Top daily fantasy football tight end plays for Week 17

Welcome to Week 17 of the Daily Fantasy season. This is always the most interesting week of the season, as so many top players will either not play or be limited as teams prepare for the playoffs or have nothing to play for. This creates tremendous value opportunities across all positions. This article looks at some of the projected lesser-owned plays at tight end who could provide huge boosts to your tournament lineups, as well as some trap plays to avoid.

The narrative is so overwhelming, it’s impossible to ignore. It is almost certainly Gates’ last game as a player. It’s even more certain it’s the last game ever for the Chargers in San Diego. Gates needs two touchdown receptions to set the all-time record for tight ends. Need we say more?

We have an Ebron sighting! The Lions tight end had his best game in weeks last Monday night, and he will be needed again this week in a potential win-or-go-home game against the Packers. Because he is the same price as Gates, Ebron might go lower owned, which never hurts.

All Clay has done the past three weeks is catch 18 of 23 targets for 209 yards and four touchdowns. Sure, E.J. Manuel is a downgrade from Tyron Taylor, but he might be a boost for Clay as a checkdown option. Clay is red hot and deserves consideration.

Ladarius Green is out, and Xavier Grimble is questionable. The Browns are the most tight-end friendly defense in the league. The Steelers are in preseason mode, and James was a preseason hero. He’s a terrific minimum-priced option.

We’re playing a hunch here, but we know the Raiders are looking for a first-round bye and the Broncos are in “let’s get this over with” mode. The Broncos have been gashed up the middle lately, mostly with the run. But with T.J. Ward out again, we saw how Travis Kelce went wild last Sunday night. Walford is no Kelce, but the opportunity is there to replicate the production, and Matt McGloin might use his tight end as a safety blanket.

He might play in this 4:25 p.m. game, but he’s got to be one-more-shot-to-that-shoulder away from being out of this game in a hurry. Too risky.

It sounds like the Patriots are going to “monitor” Bennett’s snaps, which is a nice way of saying the guy probably isn’t going to play much. Avoid.