September 10, 2016

Craig Rondinone scours the fantasy football TE waiver wire and analyzes which available NFL tight ends are solid pickups and adds for Week 1 of the 2016 season.

Everyone cannot have Rob Gronkowski or Jordan Reed as their fantasy tight end.  This column is for those of you who hate the tight ends on your fantasy rosters right now.

Fantasy football drafts and auctions have come and gone.  If you are not happy with what you have at tight end, there are still several options available on your league’s free agent list.  Here are three tight ends to consider this week on the waiver wire.

Editor's Note: Purchase a full season NFL Premium Pass (including DFS Premium Cheat Sheets), and also get MLB Premium + DFS for free through the playoffs. Premium DFS lineup picks, expert lineups, tools and more - seven days a week. You can see screenshots of our NFL Premium and MLB Premium and DFS tools. What are you waiting for?

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire - Week 1 Tight Ends

Jesse James, Pittsburgh Steelers

The whole Ladarius Green situation has almost been as mysterious as the Ben Roethlisberger bathroom saga was back in 2010.  Green was sidelined during the preseason, but fantasy owners are still awaiting word on what sidelined him.  First we heard it was his ankle, then we heard it was a concussion, and now he is going to miss the first six games despite the fact that neither Green’s agent nor the Steelers have confirmed what exactly is ailing him.

James has now emerged as Pittsburgh’s tight end in Green’s absence.  At 6’7” and 260 pounds, he will be Roethlisberger’s biggest target on the field.  That may mean James will get targeted more often in the red zone than a former fifth-round pick with eight career catches to his credit would usually get.

Heath Miller was always a fantasy force when Roethlisberger was the one throwing to him.  The same could be said for James during the first month of the season while he receives all the playing time left behind by the injured Green.  Fantasy supergod Antonio Brown should definitely open up some room for James to work short routes underneath.

Jared Cook, Green Bay Packers

I know!  I get it!  Cook has never lived up to his fantasy potential.  Year after year some pundits make the case that it will be Cook’s breakout year, and then he goes and puts up pedestrian numbers that 20-25 tight ends can match or beat.  While he has two 50-reception seasons and three 600-yard years to his credit, Cook has only scored 16 touchdowns since turning pro in 2009.

But Cook has played with a cavalcade of quarterbacks during his career that would have trouble starting for LSU these days.  Nick Foles, Case Keenum, Austin Davis, Sam Bradford, Shaun Hill, Kellen Clemens, Jake Locker and Vince Young is an impressive collection of below-average quarterbacks.  They all did nothing to help improve Cook’s fantasy value over the years.  You know what quarterback could help him, though?  A guy by the name of Aaron Rodgers.

Cook is a more skilled pass catcher than Green Bay’s other main tight end, Richard Rodgers.  Cook has the athleticism to run seam routes and break big gainers that Rodgers is not capable of.  Cook is a super sleeper because fantasy owners have never seen him play with a QB anywhere near as talented as Rodgers.

Virgil Green, Denver Broncos

You wouldn’t normally peg a blocking tight end in a run-first offense with a second-year quarterback who has never thrown a pass in a regular season game as someone fantasy owners should be interested in, especially when the tight end has 35 career catches in five seasons.

But Green won Denver’s starting tight end job over Jeff Heuerman in a one-sided battle when the injury-prone youngster could not show enough during training camp due to not being on the field enough.  Now Green should be able to easily post career-highs in every major fantasy category since he will be the top tight end. He should get some looks on short passes and down by the end zone when top tandem Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders are covered and distracting defenses.

Forget about Green playing so well that he becomes Denver’s most valuable fantasy tight end since the days of Shannon Sharpe.  Green will be lucky to post numbers comparable to last year’s starter, Owen Daniels.  But Green’s first game of the season against the Carolina Panthers was promising.  He only caught four passes for 28 yards, but he was wide open in the end zone in the fourth quarter and should have scored a touchdown if Trevor Siemian could have elevated his pass.

More Tight End Options

Martellus Bennett, New England Patriots

With the breaking news that Rob Gronkowski will miss the first game with a hamstring injury, Bennett now becomes New England’s temporary top tight end.  Of course, his value would be greater if Tom Brady was going to be his quarterback this week.

Crockett Gillmore, Baltimore Ravens

With Benjamin Watson out for the season wand Dennis Pitta and Maxx Williams also banged-up, Gillmore should see a fair amount of Joe Flacco’s passes this Sunday.  Plus, Gillmore faces Buffalo, and Rex Ryan defenses sometimes have trouble defending tight ends.

Jacob Tamme, Atlanta Falcons

Tamme torched Tampa Bay last year for 103 yards and a touchdown in his best game of 2015, so he will be excited to face the Bucs this weekend.  He also performed much better at home last season than he did on the road, so he has everything going for him in his Week 1 matchup.