The 2011 fantasy football season has been the year of the tight end. Never has the tight end been this valuable in the fantasy football world. To end your 2011 season with a bang (and hopefully a championship), start one of these fantasy football tight ends.

1. Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
Gronkowski will put the finishes touches on a legendary season.

In Week 17 of the 2011 fantasy football season, there are a number of explosive options at wide receiver. Check out our top ten list for best WRs to start for Week 17. You can't really go wrong with any of these wide receivers, especially the first few.

1. Wes Welker, New England Patriots
Brady will go to Welker early and often.

Michael Vick's injury woes continue. For fantasy football owners and Philadelphia Eagles fans, we have more bad news: Michel Vick is out for Thursday's game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Michael Vick will miss his third straight game due to broken ribs. Vince Young, who threw for a career-high 400 yards last week against the New England Patriots, will start once again.

If you have DeSean Jackson in your fantasy football starting lineup, remove him immediately. The Philadelphia Eagles have made Jackson inactive after the star wide receiver overslept a mandatory team meeting on Saturday.

Since the Eagles are taking on the Arizona Cardinals this week, they should be able to win without Jackson.

In Week 9 of the 2011 fantasy football season, we definitely saw our share of studs. If any of the below fantasy players were on your team, you are likely celebrating a Week 9 victory. Here's our look at the top fantasy football studs at each position:

QB Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
Philip Rivers threw three interceptions and the Chargers lost.

Ahmad Bradshaw has a broken foot. You'd think he'd be out for the season, right? Not so fast. The New York Giants think he'll play again in 2011. In fact, the Giants haven't counted him out for Sunday's game against the New England Patriots.

Bradshaw got hurt last week against the Miami Dolphins.

Any starting running back in the NFL has value in fantasy football. With that in mind, go ahead and look for Chris Ogbonnaya as a waiver wire sleeper. The running back for the Cleveland Browns could be thrust into a starting role going forward.

Starter Peyton Hillis got married to Amanda Brown and is now out injured.

The fantasy football season is more than halfway finished. Is your team ready to compete for a fantasy championship? If you need a little help, considering signing one of these waiver wire pickups for Week 9 of the 2011 fantasy football season.

QB Tarvaris Jackson, Seattle Seahawks
Yeah, everyone hates Tarvaris Jackson.

A mix of exciting youngsters and grizzled veterans had breakout games in Week 8 of the 2011 fantasy football season. We saw a number of upsets and a few great games. Here's a look at the best fantasy football performances of Week 8.

QB Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
The Panthers rookie continues to dazzle.

Matthew Stafford has a painful ankle injury that will limit his ability to move in the pocket. However, the good news for the Detroit Lions is that he's going to play in Week 8 against the the Denver Broncos.

If you have Matthew Stafford on your fantasy football team, go ahead and start him in Week 8.

Beanie Wells, who seems to get injured every week, was injured again last week. He hurt his knee and was limited in practice this week. However, the good news for the Arizona Cardinals is that their starting running back is expected to play today against the Baltimore Ravens.

When healthy, Beanie Wells has been very good in fantasy football this season.

Hines Ward is one of the toughest players in the NFL. However, unfortunately for the Pittsburgh Steelers, he's not going to be able to play this week. Ward is suffering from a sprained ankle that forced him to sit out the fourth quarter of last week's contest against the Arizona Cardinals.

Although he was listed as questionable all week, he wasn't able to even warm up before today's game.

Andre Johnson was regarded by many as the best fantasy football wide receiver heading into the 2011 NFL season. However, after a good start, Andre Johnson has been out injured with a hamstring injury. He has missed the last three games for the Houston Texans.

The good news is that Andre Johnson was able to return to the practice field this week.

If one of these players is on your 2011 fantasy football team, consider the time right to sell high. If you can flip one of these players for a pair of established stars, go ahead and do it. As the season wears on, these players' value will diminish.

QB Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
You gotta love Cam Newton.

There are a number of fantasy football sleepers in Week 8 of the fantasy season. If you are battling byes or injuries, check out one of these plug-and-play options.

QB Matt Hasselbeck, Tennessee Titans
Matt Hasselbeck has at least one touchdown pass in every game this season.

Tony Romo suffered a punctured lung and a broken rib in Week 2. He battled through the pain in Week 3 and played a key role in the Dallas Cowboys beating the Washington Redskins. This weekend, Tony Romo will play ... but it will come with a price.

In order to play, Tony Romo is going to have to get more pain injections.

Usually, it's a good idea to have the quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts on your fantasy football squad. However, when that quarterback is Curtis Painter, that assumption isn't so clear.

What should we expect from Curtis Painter in fantasy football for Week 4?

Not much.

Curtis Painter entered the season as the Colts' third-string quarterback behind Peyton Manning and Kerry Collins.

Antonio Gates has to be worrying fantasy football owners. After eight catches in Week 1, he was held without a catch in Week 2 and then missed Week 3 with a foot injury. Going forward it's unknown when Antonio Gates will be able to play again.

What is known is that Gates won't play this weekend.

At first, the Philadelphia Eagles thought Michael Vick broke his right hand. However, further tests showed only a badly bruised right hand. What is the Michael Vick injury update for Week 4 of the 2011 fantasy football season?

He's playing.

Explained Vick: "Even if it was broke, I think I would have probably padded it up and went back out there.

Fantasy football owners who have Adrian Peterson on their fantasy team should be excited. The usually quiet superstar running back says he wants the football in his hands more often. And anyone who has watched the Vikings play so far this season, including their own head coach Leslie Frazier, agrees with him.

With as many injuries as there are in the NFL this season, hitting the waiver wire has never been more important for fantasy football owners. Check out our list below to find out who will believe to be the sleepers of the Week 3 waiver wire. Warning: These waiver wire sleepers won't last long.

