Week 15 vs. Oakland
Antiono Gates caught five balls for 61 yards on nine targets last week, but it was Hunter Henry who again stole the TD from Gates' owners. While Gates has more catches and yards over the last three weeks, Henry has managed to score two TDs in that span.
Henry continues to hurt the value of Gates, who comes in just 14th on our list this week at TE. It's a pretty nice matchup against the Raiders, who are 22nd in allowing fantasy points to the position. But, Gates doesn't even a get a TE1 ranking this week. You may want to think about a better option especially with Henry stealing the TDs. However, Gates should at least be a solid play.
Week 14 at Carolina
Antonio Gates caught four balls for 34 yards last week. That followed a 0-0-0 line from the week before. However, prior to that, Gates had a TD in three straight games. Gates' value is hurt by Hunter Henry, but Henry didn't do much the last two weeks either as the TE production has strangely vanished from the Chargers.
Gates comes in just 14th this week on our TE list, despite a great matchup on paper. The Panthers are dead last in allowing fantasy point to the TE position. Gates seems like the better start over Henry, but both players seem to cap the value of the other, so start with caution (especially if this is playoff time).
Week 13 vs. Tampa Bay
Antonio Gates played on 60-percent of the snaps last week, but he wasn't targeted and didn't catch a ball. While teammate Hunter Henry scored a TD last week, Henry only finished with two catches for 20 yards.
Gates came into last week with TDs in three-straight games and an average of nine targets a game, so this certainly put a damper on that momentum. Still, we rank Gates eighth among our TE plays this week in a nice matchup against the Bucs, who are just 25th in allowing fantasy points to TEs. We still see Gates as a TE1 option, but it's pretty clear Henry is going to cut into Gates' final numbers.
Week 12 at Houston
Last week, Antonio Gates had another nice game catching four balls for 63 yards and a TD on nine targets. It's now three-straight games with a TD for Gates.
Gates gets a tough matchup this week just making it in the top-10 coming in ninth on our list. The Texans are fourth in allowing fantasy points to TEs so this isn't a great matchup for Gates and his owners. Hunter Henry is also back and could steal some targets and catches but we still see Gates as a better play than Henry right now. Gates is averaging over four catches a game on nine targets in his last three contests.
Week 10 vs. Miami
Antonio Gates continues to take advantage of Hunter Henry's knee issue and put together and other productive fantasy. Gates caught five balls for 75 yards and a TD, his fourth of the season and now has scored in back-to-back games.
Gates is seeing about 9 targets a game over his last three so he's heavily involved once again. This week, it's not a great matchup, but with that kind of targets and involvement, Gates is a TE1 play. Miami is 11th in allowing fantasy points to TEs but Gates should be fine for lineups.
Week 9 vs. Tennessee
With Hunter Henry coming off a concussion, Antonio Gates finally had a bigger day last week. He caught four balls for 33 yards and a TD, his third of the year and first since Week 5. Gates and Henry finally seem to hurting each other's fantasy stock for the first time this year. We now move Gates back ahead of Hunter on our list, and Hunter may not be 100-percent coming off his concussion. This week, Gates is the better play according to our rankings. It's a nice matchup against the Titans, who are just 25th in allowing fantasy points to TEs, but Gates' fantasy value still seems kind of capped with Henry around.
Week 8 at Denver
With Hunter Henry likely sidelined with a concussion, Antonio Gates will be back as the team's TE1 this week. Gates has been back for three weeks, but has been passed by Henry on the depth chart. Gates caught five balls for 38 yards last week on 10 targets, but comes in this week ranked 17th on our TE list. The Broncos are fifth in allowing fantasy points to TEs, so this isn't a great matchup. Two weeks ago, Gates had just two catches for 16 yards and over his last four games is only averaging a little over four catches a game for about 38 yards a game.
Week 7 at Atlanta
Antonio Gates caught two balls for 16 yards last week, but did have six targets. Hunter Henry stole the show with another big game, scoring a TD in his third-straight contest. Gates is just 16th on our TE list week and isn't quite 100-percent. Henry is the better play right now, and Gates comes with risks if you need to start him. However, he did have a TD in Week 5, so he remains a red zone target.
Week 6 vs. Denver
Antonio Gates caught four balls for 30 yards and a TD in his return last week. He only played on 35 percent of the snaps, however, so it's tough to tell if he was eased back in or if Hunter Henry will continue to get a majority of the snaps.
This week is going to be tough to gauge anything as the Broncos are third in allowing fantasy points to TEs. We have Gates down the list at 18th, with Henry just two spots higher at 16. This could be a tricky situation, and on a short week in a tough matchup, owners may want to stay away from Gates this week.
Week 3 at Indianapolis
Antonio Gates caught three balls for 15 yards last week, but fortunately added a TD among his five targets. Gates again gets a TE1 rank this week in what is a real nice matchup against the Colts, who are 23rd in allowing fantasy points to TEs. A lot of points could be scored in this contest, so Gates is shaping up to be a good play. The concern of owners right now is averaging just three catches the first two weeks with a total of nine targets. Teams are now able to focus more on Gates with Keenan Allen and Danny Woodhead out for the year. Gates has some great matchups straight through Week 9, so he's worth keeping around at least until then.
