Player | Receptions | Yards | TD |
| 1 | Tyler Eifert | 9 | 104 | 2 |
| 2 | Crockett Gilmore | 5 | 88 | 2 |
| 3 | Gary Barnidge | 6 | 105 | 1 |
| 4 | Martellus Bennett | 11 | 83 | 1 |
| 5 | Owen Daniels | ∞ | ∞ | ∞ |
Tight end rankings, Week 5
(DK: Daniel Kelley; DC: Dan Ciarrocchi; AM: Andrew Miller; JD: John Daigle; SK: Scott Kaliska)
| Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp. | DK | AM | JD | SK |
| 1 | Rob Gronkowski | NE | @DAL | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Travis Kelce | KC | CHI | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Martellus Bennett | CHI | @KC | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Charles Clay | BUF | @TEN | 4 | 6 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | Jimmy Graham | SEA | @CIN | 3 | 3 | 12 | 4 |
| 6 | Jason Witten | DAL | NE | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 |
| 7 | Tyler Eifert | CIN | SEA | 10 | 5 | 7 | 7 |
| 8 | Owen Daniels | DEN | @OAK | 5 | 12 | 6 | 9 |
| 9 | Delanie Walker | TEN | BUF | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| 10 | Antonio Gates | SD | PIT | 8 | 8 | 11 | 10 |
| 11 | Coby Fleener | IND | @HOU | 13 | 10 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | Richard Rodgers | GB | STL | 18 | 11 | 13 | 12 |
| 13 | Larry Donnell | NYG | SF | 11 | 15 | 15 | 18 |
| 14 | Zach Ertz | PHI | NO | 14 | 20 | 18 | 13 |
| 14 | Heath Miller | PIT | @SD | 16 | 19 | 16 | 14 |
| 16 | Jared Cook | STL | @GB | 22 | 14 | 17 | 15 |
| 17 | Gary Barnidge | CLE | @BAL | -- | 13 | 23 | 16 |
| 18 | Derek Carrier | WAS | @ATL | 20 | 24 | 14 | 22 |
| 19 | Crockett Gillmore** | BAL | CLE | -- | -- | 8 | 21 |
| 19 | Eric Ebron** | DET | ARI | 17 | -- | 19 | 19 |
| 21 | Ladarius Green | SD | PIT | -- | 16 | 20 | 23 |
| 22 | Dwayne Allen** | IND | @HOU | 12 | -- | -- | 24 |
| 23 | Scott Chandler | NE | @DAL | 15 | -- | -- | -- |
| 23 | Vernon Davis** | SF | @NYG | -- | -- | 21 | 20 |
| 25 | Tim Wright | DET | ARI | 25 | 17 | -- | -- |
| 25 | Garrett Celek | SF | @NYG | 24 | 18 | -- | -- |
| -- | Jordan Reed** | WAS | @ATL | -- | -- | -- | 17 |
| -- | Clay Harbor | JAC | @TB | 19 | -- | 25 | -- |
| -- | Benjamin Watson | NO | @PHI | -- | 23 | 22 | -- |
| -- | Maxx Williams | BAL | CLE | -- | 22 | 24 | 25 |
| -- | Garrett Graham | HOU | IND | 21 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Darren Fells | ARI | @DET | -- | 21 | -- | -- |
| -- | Brandon Myers | TB | JAC | 23 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | C.J. Fiedorowicz | HOU | IND | -- | 25 | -- | -- |
SB Nation presents: NFL Week 5 sit/start fantasy football advice