With the fantasy football season approaching the halfway mark, the major injuries just keep piling up, which makes the waiver wire an important factor in the middle of the bye weeks.
Fantasy football waiver wire: Best tight ends available in Week 7
We take a look at the top waiver options at tight end this week.
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The tight end position continues to be plagued by injuries and inconsistent play, with Tyler Eifert going on injured reserve last week. That robs fantasy owners of a potential every-week TE1, and yet another burned draft pick.
In addition to the injuries, there are two more bye teams this week — Detroit Lions and Houston Texans — making Eric Ebron and Ryan Griffin unavailable.
With yet more turnover at the position, let’s look at the best waiver wire wide receivers owned in 50 percent or less of Yahoo! leagues.
Austin Hooper, Atlanta Falcons (50 percent)
Hooper’s been taking advantage of chances with Mohamed Sanu on the shelf, grabbing 12 catches for 98 yards in the past two games. The Falcons offense is really struggling right now, and Hooper’s usage will almost certainly drop when Sanu comes back, but at the moment he’s worth considering if you’re in a bye week crunch.
Ed Dickson, Carolina Panthers (50 percent)
There was no way Dickson was going to repeat his 175-yard performance, but he’s still involved in the Panthers offense, catching four passes for 36 yards on Thursday night. With the tight end market so barren at this moment, Dickson should be taken seriously as a borderline TE1. The Panthers get the Chicago Bears next.
David Njoku, Cleveland Browns (18 percent)
The ultimate touchdown-or-bust streamer, Njoku has three scores in six games but has yet to reach the 50-yard mark. With the Browns’ quarterback situation in shambles, he’ll continue being a risky dart throw, with the hope that he scores in garbage time.
George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers (8 percent)
The 49ers have given up on Brian Hoyer and are turning to C.J. Beathard. The rookie quarterback played OK enough to nearly pull off the road upset against Washington, and now will be working with the first team in practice. If you believe in the theory that rookie QBs lean on their tight end as a safety valve, then you might like Kittle against the Dallas Cowboys this week.