QB Matt Hasselbeck, Tennessee Titans
When will we start believing?

The injury news for Michael Vick took a rare turn for the good on Monday morning. After first saying that Vick broke his right hand, the Philadelphia Eagles now say that Vick suffered a bruised hand. That news makes it much more likely that Vick will be able to play in Week 4.

In the fantasy football world, Vick owners can now breathe a sigh of relief.

Michael Vick fantasy football owners aren't sleeping well tonight. The top rated fantasy quarterback coming into the 2011 fantasy football season is injured once again. Last week, Vick suffered a concussion. In Week 3, the quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles broke his hand.

Though Vick returned to the field after breaking his right hand, he soon had to leave again because the swelling and pain were just too much.

The 2011 fantasy football season already has its first huge story: Jamaal Charles is likely out for the season. Charles, who was drafted in the top three in many fantasy football drafts, likely tore his ACL in Week 2. If that's true, the Kansas City Chiefs running back will be gone until next season.

Tony Romo broke a couple of ribs in Week 2. No worries the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys was able to return to the game and lead his team from a come from behind victory. For fantasy football owners, Romo's return was a relief.

Despite missing action during the game, Romo finished with 345 passing yards to go along with two touchdowns.

In Week 1 of the 2011 fantasy football season, there were a lot of surprising players leading the way for the fantasy football world. If you had one of these players in you fantasy starting lineup, pat yourself on the back. Job well done!

Here's our list of the most surprising fantasy football players in Week 1:

QB Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
Wow.

The Jacksonville Jaguars shocked the NFL world by releasing starting quarterback David Garrard on Tuesday, just days prior to the kickoff of the 2011 campaign. The fantasy football world was also affected by the news since David Garrard was seen as a decent backup fantasy quarterback.

Now the question: What is Luke McCown's fantasy football value.

While there is a lot of fantasy football quarterback talent this season, there is also a lot of hype. That has resulted in a few quarterbacks getting much more credit than they deserve heading into the 2011 fantasy football season. Here are our top overrated QBs in the fantasy world:

Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles
As a second rounder, I like him.

Sure, you can waste a high draft pick on a can't-miss defense. Or, if you want to trust your instincts, you can wait and get one of these sleeper defenses and end up with a lot more value out of your 2011 fantasy football draft. Try one of these defense sleepers on for size:

San Diego Chargers
In real life, the Chargers were a top three defense last season.

If you want to wait until the very end of your 2011 fantasy football draft to select your kicker, that's probably a good idea. There is so much parity in kickers especially this year that the quality isn't going to dip very far. In fact, you may strike gold with one of these sleeper kickers in 2011:

David Buehler, Dallas Cowboys
David Buehler may have the strongest leg in the NFL.

While it seems many positions are shallow in 2011 fantasy football, one position that has a lot of depth is the tight end position. For that reason, there are a handful of very interesting sleeper tight ends that will have fantasy owners dreaming of the possibilities. Here are a few tight end sleepers that could make a good addition to your fantasy football team in 2011:

Jimmy Graham, New Orleans Saints
So many people love Jimmy Graham that he might not classify as a sleeper anymore.

This season, there seems to be a lot more wide receiver sleepers than usual. In the 2011 fantasy football season, there are sure to be three or four WRs that come out of nowhere and shine. Here's our look at the 2011 wide receiver sleepers.

Chad Ochocinco, New England Patriots
Yes, Chad Ochocinco is annoying.

For fantasy football owners around the globe, Monday was a good day. Peyton Manning, arguably the best fantasy quarterback of the last decade, was activated by the Indianapolis Colts. Manning was cleared to practice on a limited basis.

That said, Manning still doesn't know when he will actually play in a game.

After the first couple rounds, it can be difficult to find a decent running back this year in fantasy football. However, here are a few sleeper running backs that you may be able to steal in your 2011 fantasy football drafts.

DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers
In 2009, DeAngelo Williams was a fantasy football stud.

In 2011 fantasy football drafts, there are a handful of fantasy quarterback sleepers available in the later rounds. These QBs could prove to be huge boosts to your fantasy squad ... and you won't have to give up a lot to acquire one of these underrated quarterback sleepers.

Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
With Anquan Boldin and Lee Evans, the Ravens have enough wide receiver talent to allow Joe Flacco to shine.

There are a handful of elite defenses available for the 2011 fantasy football season. If you can get one of the top defenses on this list, you will be very happy. However, past the first five or so teams on this list, there is a lot of uncertainty. Without further ado, here are our 2011 fantasy football rankings for defense.

Production out of your fantasy football kickers can be pretty random. However, if you get quality kickers who play for a team with a quality offense, you can take some of that randomness out of the equation. Here are our kicker rankings for the 2011 fantasy football season.

1. Nate Kaeding, San Diego Chargers
The Chargers can move the ball on offense.

A great tight end can give you a huge advantage in fantasy football. In 2011, that advantage may be even larger than normal due to the shortage of high quality players at that position. Here are our tight end rankings for 2011 fantasy football:

1. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers
Last season, Antonio Gates was on fire .

While the wide receiving crop for the 2011 fantasy football season is a bit light up top, there are a ton of players with a lot of potential. Who will catch fire and be a fantasy football stud at the wide receiver position? Here are our top ten wide receivers for 2011 fantasy football:

1. Andre Johnson, Houston Texans
He's the most talented wide receiver in the game.

When it comes to winning a fantasy football championship, the running back position separates the men from the boys. If you can roll out three quality running backs on your fantasy football squad, you have a good chance to win each week. Here are our 2011 fantasy football running back rankings:

1.