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Craig's tight end (TE) fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 6 of 2026. His top TE fantasy football pickups, free agents to add, tight end streamers.
This is the first week the byes start getting as annoying to fantasy football managers as trick-or-treaters who complain about the candy they get on Halloween.
Minnesota’s T.J. Hockenson, Cincinnati’s Mike Gesicki, and Detroit’s Sam LaPorta are all on bye this week. The first two tight ends might have been picked up in thousands of leagues last week, or they might have been top choices on waiver wires this week if not for them being off.
Here are the top waiver wire picks and streamers at the tight end position for Week 6, starting with the one tight end who caught a pair of touchdown passes in Week 5:
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Top Fantasy Football Tight Ends - Week 6 Waiver Wire
Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh’s talented tight end scored another two touchdowns on Sunday, his third and fourth touchdowns in five weeks. Pat Freiermuth is well on his way to the best year of his career, which is mildly surprising considering his quarterback is 800 years old.
Aaron Rodgers finds Pat Freiermuth for another Steelers TD!
#NFL https://t.co/hU254xEhwW
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 11, 2026
The good news is Freiermuth gets to run routes against Tampa Bay’s below-average pass defense this Sunday. The bad news is that while Freiermuth is doing well in the touchdown department, he has not done as well in the yardage department (no 50-yard games yet in 2026).
Freiermuth is receiving more targets than tight end teammate Darnell Washington, which bodes well for his fantasy value if this trend continues. Look for Freiermuth to keep up the good work and finish the season possibly with new career highs across the board.
Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville’s top tight end has no trouble making difficult catches between the 20s. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence loves launching passes at Brenton Strange’s direction. Lawrence targeted Strange eight more times in London on Sunday morning, and the two connected on seven passes for 68 yards.
Strange keeps piling up the receptions and yards and remains one of the best tight ends available on waiver wires in most fantasy leagues. Jacksonville head coach and offensive guru Liam Coen loves to spread the passes around to everybody from his receivers to his tight ends to his running backs to his ball boys, so Strange will always get fed.
The problem with Strange continues to be that he never catches passes in the end zone. One touchdown in five games this year, only seven touchdowns in 48 career contests overall. Fantasy managers need touchdowns from their tight ends because their yardage is much less than what they get out of receivers. Strange’s fantasy value is stunted because of his glaring drawback.
Other Fantasy Football Tight Ends to Consider Adding
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
It is a crapshoot which Patriots pass catcher will see the most targets week in and week out while A.J. Brown is sidelined with his ankle injury. Hunter Henry has been the main man lately, which has turned out great since quarterback Drake Maye has seemingly figured out what was causing him to throw dying quails to opposing defenders early in the season.
Hunter Henry with a big catch and run 🏃
@LVvsNE on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/blsnhUPnhu— NFL (@NFL) October 11, 2026
Henry has had his best two games of the season in back-to-back weeks, totaling eight catches for 106 yards and a TD over his most recent two-game span. The wily veteran has posted 12 catches for 139 yards and a score in his last three games against the New York Jets, whom he faces on Sunday.
Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals
Gesicki’s role in Cincinnati’s passing attack changes from game to game, and a lot of it depends on the health of the Bengals’ wonderful wideouts, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Yet even though both receivers suited up on Sunday, it did not prevent Gesicki from scoring his fourth touchdown in five games.
Gesicki is off this week thanks to an untimely bye, but if you have a one-week stopgap for this week, feel free to pick him up for next week and all the weeks of the rest of the season. While his target total leaves much to be desired (17 in five games), Gesicki’s touchdown total cannot be ignored.
Kenyon Sadiq, New York Jets
It has been an up-and-down start to the season for New York’s up-and-coming tight end. The first-round pick out of Oregon showed flashes of brilliance in Week 3 when he compiled a 7-105-1 line against Detroit’s subpar secondary.
The issue is that Kenyon Sadiq has seven receptions in his other four games combined, and now he might not play this week due to a concussion suffered versus Cleveland. Even if Sadiq plays, he might not do much against New England’s stifling defense. Unless he is available in a dynasty league you are in, stay away from Sadiq for another week. Hey, that rhymed!
T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
Hockenson was probably scooped up by millions of fantasy general managers last week after his 13-catch coming-out party in Week 4, but there are still many leagues where he is available. Like I said earlier in the column, Hockenson is on bye this week, so just know you will not get any bang for your buck until Week 7.
Worse, Hockenson suffered a concussion on the second play of the game against New Orleans on Sunday, so now you have to monitor how he handles concussion protocol. The good news is his bye gives him an additional week to recover, so he should be good to go for Week 7.
Do Not Forget About These Tight Ends
Darren Waller, Carolina Panthers
Darren Waller might have been forgotten by some of the general managers in your fantasy league since he and his Carolina Panthers were on bye this past week. Do not make the same mistake. Waller has caught 13 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns over his first four games and should continue to be a consistent producer as long as he does not retire again to be a music producer.
Chig Okonkwo, Washington Commanders
Chig Okonkwo had been a fantasy non-factor since joining the Commanders thanks to injury and the injuries to his quarterbacks. He only had four catches on the season heading into Washington’s division tilt with the New York Giants, but he was able to catch four Jayden Daniels passes for 60 yards on Sunday. Keep an eye on him while Daniels’ left elbow is attached.
Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams
Insert your favorite Father Time joke here. Higbee is the old man in the tight end room, but he is coming off consecutive 60-yard games going into his Monday night matchup against Buffalo. His Week 6 game is against an Arizona pass defense that allowed Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions to torch them for 45 points.
Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It does not matter if Cade Otton’s quarterback is Baker Mayfield or Jalon Daniels, his numbers stay about the same – mediocre. Otton has had at least three receptions and 25 receiving yards in all five of his outings this year, but he has only gone over 40 yards once and has not reached the end zone yet. He will not hurt your fantasy squad, but he might not help it much, either.
Mason Taylor, New York Jets
If the aforementioned Sadiq is not cleared for the Jets’ next game, former second-round pick Mason Taylor will step in and hopefully step up. Taylor returned from a thumb injury and caught three passes for 24 yards on Sunday and will have an expanded role if Sadiq cannot suit up.
Eli Raridon, New England Patriots
Henry’s rookie understudy is now finding more passes heading his way. Eli Raridon caught five passes for 57 yards in New England’s blowout win over Las Vegas in Week 4. Do not be shocked if the Notre Dame product keeps catching multiple passes per game from here on out. We all know how New England has a history of throwing plenty of passes to their tight ends.
Who Should I Pick Up Tool
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2026 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on Pat Freiermuth, Brenton Strange, Hunter Henry, Kenyon Sadiq, and Mike Gesicki. They are some of the most common searches for tight-end fantasy football waiver wire pickups.
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Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pick Up
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pick Up tool for 2026 for Pat Freiermuth, T.J. Hockenson, Mike Gesicki, Brenton Strange, Kenyon Sadiq, and Hunter Henry:
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