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If you are already looking for a tight-end upgrade when the season has not even started yet, you should fire yourself as general manager and hand the job to your dog, cat, spouse, or best friend.
The tight-end pool might be top-heavy, but there is some serious depth when it comes to low-end TE1s and high-end TE2s. Most fantasy managers should have been able to draft two decent tight ends for their squads. If not, however, especially if you are one of them, then this column is for you.
Without further ado, here are the best tight-end waiver wire pickups for Week 1, beginning with fantasy football’s favorite jack-of-all-trades.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2024:- Quarterback fantasy football rankings
- Running back fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver fantasy football rankings
- Tight end fantasy football rankings
- Kicker fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Superflex fantasy football rankings
- IDP fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Top Tight Ends to Pickup - Week 1 Waiver Wire
Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints
Hill has fluctuated from a TE19 to TE22 during the last couple of weeks, so he may be available in your fantasy league. There might be some fantasy managers worried that Hill’s role is going to change under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, but all signs point to him being the same red-zone threat he has been the past several seasons.
The Taysom Hill checklist ✅ pic.twitter.com/8qH1qsDwWh
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) August 23, 2024
Because Hill qualifies as a tight end but does the majority of his fantasy damage when he is under center as a passer or runner, he is a special fantasy weapon. He was a top-12 fantasy TE the past two years, and there is no reason he cannot be again as long as Kubiak calls upon him when the Saints get inside the 10-yard line.
Other Waiver Wire Tight Ends to Consider Adding
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
Jonnu Smith was not taking many targets away from Henry the past two years anyway, but now that he is gone, Henry should find an even greater target share heading his way. The longtime fantasy force has always had a nose for the end zone (38 TD in seven seasons) and should continue to be one of New England’s top targets because of the team’s below-average receiving corps.
Daniel Bellinger, New York Giants
With Darren Waller deciding to retire to become a music mogul, Bellinger has another crack at being New York’s top tight end. I am not sure if that is the greatest title in the world to have for fantasy since Daniel Jones and Drew Lock are his signal-callers, but Bellinger showed flashes of brilliance two years ago during his rookie campaign until a broken eye socket derailed him.
Pick him up on waivers and give him another chance as your TE2 or TE3.
Chigoziem Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans
I know Calvin Ridley and DeAndre Hopkins are going to commandeer the targets in Tennessee, probably like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin do in Tampa Bay. The good news for Okonkwo, though, is that the run-first days where Derrick Henry would get 20-30 touches per game are gone.
New head honcho Brian Callahan will ask Will Levis to air it out this year, so the Titans' top tight end should have his best year yet.
Jonnu Smith, Miami Dolphins
I do not know which Smith fantasy managers will get in 2024. Will it be the one who scored eight touchdowns in 2020 with Tennessee? Will it be the one who took screen passes for 50-yard touchdowns with Atlanta last year? Or will it be the one who was a multimillion-dollar bust with New England?
I am hoping offensive mastermind Mike McDaniel can do for Smith what he has for RB Raheem Mostert and QB Tua Tagovailoa.
Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Otton is the master of the eight-yard catch. That does not do much for fantasy managers, but he will face Washington in Week 1, which was the team that had the worst pass defense in the NFL in 2023.
I am sure new head coach Dan Quinn will make his defensive backfield respectable again, but it might take a few weeks. Do not be shocked if Otton can provide 50 yards and a TD in the opening week.
Do Not Forget About…
Ben Sinnott, Washington Commanders
Washington’s tight end of the future might not be worth much fantasy-wise at the start of the season while he learns the ropes from grizzled veteran Zach Ertz, but if you have patience and room at the bottom of your roster in a dynasty league, he is worth picking and stashing. He will become a fantasy force as a combo with franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels in the coming years.
Noah Fant, Seattle Seahawks
Fant has been a disappointment to many fantasy footballers since he was drafted in the first round by the Denver Broncos in 2019. A change of scenery did not help him when he was dealt to Seattle years later, but he is no longer part of a tight-end trio that sucks the fantasy value out of him.
Fant should have his best season in Seattle now that he is the undisputed TE1 on the team.
#Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald on Noah Fant:
“We’re really excited about Noah, and the type of player that he is… When he’s out there making plays, you feel that the process is coming to life and you’re excited for him that there’s results on the field” pic.twitter.com/nzFNprB9Vh
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) July 28, 2024
Greg Dulcich, Denver Broncos
Dulcich is the king of the pulled hamstring, and his hamstrings have hamstrung fantasy managers two years in a row. I know veteran blocker Adam Trautman is ahead of him on the depth chart in Denver, but Dulcich is the better pass-catcher of the pair. If Dulcich can somehow stay healthy for an entire season, he could turn into a solid TE2 for fantasy purposes.
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