We’re almost half-way through the season and sadly, a lot of us half lost half our teams. Thankfully there were no tight end injuries this week but it became clear in the last week that Tyler Eifert will not be coming back this season, no doubt putting a dent in a lot of teams who were holding on to him. Tight at Tight End looks at which TE has the best chance to blow up each week and to spot potential long-term pick-ups. It’ll mainly feature Tight Ends with an ownership of >30% in ESPN leagues.
I’ll begin by saying that the waiver wire is extremely thin this week.
Tier 1
Tyler Kroft gets another start for the Bengals this week.
Tyler Kroft – @ Pittsburgh Steelers (Owned: 8.1%)
Kroft has been the starting tight end in Cincinnati for the past 3 games. In that span, he’s racked up 16 targets, 13 receptions, and 2 TDs. The perks of being the starting tight end for Andy Dalton is that he likes to target his tight end and with Tyler Eifert out for the season, it means that a huge opportunity has opened up for Tyler Kroft. This week is definitely not a juicy matchup but he is a PRIME long-term add, look at his upcoming schedule: vs. Colts(7th), @Jaguars(12th), @Titans(24th), @Broncos(6th), vs. Browns(2nd)
If you need a long-term tight end, grab Kroft and I’d even start him with confidence this week. The Steelers aren’t as good against tight ends as they seem on paper. Kroft would be a tier 2 stream but is tier 1 because of his long-term value and ceiling.
Austin Hooper – @ New England Patriots (Owned: 37%)
I love to break my own rules. If he’s available, grab him and start him. The Patriots have been absolutely terrible against tight ends. Last week they gave up 2 TDs to Austin Seferian-Jenkins, the second one being called back on a controversial call. His numbers have been trending up since his week 1 explosion. I think he could become a very solid every week start but it’ll be hard to predict what happens once Sanu is back.
Tier 2
George Kittle vs. Dallas Cowboys (Owned: 9.2%)
After back-to-back games of 8+ targets, George Kittle has to be taken seriously. Playing for the statistical best 0-6 team ever isn’t very appealing and neither is the matchup. The 49ers have declared C.J. Beathard the starter, this is promising as 6 of Kittle’s targets last week came from Beathard. Rookie QBs are also known to rely on tight ends but that’s obviously not a guarantee. If the wire is thin and you need a plug-and-play guy, Kittle should be a serviceable tight end this week.
Tier 3
If you are super desperate, here’s 2 old guys that I think will surprise this week.
Antonio Gates vs. Denver Broncos (Owned: 12.3%)
The past two weeks have definitely been more Hunter Henry focus for the Chargers offense (remember what I said 2 weeks ago?) despite that, the Chargers have a very good matchup this week for their tight ends. The Broncos have given up the 6th most points to tight ends but only 24th against wide receivers, meaning the Chargers might have to lean on their tight ends if they want success in the air. I’m not expecting a 100-yard performance but Gates has still been getting looks in the end-zone and there’s a good chance he’ll catch one of those this week, the matchup is there and Gates loves scoring against the Broncos.
Benjamin Watson @ Minnesota Vikings (Owned: 11.5%)
The curious case of Benjamin Watson continues. He’s had 18 targets and caught 13 of them in the past 3 weeks. The downside is that he’s only produced 73 yards from it. That’s only 5.6 yards per reception. Watson is definitely a stream that you should only be considering in PPR leagues, considering that he’s 6th in the league in receptions among tight ends. The Vikings have been average against tight ends but have allowed 3 TDs in the first 6 games.
That does it for this week. Good luck on the waivers!
- TAGS
- Fantasy Football
- Tight at Tight End
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