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Craig's tight end (TE) fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 4 of 2025. His top TE fantasy football pickups, free agents to add, tight end streamers.
The byes do not start until Week 5 in the NFL this year, so we have another full slate of games this weekend, and another full slate of tight ends playing.
The tight end position in fantasy football is in flux. Kansas City’s Travis Kelce is one step closer to either being the next Joe Rogan or Taylor Swift’s roadie. San Francisco’s George Kittle is injured again. Baltimore’s Mark Andrews is past his prime and ready to hand his starting spot to the emerging Isaiah Likely once the youngster returns from injury. The old guard at the position is starting to fade out, and fantasy managers are scrambling to find new tight end talent to fill the gaps in their lineups.
Here are the top candidates at tight end to pick up on fantasy waiver wires heading into Week 4, starting with a longtime fantasy force who is still catching touchdown passes for the New England Patriots – and a charter member of the “old guard”:
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Top Tight End to Pick Up - Week 4 Waiver Wire
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
Henry keeps chugging along like a 50-year-old locomotive that still has some steam in its engine. This past Sunday, he was running routes like he did as a rookie with the San Diego Chargers back in 2016! Henry ripped up Pittsburgh’s below-average secondary to the tune of eight catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns.
Hunter Henry has another TD to even the score!
PITvsNE on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/wdboapbwC8
— NFL (@NFL) September 21, 2025
New England still has a subpar receiving corps despite all the moves the Patriots made in the offseason. Stefon Diggs has not had a 60-yard game yet and is only in the news because of his dalliance with Cardi B. No one else on the roster has emerged as a WR1, so Henry is lining up to be QB Drake Maye’s top target again this weekend when the Pats host the Carolina Panthers.
Other Tight Ends to Consider Adding
Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns
Is it safe to say that Fannin has surpassed longtime stalwart David Njoku as the most valuable fantasy tight end on Cleveland’s roster? Maybe it is too early since we are only three games into the season, but Fannin has 15 receptions for 136 yards, compared to Njoku’s 12 receptions for 117 yards. It is a shocking development considering Njoku was ranked as a TE6 to TE10 by most fantasy experts at the start of the season.
We know how Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski loves employing two tight end sets in his offense, so Fannin is in no danger of losing snaps or targets. What the talented rookie really needs is the Browns' passing “attack” to be led by someone who can get him the ball. Joe Flacco is not the answer at quarterback. Maybe Dillon Gabriel is.
Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville’s top tight end has had to battle for targets early on, but not for the reason fantasy pundits predicted at the beginning of the season. Instead of game-breaking wideouts Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter monopolizing Trevor Lawrence’s pass attempts, head honcho Liam Coen and the Jags have been spreading the ball around to secondary receivers like Parker Washington and the running backs. Lawrence targeted 11 different pass catchers this past Sunday.
Luckily, Strange had the best afternoon of all the Jaguars pass catchers in Week 3, catching six passes for 61 yards (on seven targets). He has more receptions and receiving yards than wideouts Thomas and Hunter through three weeks. Nobody expected that. Pick up Strange, and hopefully, this is the week he scores his first TD of the season.
Do Not Forget About…
Jonnu Smith, Pittsburgh Steelers
Smith is officially the more valuable fantasy tight end on the Steelers after three weeks. Incumbent Pat Freiermuth is now droppable in all formats (65 yards in three games). Smith has been no fantasy prize himself (12-65-1), but at least he is showing value in PPR leagues with his five-yard grabs. If you pick him up, though, remember to insert him in your lineup early on Sunday morning since he has a 9:30 am ET start thanks to Pittsburgh playing in Ireland.
Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
Schultz is not performing at the same level he did when he was a member of the Dallas Cowboys, and his three games of 28, 29, and 39 yards this season are not making fantasy managers jump online to grab him like they are trying to get Foo Fighters tickets.
That said, I like that Schultz is the second-best option for targets in Houston behind top target Nico Collins. I also like that Houston hosts winless Tennessee this weekend, whose pass defense has been spotty so far. Schultz could get you six catches for 55 yards this Sunday. If that is better than what you have been getting out of your tight end, pick him up.
Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
The fantasy demise of Kmet is not set in stone yet. Thought of as undraftable in fantasy formats once Chicago spent a first-round pick on Michigan product Colston Loveland, Kmet might be back in the fantasy forefront after Loveland suffered a hip injury against Dallas. If Kmet becomes Caleb Williams’ top tight end again, he deserves a hard look in your league since he scored 17 touchdowns in the three seasons before the current one.
Chig Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans
The Titans have been dreadful on both sides of the ball during the first month of action, but Okonkwo has been a bright spot. He caught five passes for 66 yards against a staunch Indianapolis defense and has become rookie quarterback Cam Ward’s most reliable target. He appears to have more fantasy value this year than veteran receivers Calvin Ridley and Tyler Lockett do.
Mason Taylor, New York Jets
I know the Jets as a whole are a fantasy fiasco. Taylor’s value will not be off-the-charts-great in 2025. However, do not forget about the rookie if you are thinking long-term in a dynasty league, or even short-term in a standard league. He was targeted six times and caught four Tyrod Taylor passes against Tampa Bay, and other than Garrett Wilson, he has little competition for passes in New York.
Oronde Gadsden, Los Angeles Chargers
Forget what I said last week about picking up Tyler Conklin. Gadsden is now the unquestioned Chargers tight end you want to hang a helmet on. The fifth-round pick out of Syracuse caught the first five passes of his career on Sunday versus Denver and looks like he will get more cracks at catching Justin Herbert spirals as the season wears on if he plays like this.
Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens
Likely still has not set foot on the field this season and is not playing Monday night against the Detroit Lions, but that does not mean he should be erased from your memory banks. Now is the time to scoop him up and stash him on the back end of your roster for later in the season when you need a TE2. Likely scored 14 touchdowns over his first three NFL campaigns and would have scored more if Andrews were not in the way.
Ravens TE Isaiah Likely is BACK at practice pic.twitter.com/ycsAeeGLP7
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) September 18, 2025
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Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pick Up
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