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If you are reading this article, you have either made the championship game in your fantasy football league with a mediocre-at-best tight end, or you just love my writing. Either way, kudos to you!
In most fantasy leagues, this is Super Bowl week. Week 18 is dismissed because many players are rested for the playoffs, so it is now-or-never time for fantasy managers looking to win trophies, money, and bragging rights. If you have made it this far, you probably have a decent tight end, but if you need one, I have some more to recommend as well.
Without further ado, here are the best tight end waiver wire pickups for Week 17, starting with the young tight end from Tennessee who is finally breaking out of his sophomore slump:
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Top Tight Ends to Pickup - Week 17 Waiver Wire
Chigoziem Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans
All Okonkwo needed to have his best game of the season was for Will Levis to get banged up. Tennessee’s top tight end caught all five passes former starter Ryan Tannehill threw his way (and the one RB Derrick Henry tossed, too) and turned them into a season-high 63 yards and his first touchdown of this disappointing campaign. This now makes five straight contests that Okonkwo has had 35 receiving yards or more as he has found his niche as the No. 2 option in the Titans' passing attack behind DeAndre Hopkins.
Okonkwo gets to find openings in a Houston Texans secondary that is filled with holes. Houston just allowed Cleveland WR Amari Cooper to run rampant for 11 receptions, 265 yards, and two touchdowns on Sunday. Houston is ranked 26th against the pass (shocking it’s not worse) and is reeling on both sides of the ball. Between his matchup and his current rise in the rankings, this is why Okonkwo is No. 1 on the TE board this week.
Other Tight Ends to Consider Adding
Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers
Not only was Kraft supposed to be Green Bay’s No. 2 TE this season, he was not even the best rookie tight end on the roster since Luke Musgrave was drafted higher and had more potential. But with Musgrave out of action the past month with a lacerated kidney, Kraft has stepped in and stepped up in a big-time way. He has a dozen catches for 181 yards and a TD over his last three games and should give fantasy managers another 50 yards or more against Minnesota on Sunday.
Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
The touchdown-dependent tight end has scored in back-to-back games after registering just one TD over his first nine games of 2023. I will stop short of guaranteeing another touchdown this upcoming week, but he is facing Tampa Bay’s 32nd-ranked pass defense, so it’s not a stretch to predict it.
Darren Waller, New York Giants
As long as Waller’s hamstring is intact, he is a fantasy threat since he is a former 1,000-yard guy and the No. 1 pass catcher on the lowly Giants. If Tommy “Cutlets” DeVito can focus less on his endorsements and more on getting the ball to his top tight end in Week 17, Waller should end his horrible season on a high note.
Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams
The Rams' offense is clicking on all cylinders now that their main men are healthy. While that means Higbee has to wait his turn for targets because Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua are ahead of him in the pecking order, it affords him the opportunity to get more open looks as secondaries are more concerned with those wonderful wideouts. Higbee has averaged 30 yards per game over his four contests and has a pair of touchdowns during that span. He should be able to supply 30-50 yards this weekend versus the New York Giants.
Gerald Everett, Los Angeles Chargers
Everett is the Tyler Conklin of 2023 -- always featured in my column because he is one of the better candidates to pick up, but he never gets picked up by enough clubs to get out of the column. He has been the king of the eight-yard-catch this year, and he has been the model of consistency lately. His last five yardage outputs have been 43, 44, 39, 41, and 42. Everett’s been seeing more targets with Keenan Allen sidelined, so if Allen misses Week 17, then Everett is worthy of a look.
Do Not Forget About…
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
Henry was the No. 1 TE to pick up last week until a knee injury kept him off the field for his game against Denver on Sunday night. If he is able to suit up in Week 17, he vaults towards the top of this list, but you will have to monitor his status on a daily basis in the meantime.
Michael Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders
It would be nice to see what Mayer can do with a solid quarterback throwing to him. Let’s hope this happens in 2024 since Jimmy Garoppolo and Aidan O'Connell have not done him many fantasy favors during his rookie campaign.
Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills
Knox has totally ruined the fantasy value of upstart Dalton Kincaid since returning from injury. While Knox is a fantasy zero at the current time, you have to wonder where he might end up next season since the Bills seem to be happy to make Kincaid the future No. 1 TE. If Knox goes to another team, he could return to the fantasy map since he did score 15 touchdowns between the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Logan Thomas, Washington Commanders
Thomas had been giving fantasy managers the gift of coal the three weeks prior, mustering up just 22 receiving yards in a trio of games down the stretch. But Thomas returned to the win column with a 5-36-1 line against the New York Jets and might have a positive game script headed his way in Week 17 against a San Francisco 49ers team that might charge out to a big lead against the Commanders.
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