RADIO
It all comes down to this…for some of you!
If you are lucky enough to be alive in the playoffs in your fantasy football league, you are either in your semifinals or you are in the Super Bowl because your league skips the last week of the season. So every point you get from your quarterback to your kicker is crucial.
The tight ends on the waiver wire at this juncture of the season are scarce. Pulling a diamond out of the rough now is harder than keeping Houston Texans quarterbacks healthy, but here are three tight ends that could help out fantasy owners during this important week.
Week 16 Waiver Wire -- Tight Ends (TE)
Will Tye (TE, NYG ) -- 8% Owned in Fleaflicker
It is time to jump on the fantasy bandwagon of the man with the short but sweet name. If you thought he was a fluke then you must have thought Devonta Freeman, Allen Robinson and Jordan Reed were flashes in the pan, too!
Tye has taken over for the injured Larry Donnell and been a fantasy find since he was inserted into New York’s starting lineup. While Tye has averaged five catches and 55 yards over his past five games, the big news came out of his last two outings. He scored touchdowns in back-to-back contests after not finding the end zone at all up to that point.
Now with star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. suspended for one game due to flying off the handle countless times against the Carolina Panthers this past weekend, Tye could be Eli Manning’s top target this Sunday night. It’s not like inconsistent Rueben Randle or role player Dwayne Harris deserve more passes thrown their way.
Tye will look to tie one on against the Minnesota Vikings this weekend. Minnesota’s defense has been decimated by injuries to several key players, so it is not the same staunch unit it was early in the season. Tye should be the best tight end available on most league’s waiver wires, so pick him up and hope that his six receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown win you your fantasy playoff game.
Jared Cook (TE, STL) -- 13% Owned in Fleaflicker
The St. Louis pass offense is downright offensive between its lack of talent, lack of execution and lack of creativity. But if the Rams have been doing anything right the past month-plus it has been attempting to force passes to Cook, something that should have been done much earlier, like in 2013!
Cook has been targeted a half-dozen times or more in four of St. Louis’ last five contests. While the extra targets still have not helped Cook get into the end zone, he has managed 16 receptions for 186 yards, which is better than most tight ends on waiver wires these days. If he keeps getting targeted like that this weekend, he could actually score a touchdown. Hey, stranger things have happened!
St. Louis is slated to play at Seattle against the division rival Seahawks. As I have mentioned in this column before, Seattle’s defense at home is not the same. They have allowed tight ends to score touchdowns against them in four of their last five home games, including Cleveland’s unstoppable Gary Barnidge this past Sunday. The days of benching offensive players in your fantasy leagues because they were playing at Seattle are officially over.
St. Louis is so hard to figure offensively that it is difficult to put too much stock on Cook. He could be targeted 10 times, he could be targeted once, or he could be put in at quarterback for the lack of any other options. I think odds are that Cook gets thrown to more than any other Rams pass catcher and supplies fantasy owners with four catches for 48 yards and…wait for it…and touchdown!
Jordan Cameron (TE, MIA) -- 54% Owned in Fleaflicker
Coming into the year, what fantasy owners worried most about Cameron was that he had suffered a couple concussions and might be one more away from missing an entire season or even retiring. But that hasn’t been his problem at all because he not had many chances to be tackled.
Cameron has been virtually ignored this season as quarterback Ryan Tannehill has been more interested in connecting with slot receiver extraordinaire Jarvis Landry and his 50 other wideouts than getting the ball to Cameron. Cameron’s 30 receptions for 346 yards and two touchdowns are extremely underwhelming considering just two years ago he had 80 catches for 917 yards and seven touchdowns with the Cleveland Browns.
The reason I have Cameron in this column is because he has an advantageous matchup against a hopeless Indianapolis Colts defense that is ranked 30th in the league against the pass and has given up 112 points over its last three games. Tannehill should be able to throw for 250-300 against this subpar secondary, and Cameron could be on the receiving end of 40-60 of those yards.
Cameron has frustrated fantasy owners as much as the IRS frustrates taxpayers. Fantasy owners have waited and waited for Cameron to have that breakout game, and it has not come. I do not think it will come until 2017, but I do think Cameron could help a TE-challenged fantasy owner in a playoff game and give 40 yards and possibly a TD.
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