Week 7 Tight Ends: Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds

What’s up Rotoballers? Welcome to my Week 7 tight end waiver wire pickups piece. Sadly last week's recommendations were a little disappointing outside of Jordan Reed, but that's the nature of the game with tight ends who are more volatile than most fantasy positions. Hopefully this week I'll get back on track with my recommendations and help you improve your fantasy football teams.

As I've stated earlier in the season, tight ends are a difficult position to get consistent results from outside the top seven TEs, but that's not going to stop us from trying to find waiver wire sleepers all season long. To help accommodate your needs in various leagues and formats, 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. The goal 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!

Note: all tight ends featured in this waiver wire column are under 70% owned currently.

Fantasy Football Tight Ends (TE) – Week 7

Jordan Reed (TE, KC) - 60% owned in Fleaflicker

My first recommendation this week is Jordan Reed. After waiting the whole season for Reed to get healthy, he showed up the first week he came back with 8 catches and 92 yards. It was obvious that Kirk Cousins had chemistry with Reed and trusted him as he looked his way more than any other receiver on Washington. If you are in a league were owners lost their patience with Reed, and he's available on the Week 7 waiver wire, pick him up as I expect him to produce at a high level throughout the season.  The only risk with Reed is his injury history so make sure you have a TE on your bench as a fall back option.

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

Dwayne Allen (TE, IND) - 64% owned in Fleaflicker

My second recommendation is Dwayne Allen of the Indianapolis Colts. Over the last three weeks Allen has 3 TDs to go along with 189 yards, and has become a red zone target for Andrew Luck. In Week 7, the Colts will be playing the Cincinnati Bengals who give up the most fantasy points to opposing tight ends. This increases Allen's chances of scoring another TD this week given the matchup and his track record this season. Allen is a fantastic play this week, so if he's still available on your Week 7 waiver wire pick him up and start him with confidence.

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

Jared Cook (TE, STL) - 37% owned in Fleaflicker

In the last two weeks, Jared Cook has been a receiving threat on the St. Louis Rams with a robust number of targets (21). The number of targets over the last two weeks actually places Cook as the top targeted TE in the NFL over that time. The bad news is that Cook has only hauled in 38% of those targets (8-of-21). The good news is that Cook has been a steady fantasy contributor for the last 3 weeks and is averaging 11.4 points per game in PPR leagues. If you are seeking a TE in a PPR league, Cook is a nice consideration for you to pickup off the Week 7 waiver wire. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks he increases his catch percentage and you reap the benefits.

Recommendation: Waiver wire pickup in 12+ team leagues (PPR)

Clay Harbor (TE, JAX) - 4% owned in Fleaflicker

When the Jacksonville Jaguars lost Marcedes Lewis to a high ankle sprain in Week 2, the Jaguars were searching for a replacement and found it in Clay Harbor. Harbor is coming off a fantastic week vs. Tennessee with 3 catches, 91 yards and a TD in what was a favorable matchup. This week Harbor will be facing a Browns defense that is solid versus tight ends (17th most points allowed) which makes him merely a TE2 play for Week 7. However in looking at matchups coming up, Harbor has Weeks 9 & 10 where he will be facing the worst two teams versus tight ends. Lewis is tentatively scheduled to return in Week 12, so if you are in a bind at the TE position feel free to utilize Harbor as a streaming play based on matchups until he returns.

Recommendation: Continue monitoring 10-12 teams (pickup week 9), Waiver wire pickup 14+ team leagues

Josh Hill (TE, NO) - 3% owned in Fleaflicker

For those of you who are in deeper leagues and are desperate for a tight end, I'm going to recommend an injury fill-in option for you. In Week 5, Jimmy Graham sprained his shoulder and it's been reported that he will miss 2-3 weeks. With Graham being out, I'm looking to Josh Hill to step in as the receiving TE option for the Saints. According to the depth chart Benjamin Watson is listed as the backup TE, but Hill has scored more fantasy points the last four weeks than Watson has (13 points vs. 29.3 points in PPR scoring). The reason I'm recommending Hill over Watson is his size (6'5" vs. 6'3"), which can be used as a matchup advantage for the Saints and Drew Breese in the red zone. However, if you want to stick with the depth charts and target totals after Graham went down (7 targets for Watson vs. 3 for Hill), then Watson could be another option to consider adding off the Week 7 waiver wire.

Recommendation: Add in deeper leagues 14+ teams

More Higher Owned Tight End Waiver Wire Options

45% owned or more in Fleaflicker

Jordan Cameron (CLE), Travis Kelce (KC), Larry Donnell (NYG), Owen Daniels (BAL), Heath Miller (PIT), Tim Wright (NE)

Super Deep Tight End Waiver Wire Options

Less than 20% owned in Fleaflicker

Jace Amaro (NYJ), Scott Chandler (BUF), Austin Seferian-Jenkins (TB), Chase Ford (MIN),  Benjamin Watson (NO)

Recap of Last Week’s Recommendations

Other than Jordan Reed, many of my recommendations disappointed last week even with high upside matchups:

• Jordan Reed: 11 targets, 8 catches, 92 yards (17.2 PPR points)
• Owen Daniels: 3 targets, 2 catches, 34 yards (5.4 PPR points)
• Heath Miller: 4 targets, 2 catches, 19 yards (3.9 PPR points)
• Tim Wright: 1 targets, 1 catch, 1 yard, TD (7.1 PPR points)

I hope these guys help you in your matchup next week and going forward for the season. If anyone has any specific questions or is looking for any assistance, hit me up @businesssoxroto. See you all next week RotoBallers!