Tight ends tore it up to start Week 1, but they’ve become less of a factor in the past two weeks. Yes, Gronk still Gronk’d, Seattle Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham came up big being the squeaky wheel, Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen busted loose as the top scorer, but there wasn’t much besides that.
Fantasy football waiver wire, Week 4: 5 tight ends to target
The tight end position isn’t lighting it up like it did in Week 1. We break down the fantasy implications.
Cleveland Browns tight end Gary Barnidge was the surprise of the week with 105 yards and six catches, but that line kind of has fluke all over it. Another nice surprise was Buffalo Bills tight end Charles Clay, who caught five balls for 82 yards and a score. He is arguably the fifth-best option and has better long-term value over Indianapolis Colts tight end Coby Fleener.
Fantasy owners are also not going to enjoy owning Chicago Bears tight end Martellus Bennett, who now has Jimmy Clausen as his quarterback. If you have Bennett, you might want to take a look at these guys:
Jordan Reed, Washington (owned in 79 percent of leagues)
If Reed plays, he should be in all lineups. On Thursday, he had a team-high 96 yards to go with his six catches on nine targets. He has to be owned everywhere.
Eric Ebron, Detroit Lions (owned in 50 percent of leagues)
He’s the man now with Brandon Pettigrew out with an injury. Ebron saw five targets and turned them into four catches for 61 yards against a tough Denver Broncos defense.
Against a weaker defense last week, he had 10 targets for five catches, 43 yards and one score against the Minnesota Vikings. Ebron should be a low-end TE1 against the Seahawks. The Lions will have to throw a lot and their running back is non-existent right now.
Owen Daniels, Denver Broncos (owned in 49 percent of leagues)
Hey, maybe Peyton Manning isn’t dead yet. He had 324 yards and two scores against the Lions. Daniels was a big part of the offense with nine targets, catching five of them for 28 yards and a score. He’s seen his targets go up in every game and he could average 6-10 going forward. Daniels has a great schedule on the horizon with the Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders and Browns before a bye in Week 7. He’s a solid pickup if you need help right now.
Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers (owned in 46 percent of leagues)
He has one more game on his suspension. The Chargers haven’t looked great on offense and put up just 14 points against a Vikings team usually giving up lots of points in the past two years. Gates should have no problem getting his targets back, which could make him a low-end TE1 going forward.
Coby Fleener, Indianapolis Colts (owned in 19 percent of leagues)
TDwayne Allen hasn’t been healthy and it’s created a big opportunity for Fleener. In the win over the Tennessee Titans, Fleener had six targets, catching four of them for 51 yards. He’s likely going to get another week or two of being the top option at tight end. Of course, once Allen is healthy, Fleener is a cut candidate.
Looking ahead, they get the Jacksonville Jaguars this week and the Houston Texans the following Thursday.
