Tight End Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 11

It is getting down to the nitty-gritty for fantasy football general managers this week. Yes, I said the NITTY-GRITTY!

Week 11 is one of the most crucial weeks for fantasy footballers if they participate in leagues. This is when playoff spots are secured or flushed down the toilet. San Francisco’s George Kittle has left fantasy football managers without a key weapon thanks to his fractured foot. Fantasy managers also must live without Chicago’s Jimmy Graham and New York’s Evan Engram thanks to both being on bye. Meanwhile, there is no clone of Travis Kelce available on the waiver wire, and many leagues have already had their trade deadline pass. So fantasy managers will need to make due with one of the players down below if they need a tight end.

Here are the top tight end candidates to pick up in fantasy football leagues heading into Week 11!

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Top Tight End Waiver Wire Options

Logan Thomas, Washington Football Team

35% rostered

I don’t know if it’s because he is 6’6” and 250 pounds or if it’s because Washington has a dearth of decent wideouts, but Thomas keeps getting targeted more than Donald Trump does by MSNBC. Thomas has had at least four targets in every game he has played in this season. The previously-mentioned Kelce cannot say that. Baltimore’s Mark Andrews cannot claim that. Neither can Tampa Bay’s Rob Gronkowski, Graham or Engram. And when a tight end gets plenty of targets, chances are he will give fantasy managers a fair share of fantasy points.

Thomas has 14 receptions for 196 yards and two touchdowns over his past four games, including a season-high 66-yard effort against the Detroit Lions this past Sunday. Now Thomas gets to find space against a below-average Cincinnati pass defense that allowed 13 touchdown passes and an average of 325 passing yards over its most recent four-game stretch. Thomas is the best available tight end in most leagues heading into Week 11.

Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys

16% rostered

Let’s hope Dallas ironed out the 1,000 kinks in its underachieving, injury-riddled offense during its bye week. Let’s also hope that Andy Dalton gets over his serious concussion and being placed on the COVID list and is able to step behind the center this Sunday afternoon, because fantasy managers need their Cowboys pass catchers to stop underachieving and start delivering the numbers they used to post when Dak Prescott was running the offense.

Schultz had 10 receptions for 101 yards in his last two games with the Cowboys’ third and fourth-string quarterbacks throwing to him, so he has proven he can catch passes virtually anyone. Dallas plays Minnesota and its 29^th-ranked pass defense this upcoming week, so Schultz should be able to post solid points regardless of who his signal caller is. Pick up Schultz, pray Dalton can make it back and hopefully you will receive a decent week from your new tight end when your fantasy squad needs it most.

Other Tight End Options to Consider

Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams

53% rostered

It is a stunning fall from fantasy grace that Higbee is barely rostered in half of fantasy leagues right now. Now that he is healthy and has a 60-yard game under his belt from this past weekend, hopefully the multi-talented tight end can pick up where he left off at the end of the 2019 campaign when he single-handedly won titles for thousands of fantasy managers. It is a good sign that Higbee had six targets compared to TE teammate Gerald Everett’s three this past weekend.

Jordan Reed, San Francisco 49ers

19% rostered

The oft-injured Reed has filled in admirably for the aforementioned Kittle when he has been healthy this year. Reed is coming off a 5-62-0 performance and should be helpful to fantasy managers as long as he keeps himself on the field and off the injured reserve. With San Francisco’s running backs and receivers ravaged with injuries, Reed should be the No. 1 or No. 2 option for Niners quarterbacks for the immediate future. The good news is that Reed cannot get hurt this week. The bad news is it’s because he is on bye.

Irv Smith Jr., Minnesota Vikings

7% rostered

It is official that veteran Kyle Rudolph is no longer Minnesota’s most valuable tight end from a fantasy perspective. Despite missing his Week 10 game due to a groin injury, the impressive Smith should be back for a Week 11 matchup against a Dallas defense that is 28^th overall in the NFL and has allowed tight end touchdowns in two of its past three contests. Smith scored a pair of touchdowns the last time he was on the field and could score again in his return.

Cameron Brate, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

1% rostered

When Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski are all ahead of you on the target totem pole, how could you possibly catch any passes and have any fantasy value? Brate is proving it is indeed possible. The touchdown-dependent tight end is coming off his best game of the season (3-31-1 vs. Carolina) and has caught 13 of the 15 passes thrown his way in 2020. He will provide little in the way of catches or yards because of all the targets Tampa’s top-four pass catchers get, so just know going in it’s TD or bust with Brate.

Don’t Forget About…

Dan Arnold, Arizona Cardinals

0% rostered

Arizona head honcho Kliff Kingsbury is not known for focusing on his tight ends when constructing his passing game plans, but Arnold is slowly figuring into the mix. Arnold has topped the 30-yard plateau in three of his last four outings and almost has the same fantasy worth as Larry Fitzgerald at this juncture. A Thursday night game against Seattle’s atrocious pass defense should give Arnold the opportunity for 40-50 yards.

Richard Rodgers, Philadelphia Eagles

5% rostered

Zach who? Fantasy managers and Philadelphia fans might ask that question if the veteran Rodgers keeps playing like an Ertz clone. Rodgers racked up 10 receptions for 145 yards in two games against the New York Giants that were before and after a big fat zero he put up versus Dallas. As long as Ertz is out Rodgers remains a possible one-week fix for fantasy managers in a pinch.

Drew Sample, Cincinnati Bengals

1% rostered

Even with Joe Burrow throwing more passes than any other quarterback in the league, Sample is not wowing anybody numbers-wise. Still, Sample is Cincy’s present and future tight end and someone who has value in dynasty leagues since the former second-round pick has upside and has an amazing franchise quarterback throwing to him for the next several seasons. 

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