It is on to week 3 of Daily Fantasy Football at DraftKings. I’m back again this week to offer my picks for the Tight End position at DraftKings. We’re going to see prices solidifying and thus bargains will be tougher to find. However, that’s why I’m here so you don’t have to do the heavy lifting.

This is a great week to check out DraftKings and pick up a new way to play fantasy football.

DraftKings Tight End Recommendations

If you’ve never played on DraftKings before, you can get a deposit bonus by signing up. And there are different options to pick from at DraftKings for any skill level.

Also, a gentle reminder on the scoring for Tight Ends – this is a PPR site so remember that when selecting players. The full for scoring for Tight Ends is at the end of this column.

Tight Ends can also be used in the flex position at DraftKings. However, with the entire world of RBs and WRs at your disposal, it would be unlikely you’d have to head to the TEs to pick up a flex play. Jimmy Graham is always in play as a flex option.

Let’s take a look at a couple of options at each price point. For those who are new to the column, I’ll generally look at a couple of options in each pricing tier broken out based on the socioeconomic status of 1970s sitcom families. And I’ll always cover Jimmy Graham.

I’ll mention Football Outsiders a lot over the season – the passes per game and yards per game stats I use are from Football Outsiders. Here is the link to Football Outsiders’ 2013 stats. FO will update stats for 2014 here once Week 1 is in the books. The defense versus types of receivers has now been updated and even though we only have two weeks’ worth of data, there is still some value here.

The Graham Tier

Jimmy Graham ($8,000)  – At this price there is almost no way I’ll have Graham in my lineups unless I can go cheap at other positions. He’s been dominant in the first two weeks, and you know what you’re going to get especially as the Saints head home for the first time this week.

The Jeffersons

Julius Thomas | Broncos | $6,600 – Thomas faces a Seahawks defense that has been oddly awful against TEs so far this year. Much like Graham, you know what you’ll get with Thomas, but I’d rather save a few thousand bucks and head further down the list.

Rob Gronkowski | Patriots | $5,900 – Gronk is on here as I believe he and Brady are starting to get their act together. And they play a poor Oakland defense. While the Raiders look good through the first two games against TEs, remember they’ve faced the Jets and Texans who don’t really use the TE. Gronk is the most expensive choice I’d make this week.

All in the Family

Vernon Davis | 49ers | $5,000 – Davis has a great matchup against the porous Cardinals defense. However, he’s still on crutches and should be avoided even if he’s active on Sunday. I might look at his counterparts Vance McDonald or Derek Carrier (both priced at $3,000) as punt plays this week in a tasty matchup.

Dennis Pitta | Ravens | $4,400 – Pitta owners were cursing Owen Daniels last week. But Pitta is just one week removed from a 10 catch, 83 yard game, and it doesn’t seem that Joe Flacco wants to throw to speedster Torrey Smith.  The Browns have been pretty friendly to TEs giving up 8.2 passes per game and 76.3 yards over the first two games.

Good Times

Hopefully you were down here in the TE world last week as there was a ton of value to be had. The folks at DraftKings have made it harder now, but we’ll still find some gems.

Larry Donnell | Giants | $4,000 – Donnell is on here mostly because he seems to understand the new Giants’ offense while most of the WRs seem to not understand where to be or, when they are in the right spot, they drop the ball. Donnell isn’t the second coming of Jimmy Graham, but he’s scored more than 15 points in each of his first two games as he’s Eli Manning’s safety blanket.

Travis Kelce | Chiefs | $3,700 – Kelce played 18 snaps in Week 1 and 32 snaps in Week 2 so maybe he’s due for 46 snaps in Week 3? Likely not, but his playing time is picking up. He had four catches for 81 yards last week and still remains the best pass catching option in the Chiefs corps of “receivers.” The Chiefs face Miami who has given up 20 passes (and an average of just over 70 yards per game) in the first two weeks to TEs.

Jared Cook | Rams | $3,400 – Cook has been a model of consistency this year picking up four catches in each of the first two games. The Cowboys defense isn’t very good (and that is a wild understatement). The Rams don’t really feature the TE, but Cook has a shot to pick up a TD this week.

Zach Miller | Seahawks | $3,000 – Miller hasn’t been great this season, but the ‘hawks have spent time this year spreading the TD love around to everyone. It could be Miller’s turn if Seattle chooses to exploit a great matchup against the Broncos.

Colts TEs – The Colts have a great matchup against the Jags, but I’m not going to play roulette with the now three-headed monster of Dwayne Allen, Coby Fleener and Jack Doyle. You can do better.

Good luck in Week 3!

10 Receiving Yards = +1PT (+0.1PT per yard is awarded)
Reception = +1PT
Receiving TD = +6PTs
100+ Yard Receiving Game = +3PTs
Fumble Lost = -1PT
2 Point Conversion (Pass, Run, or Catch) = +2PTs
Offensive Fumble Recovery TD = +6PTs

The full DraftKings scoring system is here.