We made it through the preseason and finally started the fantasy football season on Sunday. While the draft is a major component of fantasy football, playing the waiver wire might be just as important, if not more so. Making the right moves at the right time can mean the difference between winning your league or missing the playoffs altogether.
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The byes are still a few weeks away, so we don’t recommend shaking up your lineup too much, but the tight end position is as much a crapshoot as ever. We shouldn’t be reacting too much to one game, but if your team is already in a bind, here are some waiver wire options owned in 50 percent or less of Yahoo! leagues.
Cameron Brate, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (50 percent)
With Hurricane Irma forcing the Bucs to postpone their Week 1 game, we’re still waiting to learn how they’ll use Brate and O.J. Howard together. Rookie tight ends are infamous slow starters and Howard’s fantasy ceiling could be low if he’s more of a blocker. Brate is still the better bet to see red zone targets after eight touchdowns last year.
Evan Engram, New York Giants (24 percent)
The Giants’ offense was thoroughly impotent without Odell Beckham Jr., but at least they kept Engram involved with four catches on five targets for 44 yards. A pass-catching specialist who lines up outside, Engram could avoid the rookie tight end trap of being used only as a blocker. He might be on the TE2 map when Beckham comes back next week.
Charles Clay, Buffalo Bills (10 percent)
Four catches for 53 yards and a touchdown is a good day at the office for Clay. It’s also his absolute fantasy ceiling in a low-volume offense that’s run through LeSean McCoy. Clay will have his dud weeks, but he might be worth using right now while Jordan Matthews and Zay Jones get up to speed.
Jesse James, Pittsburgh Steelers (6 percent)
The Steelers traded for Vance McDonald, but James probably isn’t going away after two touchdowns and 41 yards on six catches. The Steelers’ offense was pretty anemic, which tends to happen when they play on the road. James isn’t an every-week starter, but if you’re desperate for a streamer you could do worse than him. Pittsburgh gets the Minnesota Vikings next.
