NFL Player News

There are certain skill position players whose production has eliminated all concern about upcoming matchups. Saints tight end Jimmy Graham is one of them.

Never mind that Week 15 foe St. Louis ranks third in the NFL against opposing players at his position. Graham is an equal opportunity destroyer. He leads all pass-catchers wtih 14 touchdowns and tops the list among tight ends with 74 catches for 1,046 yards. And when Drew Brees and the Saints are even sniffing the red zone, he is generally the primary target.

Graham has been held down - comparatively speaking - in the last two weeks with nine catches for 100 yards. But he also scored three touchdowns in those games, so there is really no stopping him. He sits atop the rankings produced by all three CBSSports.com senior Fantasy writers this week for a reason.

So just stick him in your lineups and watch the points add up. He could very well catapult your team into your league finals.

The Texans are struggling to keep their tight ends healthy. Starter Owen Daniels remained out Wednesday as he continues to recover from a fractured fibula that has had him on IR since Week 5. He was deemed close to returning three weeks ago.

Also out on Wednesday were fellow tight ends Garrett Graham (hamstring) and Jake Byrne (flu).

Getting a season-high 14 targets, Texans tight end Garrett Graham turned in one of his best performances of the season Week 14 at Jacksonville, catching eight passes for 73 yards and a touchdown. It was his first touchdown in three games. He put up ess than 40 yards in each of the previous two.

Though his production has been inconsistent, his targets haven't. He has averaged 11.5 in his last four games, getting no fewer than nine in any of them. That bodes well for his matchup Week 15 at Indianapolis. The Colts rank 18th against the pass, allowing 241.5 points per game. They've allowed the 10th-fewest Fantasy points to tight ends, but they haven't faced any notable ones since Week 7 against the Broncos, when Julius Thomas had five catches for 41 yards and a touchdown against them.

Graham had four catches for 46 yards when he faced the Colts in Week 9, but he wasn't being targeted as much at the time. As many looks as he's getting now, both Jamey Eisenberg and Nathan Zegura like him as a top-12 tight end for this week. Dave Richard is a little more reserved, ranking him 15th.

Buccaneers tight end Timothy Wright put an end to his scoring slump Week 14 vs. Buffalo, recording a touchdown for the first time in five games and third time this season. Will Wright be able to score in consecutive games Week 15 vs. San Francisco?

It could be viewed as encouraging that two of Wright's three touchdowns have come at home. The disappointing stat, however, is tight ends average just 5.2 Fantasy points per week against San Francisco, which is the lowest average. Tight ends have totaled just five touchdowns and average 39.1 receiving yards per game against San Francisco.

Wright was a decent Fantasy option earlier in the season when quarterback Mike Glennon leaned on him as a safety net as he was acclimating to the starting quarterback role. But Wright hasn't been a very reliable option lately. He's totaled just one Fantasy point in three of his last five games and hasn't surpassed 10 Fantasy points in that five-game span.

Fantasy owners should view Wright as more of a desperation Fantasy start Week 15. With his recent production and the tough matchup, he's not an ideal candidate to start this week.

Several Cowboys contributed offensively Week 14 at Chicago. Among them, tight end Gavin Escobar caught both his targets for 32 yards and wideout Miles Austin caught two of four targets for 19 yards. Tight end James Hanna had a 6-yard reception.

They'll play the Packers in Week 15.

Several important Cowboys who were on the injury report are active for Monday's game in Chicago. They include linebacker Sean Lee (hamstring), the second-leading tackler, defensive tackle Jason Hatcher (neck), receiver Dwayne Harris (hamstring) and tight end Gavin Escobar (hamstring).

Lee missed the previous two games and he should help Dallas' beleaguered run defense.

Saints tight end Jimmy Graham eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards for the second time in three seasons during his performance against the Panthers. Graham caught six passes for 58 yards and two touchdowns, giving him an NFL-high 14 scoring grabs, including four in the past three games.

Graham crossed in front of linebacker Luke Kuechly for a 5-yard score right before halftime, then hauled in an 8-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Graham was targeted 11 times, second on the team.

Up to 1,040 receiving yards, Graham visits the Rams in Week 15.

Giants tight end Bear Pascoe did not make much of an impact during Sunday's loss to the Chargers in Week 14.

Pascoe caught a 14-yard pass in the third quarter for his only grab of the day. His fellow tight end, Brandon Myers, extended his scoring streak to three games. Pascoe has just four catches for 30 yards over his last three games.

Cardinals TE Jim Dray, WR Jaron Brown, RB Stepfan Taylor and WR Andre Roberts did little Week 14 against the Rams.

Dray played the biggest impact, catching three passes for 32 yards. He had a touchdown overturned after he did not break the plane. Dray also fumbled on the play, and the Rams were awarded the ball, so it was the worst possible outcome. Brown caught one pass for 32 yards. Taylor caught three balls, but had just 16 yards. He also had two rushes for 9 yards. Roberts caught one ball for 8 yards. They'll take on the Titans Week 15.

Rams tight ends Lance Kendricks and Cory Harkey struggled Week 14 against the Cardinals.

Kendricks caught one pass for 15 yards. He was targeted twice. Harkey also caught one pass, but only picked up 9 yards. It was his only target of the game. They'll take on the Saints Week 15.