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Tight end waiver wire pickups and streamers for Week 8 of the fantasy football season. Craig Rondinone recommends TE free agents to consider adding off waivers.
A two-team bye week is a lot easier for fantasy football players to navigate than a four-team bye week.
Fantasy owners are going to have to live without Dallas’ Jason Witten and Baltimore’s Mark Andrews in Week 8. If you have one of the those players as your starting tight end, the problem is that the bounty on most league waiver wires these days is not exactly bountiful. All that is out there are one-week stopgaps and longshots. But if that is what you need to get through Week 8, you are shopping at the right store.
Without further ado, here are my tight end waiver wire picks for Week 8!
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TE Waiver Wire Options for Week 8
Benjamin Watson, New England Patriots – 13% owned
Watson’s fantasy worth and football future have yo-yoed up and down over the past couple weeks. Once his four-game drug suspension ended fantasy players lined up to snatch him off their league’s waiver wires, only to have their dreams dashed when New England abruptly released him. But after the Patriots two tight ends, Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo, got injured, Watson was quickly brought back into the fold.
Watson is not going to be the second coming of Rob Gronkowski, or as good as he was a couple years ago with Drew Brees in New Orleans, but as long as he is the top tight end in Tom Brady’s offense, he is a fantasy candidate for touchdowns and yards. New England’s receiving corps has not exactly been able to remain injury-free, either, so Watson could end up being a top-15 TE in fantasy leagues over the final two months of the NFL regular season.
Chris Herndon IV, New York Jets – 39% owned
After a four-game suspension, a bye week, and two additional games missed due to a strained hamstring, Herndon FINALLY might find the field this week. Now please do not listen to Sam Darnold’s declaration that the Jets offense will be “unstoppable” once Herndon returns. That is pure nonsense. But Herndon was second among rookie tight ends last season in receiving yards and should be able to provide 35-50 yards per week once he is healthy since Darnold is a better quarterback and the supporting cast around Herndon is better than it was in 2018.
Herndon will be attempting to find openings in Jacksonville’s secondary this week, which will much easier than it has been in the past since Jalen Ramsey was sent to St. Louis for draft choices. Monitor Herndon’s health throughout the week to see if he will actually face the Jags, but no matter the case he is a viable option because of his short-term and long-term fantasy value.
Gerald Everett, Los Angeles Rams – 52% owned
What is wrong with the fantasy football world? Everett was owned by 54 percent of the fantasy football public last week, and nobody else thought it would be a good idea to sign him when waiver wires are filled with backups, retreads and unproven rookies? Well, Everett made everyone look foolish for not picking him up. All he did this past Sunday was catch four passes for 50 yards and a touchdown, but even more interesting was that he led all Rams pass catchers with 10 targets.
Everett has surpassed Tyler Higbee as L.A. best tight end, and he is now on par with receivers Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods when it comes to weekly target, reception and yardage totals. Give Rams head honcho Sean McVay credit for coming to his senses and featuring Everett more often in the offense. Everett should have no trouble making plays against Cincinnati’s undermanned defense this weekend. For the love of God, if you need a TE, pick him up!
Other Options to Consider
Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings – 37% owned
Minnesota is hosting the incredibly putrid Washington Redskins on Thursday night, so Rudolph should be able to put up some points, especially if Adam Thielen’s injured hamstring opens the door for more tight end targets. Rudolph only had 72 receiving yards over his first half-dozen games, yet he was able to have a season-best 58 yards and a touchdown versus Detroit this past Sunday. Do not be surprised to see Kirk Cousins throw to Rudolph more often from here on out.
Darren Fells, Houston Texans – 34% owned
The veteran journeyman is in the midst of the most productive stats stretch of his career, averaging 36 yards per game over his past five outings and scoring a trio of touchdowns over that span. Fells is facing an Oakland secondary that is near the bottom of the pass defense rankings and just allowed Aaron Rodgers to carve it up for five touchdown tosses, so Fells is a solid one-week play.
Jonnu Smith, Tennessee Titans – 8% owned
Move over, Delanie Walker! Smith is galloping by you on the depth chart in Tennessee faster than a greyhound chasing a mechanical rabbit. Over the past three Titans games, Smith has 129 receiving yards and is averaging 26 yards per catch. Walker has just 57 yards over his last four games and left Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers with a bum ankle. Smith’s quarterback situation leaves plenty to be desired, but he now has a golden opportunity to shine in an offense that could use an explosive playmaker.
Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles – 29% owned
Goedert is making the best of his limited targets, but the gap between what he receives and what perennial Pro Bowler Zach Ertz receives is narrowing (14 for Ertz, 12 for Goedert over last two weeks). Goedert is hard to rely on when he is a No. 2 TE on his team, but how many other tight ends have accounted for nine receptions for 117 yards and a TD between Weeks 6 and 7?
Don’t Forget About…
Trey Burton, Chicago Bears – 47% owned
Remember this guy? When he first signed with Chicago last season he was as beloved by fantasy players as kale is beloved by vegetarians. But injuries and mediocre offenses have sapped the juice out of Burton’s fantasy bubble. It is amazing he is owned in almost half of the leagues out there when he has had more than 21 yards in a game this season, but keep an eye on him as he could quickly improve because he is getting healthier as the season wears on.
Mike Gesicki, Miami Dolphins – 18% owned
Don’t look now, but Gesicki has had the best and third-best yardage performances of his one-and-a-half-year career these past two weeks (92 yards total). Has the light bulb finally gone on? Sometimes it takes young pass catchers a little extra time to get the hang of the NFL. Monitor Gesicki, especially in dynasty leagues since you could grab him and keep him while he is still very young.
Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati Bengals – 31% owned
Eifert has been utterly abysmal this season (17 receptions for 118 yards), but his name is popping up in trade rumors for some reason. If he gets dealt to a contending team with an above-average offense and/or quarterback, he might be able to be worth something down the stretch.
