Okay, real talk here. As I write this, it's 11:53 p.m. ET Sunday night. The New England Patriots-Denver Broncos game isn't over, and we don't yet know the prognosis for tight end Rob Gronkowski, who was carted off about a half-hour ago with what looked like a problematic knee injury.
Fantasy football waiver wire advice: Time to look to Scott Chandler
It remains to be seen how long New England tight end Rob Gronkowski might be out, but the No. 2 is going to see a lot of looks. We break down the fantasy implications.
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So a lot of what follows in this space is conjecture, and it's within the realm of possibility that Gronkowski turns out to be fine and will be on the field for the Patriots' Week 13 game when they host the Philadelphia Eagles. But it seems likely the superstar tight end is out at least the next few weeks, and the hope is merely that he can return this season. So in the meantime, fantasy owners need to go get Scott Chandler.
Chandler is currently owned in four percent of Yahoo! fantasy leagues. As a No. 2 tight end averaging barely over a catch a game, that made sense. But for however long Gronkowski is out -- and with Dion Lewis, Julian Edelman, Aaron Dobson and maybe Danny Amendola sidelined as well -- Chandler's numbers will grow in a big way. Sunday -- again, as I write this (it's 11:57 p.m. now) -- he had 58 yards and a score on five catches and eleven targets, including multiple looks on the fourth-quarter drive that got the Patriots into overtime.
(The game ended as I wrote that sentence. The numbers are final. The points are still true.)
There hasn’t been much to like at tight end this season. With Jimmy Graham done for the season, and Gronkowski’s immediate future in significant question, it’s getting worse. Chandler hasn’t done much, but going forward he has every shot at being much more appealing.
