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The bye weeks have not begun in the NFL, but that does not mean fantasy footballers have a full stock of tight ends on their rosters. Injuries have decimated the position, with the likes of Cleveland’s David Njoku, Dallas’ Jake Ferguson, and San Francisco’s George Kittle all missing games.
Then, there are the superstar tight ends who have given fantasy managers nothing in the first three weeks. Kansas City’s Travis Kelce has eight catches for 69 yards in three games. Detroit’s Sam LaPorta has eight grabs for 94 yards. Baltimore’s Mark Andrews has just six receptions for 65 yards. These were supposed to be the top three tight ends in fantasy football this year!
If you need a tight end this week for your fantasy league or your DFS contest, you have come to the right place. Without further ado, here are the best tight ends available on fantasy waiver wires, starting with Chicago’s top tight end.
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Top Fantasy Football Tight Ends to Pick Up - Week 4 Waiver Wire
Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
How many fantasy managers dropped Kmet after he had just five catches for 31 yards after the first two games? Dumb, dumb, dumb. Kmet was a top-15 tight end coming into the season with the upside of Caleb Williams throwing to him. Why drop Kmet just because Williams needed a couple of contests to figure out how to get him the ball?
Kmet caught 10 of the 11 passes Williams aimed at him this past Sunday at Indianapolis, and the veteran turned those catches into 97 yards and a touchdown.
There will be games where Kmet does not give you much due to Williams’ rookie mistakes or when DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, and/or Rome Odunze take all the targets, but he should be on a team in every fantasy league in America. He will end up with at least 700 yards and six scores, if not more.
Tyler Conklin, New York Jets
Aaron Rodgers makes pass-catchers better and more valuable in fantasy football. Look at Allen Lazard. The guy was a fantasy zero last season after Rodgers tore his Achilles. Lazard might have been the worst free-agent bust of 2023. Now look at him. Three touchdowns in three games, and Lazard will probably finish with 700-800 yards and six to eight touchdowns if he and Rodgers both stay healthy.
Unlike Lazard, Conklin was able to catch the wobbly, inaccurate passes of Zach Wilson and New York’s other subpar quarterbacks last season, although he was a TE2 on fantasy squads at best. After watching Conklin catch five passes for 93 yards against New England last Thursday night, it appears he is ready to have the best fantasy year of his career thanks to Rodgers’ pinpoint passes.
"Tyler Conklin is a dawg man. He deserves everything what's about to come his way, cause the world doesn't know. He didn't do some extraordinarily thing tonight, that's just Tyler. That's how he balls, & he has a lot more to give."- Garrett Wilson#Jets pic.twitter.com/OyZDxRVtPo
— Harrison Glaser (@NYJetsTFMedia) September 20, 2024
Other Fantasy Football Tight Ends to Consider Adding
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
Henry was the top tight end in the column last week, but he dropped down a few pegs after a dreadful nine-yard performance against the New York Jets. The longtime fantasy force does not have any receivers on the Patriots roster to be concerned about, but it is disconcerting that tight-end teammate Austin Hooper has outgained him in two of New England’s three games so far.
Zach Ertz, Washington Commanders
Ertz has a dozen receptions for 128 yards over Washington’s first three outings. He does seem willing to just hand the starting tight-end job over to rookie Ben Sinnott anytime soon. With the Commanders off to a surprising 2-1 start and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels playing like a proven veteran, Washington will be slower to rush the youth movement. That means more starts and targets for Ertz than what was probably thought at season's start.
Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals
Gesicki's 91-yard effort in Week 2 does not feel like as much of a fluke now that he followed it with a 47-yard performance on Monday night against Washington. There has never been a question about his physical skills. The issues have been his route running and the lack of opportunities he has had in other offenses. It appears that he is Cincy's No. 3 option in the passing attack and that Joe Burrow has no qualms throwing in his direction.
Do Not Forget About…
Noah Fant, Seattle Seahawks
Fant signed a new contract for multi-millions before the season and is the undisputed TE1 in town after battling Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson for a couple of years. In Week 3, we got to see why Seattle ponied up the cash. Six targets, six receptions, 60 yards. Fant has always had the tools. Let’s hope 2024 is the year he finally takes them all out of the toolbox.
T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
If Hockenson went undrafted in your league due to him still recovering from his torn ACL and you have a way to stash him on the bottom of your roster, feel free to use a waiver pick on him. Hockenson is not slated to return until midseason, but if he rounds into Pro Bowl form quickly, then you will have an above-average tight end for the second half of the season.
Tommy Tremble, Carolina Panthers
Thank goodness Andy Dalton is now running the passing attack in Carolina. We saw the wonders it did for top target Diontae Johnson (8-122-1), and Tremble will see an uptick in his catches and yardage in the coming weeks with Dalton at the helm, too.
Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Do not put too much stock in Otton’s seven catches for 47 yards this past weekend. They came in a blowout loss where the Bucs were throwing a ton from the second quarter on. Hopefully, now QB Baker Mayfield remembers Otton is on the team after totally ignoring him the opening two weeks (one catch).
Eric Saubert, San Francisco 49ers
George Kittle’s understudy caught a pair of passes for 41 yards while filling in this past Sunday. If Kittle and WR Deebo Samuel Sr. miss this Sunday’s game against New England, Saubert would not be the worst low-price DFS play.
Chigoziem Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans
I am going to keep mentioning Okonkwo in my column until he plays well enough to get picked up in half of the fantasy leagues in the world. Tennessee’s top tight end has had trouble getting out of the gate, but it is because Will Levis and the Titans do not call his number enough. Okonkwo has caught all seven passes thrown to him this year, so throw to him more, Will!
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