December 12, 2017

Jason's tight end waiver wire pickups for Week 15 of fantasy football. His top ranked NFL TEs to add from waivers, sleepers for Week 15 of the 2017 season.

While there were plenty of movers and shakers on the fantasy scene, the tight end position didn't see as much volatility. Injuries have been the biggest story in the tight end world, but the tight ends remained healthy, at least during this past week.

So here we are, feverishly looking to analyze statistics and projections to justify an addition to our fantasy football teams.

Below are my Week 15 waiver wire adds for tight ends. Following this past week's games, this is a list of tight ends you should consider adding to your roster.

Tight End Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 15

Jesse James (TE, PIT) - 13% owned (FAAB Bid: 1%)

Seemingly out of nowhere, the Road Dogg Jesse James posted 97 yards after catching 10 of a whopping 12 targets Sunday night against Baltimore. Part of the impetus for James' increased usage was Vance McDonald's injury, which early reports indicate will keep him out of this week's affair against New England. In what should be another shootout, James has the opportunity to post another useful week. I always caution against chasing the previous week's points, but with a TE position in such dire straits all season, this is chasing situation and opportunity, rather than points.

O.J. Howard (TE, TB) - 23% owned (FAAB Bid: 1%)

I admittedly do not like this one. Jameis Winston is terrible. The Bucs are terrible. Their passing game presents no threats as Mike Evans wastes away as a low end WR3. However, it does appear that O.J. Howard has finally usurped Cameron Brate as the primary TE on this team. Howard has topped 50 receiving yards in three of his last four games while Brate has caught exactly one pass in five of his last six games (he caught two balls two weeks ago). Sure, it could flip right back to Brate this week, but I don't think so. I think this is the changing of the guard. You can do worse than take a shot on an uber talented rookie on a team that projects to almost always be losing.
 

Deeper League Options

Adam Shaheen (TE, CHI) - 1% owned

The Bears offense came alive in Cincinnati last week and Adam Shaheen caught his second touchdown of the season. Shaheen only saw five targets, but he caught four for 44 yards and the aforementioned score. This week, the Bears get the Lions who struggle against TEs. Shaheen is by no means a strong option, but the Bears are looking to the future so it only makes sense for them to see what the kid has. Shaheen's snap share should remain high enough to produce. He just needs the targets. That's up to Mitch Trubisky. Regardless, he's worth a shot in deep leagues.
 

Must-Hold Tight Ends

The following players are a complete and exhaustive list of all the Tight Ends you absolutely cannot drop. Anyone not listed below can be safely cut.

Initially, I was going to list a couple names that you can drop if you needed to. Upon review of the state of the tight end position, I am amending my approach on the fly. If your TE is not found listed below, that does not mean you should run out and drop him right now. Don't do that. Just understand that if you had to drop him, you should not feel compelled to keep him because of something like ownership percentage or name value.

• Rob Gronkowski (TE, NE)
• Travis Kelce (TE, KC)
• Zach Ertz (TE, PHI)
• Evan Engram (TE, NYG)
• Jimmy Graham (TE, SEA)
• Kyle Rudolph (TE, MIN)
• Delanie Walker (TE, TEN)

More Waiver Wire Pickups and Analysis