With the holidays right around the corner, the fantasy football season approaches its stretch run as owners make a final push toward the playoffs. This is also the final week we have to worry about byes, but the waiver wire will continue being an important factor.
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There are a few more injury notes at the tight end position. Zach Ertz is expected to return after missing Week 9, so that’s good news. Delanie Walker has a wrist injury but will try to play on Thursday night. If he can’t go, then fantasy owners need to make backup plans in a hurry.
Meanwhile, Jordan Reed is still questionable because that’s the default state of Jordan Reed these days.
This week’s bye teams are the Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, and San Francisco 49ers. That means Jack Doyle, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Ed Dickson, and George Kittle won’t be available for fantasy owners.
Once again, let’s dive in with a look at the best waiver wire tight ends, owned in 50 percent or less of Yahoo! standard leagues.
Tyler Kroft, Cincinnati Bengals (53 percent)
Kroft was a ghost in Week 10, catching one pass for 4 yards. However, he’s been semi-productive for a month leading up to this game, so there’s reason to believe it’s a one-week fluke. He’ll try to get back on track against a Denver Broncos defense that’s in full-on collapse mode.
Charles Clay, Buffalo Bills (43 percent)
Making his return from a knee injury, Clay saw only three targets, finishing with two catches for 13 yards. Clay’s been a useful fantasy player in the past, but his 2017 has been a lost season so far. With the Bills offense in perpetual run-first mode, it’ll be hard to trust Clay as anything more than a low-end TE2. He gets the Los Angeles Chargers next.
Eric Ebron, Detroit Lions (34 percent)
Ebron’s stats over his last three games: seven catches, 132 yards, one touchdown. Somehow that’s the best stretch of the season for Ebron, who’s well and truly a bust as a 2014 first-round pick. He has a decent matchup with the Chicago Bears this week but is only a bottom-barrel dart throw.
Martellus Bennett, New England Patriots (33 percent)
The story surrounding Bennett’s return to New England is utterly bizarre, but hey, if he’s healthy enough to catch Tom Brady passes, then he belongs in the TE2 discussion. We’ve been down this road with Bennett, who had seven touchdowns with the Patriots last season but is largely an afterthought when Rob Gronkowski is healthy. Sunday night’s stat line (three catches for 38 yards on seven snaps) suggests that the Patriots might still have plans for him, though.
