Week 2 Tight Ends: Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds

September 10, 2014

Matt Hartman analyzes Week 2 fantasy football tight ends (TE) - waiver wire pickups, adds and sleepers for both PPR and non-PPR leagues. NFL tight ends are a key component.

Whats up RotoBallers? The 2014 fantasy football season has begun, and I'll be writing your weekly waiver analysis for tight ends (TE) and giving you my suggestions for who to pickup. Even though waivers ran for most leagues last night, it's never to late to see who's sitting out there on your waiver wire and identify some sleepers to beef up your fantasy teams.

This season is sure to be full of surprises at the tight end position, so make sure you check back to this article weekly. To help accommodate your needs I'll also be looking at deeper sleepers (way off the radar) to make this article a little more unique compared to others. All of my waiver wire recommendations will be organized by priority, so those players closer to the top of the article are more valuable to target.

If anyone has any specific questions or is looking for any assistance, please feel free to comment on the article directly or send me a message to my twitter account at @businesssoxroto.  My goal within this article is to recommend both short term tight end options (i.e. matchup plays, injury fill-ins), and also longer term tight end considerations (i.e. emerging rookies). With that said lets get to it!

Fantasy Football Tight Ends (TE)

Delanie Walker (TE, TEN)

39% owned in Fleaflicker, 54% owned in Yahoo, 65.2% owned in ESPN      

For my number one tight end waiver wire option this week, I am recommending Delanie Walker. Last season was Walker's breakout season with the Titans and I expect him to continue building upon that. In 2013, Walker showed a lot of chemistry with Jake Locker - although his fantasy value was greatly hurt when Locker went down with an injury. With Locker back in the QB position, it looks like they have picked right back up where they left off. Last season Walker had 60 catches on 86 targets, which put him as a top 12 fantasy TE. With Locker back this season, I expect that Walker will be even better and Week 1 showed what he will contribute to the Titan's offense. If you are in a 10 team league or higher, Walker is a nice target to have on your team - especially if you aren't happy with your starting tight end, or are looking for some more roster depth.

Recommendation: waiver wire pickup in 10+ team leagues (standard, PPR)

Travis Kelce (TE, KC)

30% owned in Fleaflicker, 36% owned in Yahoo, 2.2% owned in ESPN

As you will see on RotoBaller, there are a couple of articles already out there about Travis Kelce as a definite tight end waiver wire pickup. In this preseason there was a lot of buzz about Kelce, but unfortunately he didn't get many opportunities in Week 1. His head coach Andy Reid stated it as such: Kelce is "capable of more than 18 plays."  I expect his role to continue to grow, and Kelce will pickup steam as the season continues. If you would like to jump on the train, this may be the best time if you have a spot on your bench.  His value will only be going up from here.

Recommendation: waiver wire pickup in 12+ team leagues (standard, PPR), continue monitoring in 10 teamers

Larry Donnell (TE, NYG)

9% owned in Fleaflicker, 9% owned in Yahoo, 0.8% owned in ESPN  

If Week 1 is any indicator, the New York Giants look like they will be in for another tough season.  Eli Manning continues to turn the ball over and is giving his opponents more opportunities to score. When this inevitably happens, the Giants offense starts to throw the ball more to catch up.  This is where I bring in from stage left undrafted free agent Larry Donnell.  In Week 1 he had a fantastic week with 5 catches on 8 targets, 56 yards and a TD.  Donnell reminds me a lot of Jake Ballard from a few years ago as far as his size and abilities.  I anticipate that his numbers will be similar (38 catches, 604 yards, 4 TDs) this season, which would be numbers that warrant a definite waiver wire pickup this week if you are weak at the TE position.

Recommendation: waiver wire pickup in 12+ team leagues (standard, PPR)

Levine Toilolo (TE, ATL)

7% owned in Fleaflicker, 3% owned in Yahoo, 2.1% owned in ESPN      

When Tony Gonzalez retired after the 2013 season, the Atlanta Falcons offense took a hit on their red zone packages as Gonzalez was the focal point. In game one of 2014, we have an idea that Gonzalez's replacement, Levine Toilolo, may now be one of the recipients of those imminent targets. Toilolo's size (6' 8") will be a matchup problem for most defenses, and it's likely that he will be targeted in the red zone and scoring situations. In Week 1 Toilolo saw a decent amount of targets (6), but I do not believe that will continue consistently throughout the season. Overall I like Toilolo's size and abilities in the red zone, and expect that his fantasy value will be found there rather than with catches and receiving yards.

Recommendation: waiver wire stash for deeper 14+ leagues (standard, PPR)

Niles Paul (TE, WAS)

3% owned in Fleaflicker, 1% owned in Yahoo, 0.3% owned in ESPN

For those of you who are Jordan Reed owners, I'm sure you're quite frustrated with his Week 1 performance. Sadly this isn't the only time Reed has gone down with an injury, and it's looking like he'll be out for Week 2. So with that news I wanted to highlight Niles Paul as a tight end waiver wire recommendation. As you can see, he's barely owned. But I believe he has high upside to provide your fantasy team with points this week out of the TE position. Keep in mind Niles is a streamer pick for me (i.e. play him this week only and see how Reed heals). Last week he hauled in 4 catches for 86 yards. I'd expect that he will have around 5-6 catches if he starts in Week 2, and should contribute a decent amount of points for your team especially in PPR leagues.

Recommendation: waiver wire stash for deeper 14+ leagues (standard, PPR), possible Week 2 stream play (monitor Reed's health)

More Higher Owned Tight End Waiver Options

50% owned or more in Yahoo, ESPN or FleaFlicker

Zach Ertz (PHI), Antonio Gates (SD)

More Deeper League Tight End Waiver Options

Coby Fleener (IND), Jermaine Gresham (CIN), Garrett Graham (HOU)

I hope these guys help you in your matchup next week and going forward for the season. As always, I’d love to hear from you on twitter @businessoxroto. See you all next week RotoBallers!