RADIO
Tight ends are the hardest position in fantasy football to come by. There’s not as much depth out there as the wide receiver position. When it comes to fantasy playoffs, good luck finding someone if your guy is hurt.
Greg Olsen returned to practice on Thursday for the first time since suffering a knee injury during last week’s Carolina Panthers victory over the Atlanta Falcons, according to The Charlotte Observer.
This is great news for the 13-0 Panthers, because Cam Newton’s favorite weapon on offense appears to be healthy enough to be in the lineup on Sunday against the New York Giants. Olsen is only 31 yards away from his second straight 1,000-yard season. The Giants have been up and down all season against tight ends, and this will be one of their toughest matchups yet. The G-Men have only allowed 57 yards combined over the last two weeks to tight ends although they allowed 387 yards in the four weeks prior. Newton is having an MVP-like season, which will make it tough for New York to keep the ball out of the hands of Olsen or any of the other possible targets. The 30-year-old will be needed more than ever this week because Jonathan Stewart is out this week with a foot injury. Carolina will use a running back-by-committee approach as it hopes to inch one game closer to a perfect regular season. Expect Olsen to be out there on most downs like he normally is. If you have Olsen, he’s a must-start against the Giants defense this week.
Tyler Eifert is in the NFL’s concussion protocol this week. He will need to be cleared first before being considered to play on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. This is bad news for fantasy owners because the third-year pro is tied with Rob Gronkowski in touchdowns by a tight end (10) this season. The other bad news is that this is the second concussion he’s suffered in as many weeks. He did not play during Week 13’s Cincinnati Bengals victory over the Cleveland Browns because of a concussion. Eifert returned to the field last week only to leave the game early again after two catches for 42 yards.
The 49ers have allowed the fewest yards against tight ends all season (48.5 per game). They’ve allowed two touchdowns all season, which makes him a tough choice if you’re simply looking for red-zone targets. Even if Eifert was out there with his teammates, he wouldn’t have Andy Dalton throwing him the ball. A.J. McCarron will start at QB because Dalton injured his thumb last season. There likely wouldn’t be the same chemistry with McCarron that Eifert had with Dalton all season long. The game is at 4:25 ET on Sunday, which means you have to have another tight end for one of the later games or simply bench Eifert now in favor of someone else. Kyle Rudolph could be a free agent spot-starter this week if needed.
