October 4, 2016

Craig Rondinone 2016 fantasy football tiered rankings for Week Five tight ends (TE) - waiver wire pickups, adds & sleepers for PPR and non-PPR. These are NFL TEs to target.

What's up RotoBallers. This article will aim to highlight Week 5 waiver wire adds for tight ends, players that you should consider targeting on your league's waiver wire

The bye week takes a toll on the fantasy tight end pool this upcoming week as Seattle’s Jimmy Graham and Kansas City’s Travis Kelce get the week off.  Graham and Kelce owners who do not have a backup tight end on their rosters will be scrambling for a fill-in this week, and luckily there are a decent amount of candidates available on most waiver wires.

Here are three tight ends to consider adding this week.

Editor's Note: Once you're done here, be sure to read about more Week 5 waiver wire recommendations, for all other positions. Just click on any link: ALL - RB - WR - TE - QB - DEF - FAAB - CUTS

Week 5 Waiver Wire – Tight Ends (TE)

Cameron Brate, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The wait for Brate to be great was not too late.  Rhyming aside, Brate has proved that Austin Seferian-Jenkins was expendable for the Bucs.  He followed his two-TD breakout performance from the week prior with a solid five receptions for 67 yards this past Sunday.  Brate is no fantasy fluke.

When Tampa Bay is trailing in games and top target Mike Evans is being double-covered, Brate is going to get more opportunities than a poker player will get in an Atlantic City casino.  Brate is on the verge of establishing himself as Jameis Winston’s No. 2 option in the passing attack ahead of the aging Vincent Jackson and slot receiver Adam Humphries.

As long as Tampa Bay calls more pass plays than run plays and Winston airs the ball out in excess of 30 times per game, Brate is a nominee to have nice numbers.  Pick him up this week and he can be your top tight end for the foreseeable future.

Hunter Henry, San Diego Chargers

Antonio Gates can take his time getting healthy, and if Henry keeps doing what he has been doing in his absence, Gates might as well just retire.

Henry followed his 72-yard outing in Week 3 by catching four passes for 61 yards and a touchdown this past weekend, solidifying that he was not a one-week wonder.  Without the injured Gates and Keenan Allen to throw to, Philip Rivers has turned to Henry as a top target.  Henry is showing he has a nose for the end zone and has the speed down the seams--he is not a plodder who averages under 10 yards per catch.

Henry gets to face the two worst pass defenses in the NFL during the next three weeks when San Diego plays the Oakland Raiders and Atlanta Falcons, so the Henry train should keep on rolling in the short term.  As long as Henry is starting and Gates is sitting, Henry is an attractive option at tight end on the fantasy free agent list.

Charles Clay, Buffalo Bills

Now that the perpetually-injured Sammy Watkins is officially not returning for a couple months, Tyrod Taylor has to throw to somebody, and it will not always be to his subpar-at-best wide receivers.  Robert Woods’ 9.4 yards per catch is downright pathetic, and supposed home-run threat Marquise Goodwin has four receptions in four contests.  So other than four-to-five dumpoffs to LeSean McCoy each week, Clay should be next in Taylor’s pecking order when it comes to receiving additional targets.

Clay is coming off a five-catch, 47-yard effort and should kept seeing plenty of passes while Watkins sits out.  Buffalo has to start game-planning better when it comes to Clay.  He is a game-breaking tight end when given the chance, but former offensive coordinator Greg Roman failed to utilize him properly.  Hopefully new OC Anthony Lynn does a better job designing plays for Clay from here on out.

Clay had 759 yards and six touchdowns back in 2013 and should not have lost any steps since he is only 27 years old.  Fantasy owners can take a flyer on Clay and hope that the seven targets that came Clay’s way last week were a precursor to better things to come.

Other Options

Ryan Griffin, Houston Texans

Griffin is likely owned in only one percent of fantasy leagues in the world, but he has now posted back-to-back 50-yard games and was targeted 11 times over the past two weeks by Houston quarterback Brock Osweiler.  He will suffice as a one-week stopgap if you need a TE for the upcoming week.

Garrett Celek, San Francisco 49ers

Celek went from being questionable to play to surprising fantasy owners with five receptions for 79 yards against Dallas.  If San Fran starting tight end Vance McDonald is unable to play again this Thursday night, Celek could be in line for another decent day.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, New York Jets

The Jets need a pass-catching tight end as badly as Brad Pitt needs some good press.  New York has the worst tight end corps in the NFL, so once the talented but troubled Seferian-Jenkins learns the playbook he should be able to step in and make some plays in the coming weeks.