RADIO
This is the week to find out if your fantasy football team is the turkey of your league.
Fantasy playoff berths will be decided during this crucial week. The trade deadline has probably passed in your league, so adding players via the waiver wire is likely your only option. The good news for fantasy football managers is that no teams are off during Week 12, so there is no need to worry about your tight end or any of your other players being on bye. The bad news is for fantasy managers is that if their starting tight end is injured or downright terrible, their only avenue for an upgrade is their league waiver wire.
There should be some juice available at the tight end position in your league, though! Here are the top tight end candidates to pick up in fantasy football leagues heading into Week 12!
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Top Tight End Waiver Wire Options
Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packers
46% rostered
Tonyan was the toast of fantasy football when he scored five touchdowns over the first three weeks of the season, including a three-TD torching of the hapless Atlanta Falcons on a Monday night in Week 3. Then he either came back to earth, had trouble with nagging injuries, and/or the NFL’s defensive coordinators figured him out. Tonyan went on a five-game slump where he did not score a touchdown and only had one game with more than 35 receiving yards. This is why he has suddenly become available in more than half of leagues.
Tonyan re-emerged from hiding in Week 11 with five catches for 44 yards and a TD against Indianapolis’ stingy defense. He seems 100 percent healthy, and now that the rest of Green Bay’s receiving corps is back intact and running on all cylinders, this should open up areas in secondaries for Tonyan from here on out. His next game against Chicago will not be easy, but Tonyan has three below-average pass defenses (Tennessee, Carolina, Detroit) on the docket between Weeks 14 and 16 – the playoff weeks in most fantasy leagues. Pick him up immediately!
Jordan Reed, San Francisco 49ers
14% rostered
Give Reed a medal! He has kept himself healthy for three weeks in a row! Whether it is due to an increase in his Vitamin C and D intake, dumb luck, or because San Francisco was on bye this past week is irrelevant. The fact is a healthy Reed is a productive Reed, and he can be a top-10 fantasy tight end when his body does not betray him. The second fact is that his body has betrayed him countless times (52 games missed in eight-year career).
San Francisco’s injury-prone wide receiver crew should be feeling better coming out of a bye week, but George Kittle won’t be. That means Reed will be San Fran’s top tight end for the foreseeable future and should be a fixture in the 49ers passing attack as long as he doesn’t suffer from an ingrown toenail or a bruised buttock. Reed will see tons of targets against the L.A. Rams this Sunday and will be someone who can give fantasy managers 50-60 yards and a score during the crucial weeks of the fantasy season. But he has to stay healthy, and if you are worried about him spraining an ankle in the first quarter of your fantasy playoff game three weeks from now, pick someone else from the tight end litter below.
Other Tight End Options to Consider
Jimmy Graham, Chicago Bears
38% rostered
Chicago’s quarterback play has been catastrophic in recent weeks to Graham’s fantasy value. The longtime fantasy stud only has eight catches for 68 yards and a TD over his past three outings. We have no idea if Nick Foles, Mitchell Trubisky, Tyler Bray or Jim McMahon will be Chicago’s QB for Week 12, but Graham faces a Green Bay team that just allowed two Indianapolis tight ends to find pay dirt against its defense this past Sunday, so he will likely have scoring opportunities.
Logan Thomas, Washington Football Team
54% rostered
For the 10th time in a row this season, Thomas was targeted at least four times in Washington’s win against the Cincinnati Bengals. The problem was that he turned five targets into a paltry two catches for six yards, which was the kind of game he is dropping on fantasy managers early in the season. It was the third time this year he has been targeted four times or more yet had less than 10 yards receiving. Thomas should be in line for a bounce-back game against Dallas’ defense on Thanksgiving, though.
Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys
21% rostered
The “Red Rifle” is back under center for the Cowboys, and that is better news for Schultz and his fantasy value than if Dallas is its third and fourth-string signal callers --- I think. In reality, it has not mattered who has been throwing dying quails at Schultz. He has 14 catches for 126 yards and a touchdown over his last three games, and in each game he had a different quarterback tossing to him. Look for Schultz to have a tougher time getting open against Washington’s stout defense on Thanksgiving, but he always has a chance to earn a trip to Touchdownville when the Cowboys get inside the red zone.
Richard Rodgers, Philadelphia Eagles
3% rostered
Rodgers keeps making it easier for Zach Ertz to take his sweet time rehabbing and getting back onto the football field. Philly’s No. 3 TE now has racked up 12 receptions for 193 yards and a touchdown over his past four contests, despite top tight end Dallas Goedert getting just as many looks from Carson Wentz. Rodgers will run routes against Seattle’s 32nd-ranked pass defense this week if Ertz does not return in time.
Jordan Akins, Houston Texans
2% rostered
Injuries curtailed Akins’ fantasy value after a promising for two games, but he had a season-high 83 yards against New England this past Sunday and is facing a Detroit Lions Defense on Turkey Day that let XFLer P.J. Walker throw for 258 yards in Week 11 and allowed Alex Smith to light them up for 30 yards the week before that. Akins is not a bad low-cost option in DFS contests or as a one-week emergency tight end if you need one for your standard league.
Don’t Forget About…
Trey Burton, Indianapolis Colts
17% rostered
Burton continues to find the end zone on a regular basis (four TDs in last five games) even though Indianapolis has more tight ends than Red Robin has burgers. Jack Doyle and Mo-Alie Cox’s presence will only allow Burton to catch so many passes, but he is worth more than that pair due to his propensity for scoring. Indy has a division game against Tennessee, and the Titans have been ranked near the bottom at defending the pass, so Burton is a good spot start for fantasy teams in need.
Irv Smith Jr., Minnesota Vikings
8% rostered
Smith returned from a one-game absence and looks to be fully healthy. He has either scored touchdowns or had 50-yard games in three of his last five contests and is scheduled to play a below-average Carolina pass defense in Week 12. Feel free to cut Kyle Rudolph now that Smith is back in Minnesota’s fold.
Jacob Hollister, Seattle Seahawks
0% rostered
With top tight end Greg Olsen possibly out for the year after suffering another foot injury, Seattle will have Hollister and Will Dissly to split up the tight end targets and time. Hollister is arguably the better buy for fantasy managers as he showed he can fill in as a starter last year when he supplied 41 receptions for 349 yards and three touchdowns in just 11 games.
Dan Arnold, Arizona Cardinals
0% rostered
It appears as if Kliff Kingsbury is warming up to the idea of calling pass plays for his young tight end every blue moon --- even down by the end zone! Arnold was able to haul in a Kyler Murray missile on a slant pattern for a TD last Thursday. His numbers are improving week-by-week, but temper fantasy expectations because veteran Maxx Williams gets his fair share of snaps at tight end for the Cards, too.
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