RADIO
Week 9 has the bye week of all bye weeks. A staggering half-dozen NFL teams are on bye this week, so there will be millions of fantasy football managers searching for tight ends this week.
San Francisco’s George Kittle, Dallas’ Dalton Schultz, Cleveland’s David Njoku, and Pittsburgh’s Pat Freiermuth all have the week off, so fantasy managers are scrambling like Lamar Jackson to find one-week stopgaps at the position.
If you need to find a TE for your Week 9 matchup, you came to the right place. Without further ado, here are the best tight end waiver wire pickups for Week 9!
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Top Tight Ends to Pickup - Week 9 Waiver Wire
Mike Gesicki, Miami Dolphins
With Tyreek Hill taking safeties 50 yards down the field and Jaylen Waddle keeping corners occupied on the other side of the field, the middle is opening more for Gesicki in front of and behind the linebackers. After a sluggish start that made him look like one of the biggest busts of 2022, Gesicki has racked up a dozen receptions for 134 yards and a trio of touchdowns over the Dolphins’ past three games.
Besides Gesicki playing his best ball of the season and Miami factoring him more into the passing attack, another huge thing going for him is his upcoming schedule. His next three games are at Chicago and home games versus Cleveland and Houston. That makes him playable each of those weeks. Gesicki will not be Miami’s go-to guy with the talented receivers on the roster, but he is the best available tight end on fantasy waiver wires right now because of those receivers keeping defenders from keying on him.
Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens
There could not have been many, if any, fantasy managers who used a draft pick and roster spot on Likely before the season. Why would they? Baltimore’s No. 1 tight end (Mark Andrews) was arguably the first or second-best TE in fantasy football (and still is). Fantasy managers have learned from the likes of Jonnu Smith, C.J. Uzomah, and Harrison Bryant that having the No. 2 TE on a team is not normally the way to success in fantasy football.
Likely did as much as a No. 2 TE on a Lamar Jackson-led team could do during the first two months of the season, but he broke out like Hulk Hogan breaking out of the limo in No Holds Barred in Week 8. He played like an Andrews clone and hauled in seven passes for 77 yards and a touchdown in a Thursday tilt against Tampa Bay. Likely’s usage in Baltimore’s packages may increase in the coming weeks, but temper your excitement and expectations since Andrews and the run-heavy design of the offense may work against him for many weeks.
Other Tight Ends to Consider Adding
Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
Hallelujah! Engram finally scored his first touchdown of the season. It appears he can only find the end zone when he is in a foreign country. His fantasy value might be blunted since he will be back in the States for his next game, but he has four straight games of 40 yards or more and is definitely one of the best tight ends out there available to be scooped up this week.
Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Otton is now Tampa Bay and Tom Brady’s top tight end, case closed. He is only getting the scraps left behind after Mike Evans and Chris Godwin get their double-digit targets, yet Brady is still aiming at him about five times per game. Otton is a trendy pick in dynasty leagues because of his long-term potential, but be weary of his value in those formats. Brady is no longer playing like Brady, and it is highly doubtful that Tampa Bay’s next quarterback will be better.
Greg Dulcich, Denver Broncos
Remember when fantasy managers were trying to learn the correct pronunciation of Albert Okwuegbunam’s name before the season because he was thought of as a tight end sleeper by so many fantasy pundits? That is older news than the McRib making its farewell tour. Dulcich cannot be ranked higher in his column since he is on bye, but you can still pick him up this week and wait for his return in Week 10. The outstanding rookie has posted a 12-182-1 line over his first three NFL games.
Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packers
Tonyan will not win any 100-yard dashes, but he is consistently catching Aaron Rodgers passes on a weekly basis. He has averaged 6.5 targets over his last four outings since Green Bay’s receiving corps has been ravaged by injuries and pathetic play. His value is higher in PPR leagues and can go higher if Rodgers starts focusing on him inside the red zone. Tonyan had a TD nullified by his own offensive pass interference penalty on Sunday night against Buffalo, which did not help his fantasy worth.
Do Not Forget About…
Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
Johnson is still a touchdown-dependent tight end, just not as much as he was last year. Now he can get 20-40 yards to go along with his touchdown. Johnson has a fantasy-plus matchup at home next Monday night against a Baltimore Ravens secondary that is ranked 28th against the pass.
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
Henry’s fantasy value is getting dragged down by the Patriots’ mediocre quarterback play and a run-first offense that spreads its pass plays around to a potpourri of pass catchers. Do not be discouraged by his back-to-back one-catch games, though. Henry cannot be counted on to be a TE1 this year, but he can be spot started as a TE2 now that Mac Jones appears that he might be getting his train on track.
Foster Moreau, Las Vegas Raiders
Darren Waller is becoming as unreliable as Antonio Brown was during the end of his stay in Tampa Bay. While Waller is week-to-week and looking like he might not be 100 percent anytime soon, fill-in Moreau is coming off a game where he set season-highs with six receptions and nine targets. As long as Waller is out, Moreau is a tight end fantasy managers can think about putting in, especially this week against slumping Jacksonville
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