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Craig Rondinone's fantasy football tight end waiver wire pickups for Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season. His free agent TEs to add, stream, and stash off waivers.
You do not have to wait for the NFL season to start to add players to your roster via the waiver wire – at least in some leagues.
Maybe you are bummed you did not get Brock Bowers or George Kittle. Maybe you forgot to draft a backup tight end, and your starter is injury-prone or has an early bye. Or maybe you value the tight end position very little, and someone talked some sense into you. If you need a tight end before the NFL season kicks off on Thursday, you came to the right place.
Here are some tight ends that probably went undrafted in your league that you can pick up Week 1 to be your backup or potentially become your TE1, starting with Jacksonville’s top tight end now that Evan Engram has moved on to the Denver Broncos:
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Top Tight Ends to Pick Up - Week 1 Waiver Wire
Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars
Brenton Strange has been mentioned in about 82 percent of my offseason articles for RotoBaller, and always in a positive light. This is because, despite being ranked in the TE20-to-TE25 range by most fantasy pundits, I believe Strange is going to outperform those expectations, especially with offensive genius Liam Coen now masterminding the offense for the Jaguars.
Jacksonville has two outstanding, game-breaking receivers in top target Brian Thomas Jr. and multi-positional wunderkind Travis Hunter. While those two will get the bulk of the looks from QB Trevor Lawrence, Strange should still find plenty of passes thrown his way as the No. 3 guy in the passing pecking order.
Strange converted 75 percent of his targets into receptions last season, which is an astonishing ratio compared to the league average. He also has nobody in his rearview mirror on the depth chart that will take playing time and targets away from him. Other starting tight ends miss snaps due to the capable backups behind them.
#Jaguars scrimmage today. Should be a lovely practice. Here’s TE Brenton Strange doing what he’s done all camp: pic.twitter.com/IX3ebyTDZ1
— Demetrius Harvey (@Demetrius82) August 14, 2025
Strange is not going to hand fantasy managers a 1,000-yard year on a silver platter, or even a bronze one. But Lawrence loves throwing to his tight ends. He targeted Engram 143 times in 2023, more than any of his wideouts that season. Do not be surprised if Strange gets 80-90 looks and turns them into enough to be a low-end TE1 in 2025.
Other Tight Ends to Consider Adding
Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
It feels like decades ago when Dalton Schultz posted his 78-808-8 season with the Dallas Cowboys in 2021. He appeared to be a shell of his former self last year with his pedestrian 53-532-2 line, and that is why he is ranked as low as 32nd at the position entering the upcoming season.
Considering quarterback C.J. Stroud is primed for a bounce-back season and that his two top targets (Nico Collins and Christian Kirk) are injury-prone, I like Schultz to deliver a solid TE2 type of year. A 60-650-6 season is what I have him lined up to do in 2025, especially since he might have been banged up in 2024, and that is why his production and fantasy values dipped.
Dalton Schultz said he “had a couple things done in the offseason” he was working through…
When asked if he played hurt last year, he deflected: “Everybody’s hurt… nobody’s fresh.”
I questioned it all season based on his movement and dip in production. Something clearly… pic.twitter.com/9udp3TiNxv
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) August 4, 2025
Ja’Tavion Sanders, Carolina Panthers
Carolina’s pass-catching crew was sparse with proven talent before the Panthers traded veteran Adam Thielan back to Minnesota, and Jalen Coker was placed on injured reserve. Now the receiving corps is headed by two unproven first-round picks – 2024 first-rounder Xavier Legette and 2025 first-rounder Tetairoa McMillan.
Sanders developed into a decent tight end as his rookie campaign wore on last year, although there were bumps in the road, such as the fact that he had four games where he was held without a catch. But Sanders is a physical specimen who should have an advanced role in Carolina’s passing attack due to the lack of talented targets on the team. I would take a flyer on him because the upside is there if he emerges as a favorite target of quarterback Bryce Young.
Do Not Forget About…
Darren Waller, Miami Dolphins
Do I love the fact that Darren Waller quit football to become a music mogul? No. Do I love that he is the top tight end on a team that made Jonnu Smith into a fantasy stud last season? Yes. Feel free to take a flyer on him, then drop him if he retires again to record an album with Maxwell.
Theo Johnson, New York Giants
It feels like Giants tight ends have not been relevant fantasy-wise since the Mark Bavaro years. Theo Johnson could change that if veteran Russell Wilson or upstart Jaxson Dart can throw more effectively to him than Daniel Jones or Drew Lock did last season. That should not be hard.
Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Known to me as the king of the eight-yard catch, Cade Otton always takes a backseat to wideouts Mike Evans and Chris Godwin in Baker Mayfield’s pecking order. But his numbers have improved in each of his three seasons, so if you go by the stats progression, then he could have 65 receptions for 675 yards and six scores this year. I would take that from a TE2 who you can spot start when need be.
Mason Taylor, New York Jets
All fantasy managers in dynasty leagues are focusing on first-round picks Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland when thinking about their tight ends of the future, but poor Mason Taylor should not be forgotten, even though he was not selected until the second round. Justin Fields had great chemistry with tight end Cole Kmet in Chicago, so do not be shocked to see it happen with Taylor in New York.
More Waiver Wire Adds and Pickups
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