NFL Player News

Blanton caught his only target for 28 yards in Sunday's 20-12 win against the Cardinals.

Blanton, who was signed Thursday off the Chiefs' practice squad, only saw the field for five offensive snaps. He made the most of it with a lengthy 28-yard reception near the end of the first quarter, flashing some of the receiving chops he showed off during last year's NFC Championship game where he had a solid five-reception, 57-yard game in place of an injured Tyler Higbee. Blanton will continue to fill in at tight end for at least the next two games while Brycen Hopkins (suspension) serves the remainder of his three-game ban for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy.

Thomas caught two of three targets for five yards in a 24-8 loss to the Eagles on Sunday.

Thomas finished with season lows across the board despite playing 65 percent of the offensive snaps on an afternoon in which Carson Wentz topped 40 pass attempts for a third straight week. Thomas had 87 receiving yards and a TD over the first two games, but Week 3 illustrated the danger of starting a player who seems to be a secondary target in his team's passing game even if he's running a lot of routes. There is some chance of the tight end getting more looks as the year progresses and he's further removed from the ACL tear he suffered last season, but for now it appears as though wide receivers Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel and Jahan Dotson are all higher-priority options for Wentz ahead of a Week 4 trip to Dallas. Thomas is fifth on the team with an 11.0 percent target share, behind the three wideouts as well as passing-down back J.D. McKissic (15.0 percent).

Tonyan was targeted seven times and caught six passes for 37 yards in Sunday's victory over the Buccaneers.

Tonyan did not do much in the yardage department, but the target and reception totals were particularly encouraging, as was the fact he played 14 more snaps than any other Packers tight end. Tonyan shared the load with the three other tight ends on Green Bay's roster over the first two weeks, but he appears to be emerging the primary option at his position.

Brown caught three of four targets for 31 yards in Sunday's 23-20 loss to Chicago in Week 3.

Brown was limited by a shoulder injury during the week but was able to play a season-high 48 snaps while seeing usage as a receiving option and not just a blocker. Houston's No. 1 tight end has seven catches on 10 targets for 72 yards through three contests.

Parkinson caught both of his targets for 44 yards in Sunday's 27-23 loss to the Falcons.

Through three games, Parkinson leads all Seahawks tight ends with 87 receiving yards, while Will Dissly (77) and Noah Fant (54) trail closely behind. None of these players are dependable for fantasy purposes at this time.

Dissly caught all three of his targets for 34 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 27-23 loss to the Falcons.

Dissly scored for the second time in three weeks, and he led all Seahawks tight ends with 43 offensive snaps (61 percent). He has outplayed Noah Fant so far with eight catches for 77 yards and two scores. Dissly is a touchdown-dependent fantasy option.

Fant hauled in all four of his targets for 27 yards in Sunday's 27-23 loss to the Falcons.

Fant had one more target and reception than fellow tight end Will Dissly, but it was the latter who was the beneficiary of a Geno Smith touchdown pass. The even split in playing time and targets has left both veteran tight ends with little to no fantasy appeal heading into a Week 4 matchup with the Lions.

Kittle (groin) hauled in four of five targets for 28 yards in Sunday's 11-10 loss to the Broncos.

Kittle made his much-anticipated return from a groin injury that kept him out of the first two games of the season. The star tight end looked like his old self, throwing his weight around in the run game like the pseudo offensive lineman that he is. The 28-year-old's fantasy line left much to be desired, as head coach Kyle Shanahan inexplicably failed to get his explosive tight end the ball more than four times in a game during which the 49ers showed no life offensively outside of a lone drive in the first quarter. The positive news to take away from a fantasy perspective is that Kittle didn't appear to be limited physically, nor did he suffer a setback. Kittle will look to make his first fantasy splash in a divisional matchup against the Rams on Monday Night Football in Week 4.

Hockenson caught three of four targets for 18 yards and one touchdown during Sunday's 28-24 loss to the Vikings.

On a day when Josh Reynolds paced the Lions in most receiving categories, Hockenson saw a downturn in targets after seeing seven in each of his first two outings of the year. Fortunately, he salvaged his fantasy day by snagging his first touchdown of the year on a bootleg that left Hockenson wide open in the flats. While fantasy managers still have yet to see a ceiling game out of the fourth-year tight end, it will be interesting to see if Hockenson could become a bigger priority in Detroit's short-area passing game if D'Andre Swift (shoulder) needs to miss time after suffering an injury for the second time in as many weeks.

Everett caught just two of six targets for 25 yards in Sunday's 38-10 loss to the Jaguars.

After two straight games with 50-plus receiving yards, Everett fell back down to earth on an overall dreary day for the Chargers offense. The veteran tight end has 20 targets through three weeks, which ranks second behind Joshua Palmer among the team's pass catchers, but Keenan Allen (hamstring) has also been absent each of the last two contests. Expect Everett to continue to see a healthy dose of looks in the coming weeks.