A wide variety of prices among the top five fantasy football tight ends this week.

5- Jared Cook (STL), $7,150 vs (SF)

Cook has been a highly targeted member of the Rams passing game, and he ranks tied for eighth among tight ends with 29 targets, despite his team already having had their bye week. Week 5 was no exception for receiving attention from Austin Davis as he was targeted eight times, the third most among tight ends this past week. His high volume of targets has been consistent as well with a single game season low of four targets per PFF, and eight or more in his other three contests. The 49ers rank second in pass coverage at PFF, so the assignment isn’t cake by any stretch of the imagination, but coupling his price tag with his integral role in the Rams aerial attack makes him an easy pick to round out my top five fantasy football tight ends this week.

4- Tim Wright (NE), $4,000 @ (BUF)

Wright had his coming out party with the Patriots in a Sunday Night Football tilt, and with the booth making comparisons to the club’s usage of Aaron Hernandez, and the game having been played in prime time, his usage will likely be through the roof in DFS games this week. Obviously I believe there is upside here, otherwise he wouldn’t check in at number four on my top five fantasy football tight ends this week, but I’m also here to preach caution. The best thing to like about Wright is his bare minimum cost. The flexibility he’ll provide gamers this week is great when factoring in he’s a talented and athletic pass catcher that is more over-sized receiver than tight end. The knock is that he’s not the top pass catching tight end on his team, and even two tight end sets don’t assure that Wright will be on the field. Furthering that point, according to PFF, Wright played only 19 snaps this week compared to 68 for Rob Gronkowski and 47 for blocking tight end Michael Hoomanawanui. The Bengals are graded as the worst pass rushing team in the league by PFF, and the Bills have a much stronger pass rush unit, which could necessitate more Hoomanawanui since Tom Brady can’t complete passes from his back. Of course, it’s not all doom and gloom, as the most exploitable part of the Bills defense is their pass coverage, so finding creative ways to get Wright involved heavily once again will work to the Patriots advantage. He’s not a bullet proof pick, but Wright is a worthwhile inclusion in the top five fantasy football tight ends for week 6.

3- Delanie Walker (TEN), $8,750 vs (JAX)

Walker has admitted to playing at less than 100% healthy, but that hasn’t prevented him from being one of the best players at the tight end position this year, and that’s despite the Titans fluid quarterback situation. Regardless of the quarterback taking snaps, Walker has been a heavily targeted man. His 36 targets are just one fewer than Titans target leader Kendall Wright, and he ranks fourth in targets among tight ends. He’s dropped a couple passes, but that’s forgivable given the number of looks he gets. Heavy usage isn’t the only appealing number in Walker’s statistical profile, as he’s also been damn efficient. His 2.30 yards per route run (YPRR) is fourth best among tight ends who have received 25% of their team’s targets according to PFF, and he’s been a red zone favorite reeling in three touchdown grabs. With the Saints on bye this week, Walker is taking aim at the worst pass coverage defense playing this week according to PFF.

2- Julius Thomas (DEN), $13,100 @ (NYJ)

Thomas has been a touchdown scoring machine this year, leading the league in touchdown receptions with seven, tallying at least one in every game, and recording multiple touchdown grabs in two of four games. Oh yeah, that lead has come with a bye week sprinkled in already. Peyton Manning has plenty of mouths to feed, including super stud Demaryius Thomas, but there should be plenty of scoring to go around for all of the pass catchers since the Broncos are facing a bad Jets secondary. PFF ranks the Jets 27th in pass coverage, and ancient Antonio Gates pulled down two touchdown grabs in week five against them. Joking about Gates aside, he does still have something left in the tank, but he’s no Thomas. The Broncos tight end ranks ninth at the position with 1.85 YPRR, and while he’s only been targeted 24 times, 20 of those passes have been catchable and Thomas has successfully pulled in each of them. The price isn’t ideal, but the upside is gargantuan and too much to ignore when putting together this week’s top five fantasy football tight ends.

1- Rob Gronkowski (NE), $12,500 @ (BUF)

It should come as little surprise that Gronk was a monster in Tom Brady’s best game of the season. PFF credits him with a whopping 11 targets against the Bengals, and he turned them into six receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown, looking like vintage Gronkowski along the way. He’s been a regular in the end zone this year, scoring a touchdown in four of five games, and his 35 targets are the second most on the Patriots and fifth most among tight ends this season. Between his heavy utilization in the Patriots passing attack and his nose for the end zone, there is a ton to like about Gronkowski, and his upside exceeds even that of Julius Thomas. With the Patriots facing a better pass rushing squad in the Bills, Brady might find it tougher sledding piling up numbers, but Gronk will almost certainly be a big part of the success he does have. Furthermore, while the Bills are better rushing the passer than the Bengals, they aren’t a particularly good pass coverage unit earning PFF’s 23rd best pass coverage grade. The marriage of high upside and high floor makes Gronkowski a somewhat easy pick as the top tight end in week six’s top five fantasy football tight ends.