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One week down, 17 more to go in the chaotic world of fantasy football. Week 1 had its fair share of fantasy ups and downs at the tight end position.
Kansas City’s Travis Kelce missed only the fourth game of his storied career on Thursday night, and Baltimore’s Mark Andrews missed his Sunday contest with a cranky quad. Philadelphia’s Dallas Goedert went without a catch, while San Francisco’s George Kittle only sputtered out 19 yards for his fantasy managers.
There were tight ends who had decent days, however. Even better, some might be available in your fantasy league! So without further ado, here are the best tight end waiver wire pickups for Week 2, beginning with a new multimillionaire who delivered bang for the buck on Sunday!
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Top Tight Ends to Pickup - Week 2 Waiver Wire
Hayden Hurst, Carolina Panthers
The jury is out on how well Carolina’s offense will do this year with rookie phenom Bryce Young at the helm, but Hurst got off to a scintillating start with his new team.
He led Panthers pass catchers with five receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown in Week 1. Hurst should continue to produce as long as the average wideout pair of D.J. Chark and Adam Thielen are all he has to contend with target-wise.
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
The addition of Mike Gesicki in the offseason did not bode well for Henry’s 2023 fantasy outlook, but the touchdown-loving veteran has gotten off to a good start. He was able to haul in five Mac Jones spirals for 56 yards and a TD.
Henry has scored 33 career touchdowns and has an above-average nose for the end zone. As long as he keeps getting aimed at more than Gesicki, he should be a solid TE2 who can be spot-started by fantasy managers.
Other Tight Ends to Consider Adding
Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
While Lions fans might not have the memory of T.J. Hockenson fade just yet, second-round rookie LaPorta did a bang-up job in his first NFL contest. The kid caught all five of the passes Jared Goff threw at him for an economical 39 yards.
Detroit’s receiving corps is on the average side and so is the rest of its tight end troop, so look for LaPorta to post helpful fantasy stats throughout the season and become the perfect outlet for Goff.
Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams
With Cooper Kupp sidelined with a bad hammy, you knew Higbee’s target total would rise and so would his stats. His trio of catches for 49 yards against Seattle was nice, but the surprising emergence of young receivers Tutu Atwell and Puka Nacua overshadowed Higbee in the boxscore.
Higbee should do OK next week despite facing San Francisco’s staunch defense. He had a 10-catch game versus the 49ers in 2022 and scored three touchdowns in two games against them in 2021.
Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
This former receiver now converted into a tight end has vastly improved over the years and has the makings of a top-12 fantasy tight end. He failed to reach the end zone in Week 1 but it should not be too much longer before he takes a touchdown trip after scoring seven times in 2022.
Pick him up now before he has a two-TD game and is scooped up by a TE-hungry manager ahead of you on next week’s waiver wire.
Zach Ertz, Arizona Cardinals
Ertz has never received less attention from fantasy players than 2023, especially once Joshua Dobbs was installed as Arizona’s starting signal caller. So get ready for stat lines like Ertz gave us on Sunday – six receptions for 21 yards on 10 targets.
Dobbs will not get the ball downfield, so Ertz will be the king of the five-yard catch until Kyler Murray returns. The good news is the longtime veteran tight end should be targeted a ton since the Cardinals are light in receiver department.
Do Not Forget About…
Luke Musgrave, Green Bay Packers
Jordan Love might be the real deal after all. He sure looked the part against Chicago on Sunday. Rookie Musgrave is arguably the third-best option for Love and supplied fantasy managers with 50 receiving yards in his first NFL outing.
Do not jump the gun and think we have the second coming of Brett Favre and Mark Chmura on our hands, but Musgrave should not be slept on in dynasty or standard leagues as the best is yet to come from him.
Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
No Tom Brady, no problem. Well, while Baker Mayfield helped lead Tampa Bay to an upset victory in Week 1, he did Otton no fantasy favors. Maybe the game plan was to blame. Superstar receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin were responsible for 117 of the 173 passing yards Mayfield threw for.
Otton’s two catches for 19 yards were left in the dust. Do not give up on the second-year man yet. Otton’s Week 2 home matchup against the Chicago Bears could get him back on the right fantasy track.
Logan Thomas, Washington Commanders
Thomas appears to be injury-free after some struggles with major injuries the past two seasons. He started the season with four catches for 43 yards on a team-high eight targets in Washington’s Week 1 win.
Here’s hoping inexperienced quarterback Sam Howell continues to rely on Thomas as a veteran safety blanket throughout the campaign.
Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys
Dalton Schultz is history, and Ferguson’s fantasy value is a mystery, yet Dak Prescott’s new top tight end had his moments on Sunday evening against the New York Giants. Ferguson was not able to muster much (11 yards), but he was targeted a team-best seven times.
He will not put up Schultz-like numbers this year but do not be surprised if Ferguson becomes a Prescott favorite over time.
Irv Smith Jr., Cincinnati Bengals
I could spin this and say that Smith Jr. had more catches and yards than Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd combined and make his Week 1 effort sound better than it was. The truth is that Smith Jr.’s three grabs for 17 yards does not make me feel like a Shannon Sharpe-like season is on the horizon.
Cincinnati’s offense and Joe Burrow will not be this horrible for long, so look for Smith’s red zone targets to increase in the coming weeks.
Noah Gray, Kansas City Chiefs
The aforementioned Kelce almost played in K.C.’s Week 1 game, so he should be ready for Week 2. If he has to miss more time though, Gray showed he will get targeted in Kelce’s absence.
He caught three Patrick Mahomes passes and turned them into 31 yards, and Gray tied two teammates with a team-high five targets. If you would feel better getting some Kelce insurance, consider Gray somebody Flo from Progressive would sign off on.
Kylen Granson, Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis’ pass-catching group consists of top target Michael Pittman Jr. and not many others you can count on consistently. This is why Granson is not a bad low-price grab this early, especially until No. 1 TE Jelani Woods returns to the field.
Granson caught four passes for 39 yards against Jacksonville and looks to have some chemistry with rookie QB Anthony Richardson. Just do not expect Granson to be a fantasy force week in and week out. Woods will knock him down a peg on the depth chart within the next couple of weeks.
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