RADIO
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There are millions of fantasy football owners dealing with a colossal void at their tight end position.
Rob Gronkowski is not coming back this season, fantasy folks. I know those of who you own him have been soaking plenty of handkerchiefs, tissue paper and your spouses’ shoulders with your tears. But while there is no one available at this late stage of the season capable of replacing “Gronk,” there are a couple tight ends out there who could serve as a stopgap over the final month of play.
Here are three tight ends to consider on the waiver wire this week:
Editor's Note: Once you're done here, be sure to read about even more Week 14 waiver wire recommendations, for all fantasy-relevant positions. Just click on any link: ALL - RB - WR - TE - QB - DEF - FAAB - CUTS
Week 14 Waiver Wire – Tight Ends (TE)
Ladarius Green, Pittsburgh Steelers
Green has now proven that the injured ankle that forced him to miss the first half of the season is no longer injured. With several 30-yard receptions over the past two weeks, he is easily the most explosive tight end available on most fantasy league waiver wires this week.
Green had his official coming-out party against the New York Giants, hauling in six Ben Roethlisberger BBs for a career-high 110 yards and his first touchdown as a Steeler. He has quickly vaulted past the rest of the receiving corps in Pittsburgh to become Big Ben’s second-best option for passes behind the one and only Antonio Brown.
If Green has something going against him it is that his final four games might be played in cold conditions (at Buffalo, at Cincinnati, two at home in Pittsburgh). But if Mother Nature cooperates and does not make passing the ball impossible, Green is line for a monster month. He is undoubtedly the top tight end on fantasy waiver wires this week
Dennis Pitta, Baltimore Ravens
Pitta had not scored a touchdown since 2013 and had only one multi-touchdown game to his credit during his entering the NFL in 2010, so it made perfect sense for him to catch two touchdown tosses from Joe Flacco against Miami’s ninth-ranked pass defense this past weekend. Fantasy football is predictably unpredictable.
While we should not rush out and proclaim Pitta as the man who will save your season if you are unfortunate enough to have the aforementioned Gronkowski as the cornerstone of your fantasy franchise, Pitta has to be ranked as one of the best options on many waiver wires at this juncture. His nine-catch, 90-yard, two-TD eruption might be a foreshadowing that he is as healthy as he has been in years and that he and Flacco are finally on the same page in the red zone.
Baltimore’s remaining schedule is daunting with three out of its last four games on the road and with New England and Pittsburgh slated as two of its opponents. The good news, though, is that maybe that means more fourth-quarter passing for Flacco and more garbage-time yards for Pitta.
Jermaine Gresham, Arizona Cardinals
Don’t look now, but Gresham has been finding the end zone as often as the top tight ends in the NFL lately. After going scoreless in his first nine games of the season (and not even recording a catch in three of them), the wily veteran has put together his best three-game stretch since the 2014 campaign.
Gresham did not get into the end zone this past Sunday after scoring in back-to-back games, but he did post a season-high 52 yards against Washington. Carson Palmer and Arizona’s offense is finally including Gresham after seemingly shunning him for his first year and a half with the team. Gresham has also benefitted from the injuries and inconsistency of Cardinals receivers not named Larry Fitzgerald. This has translated into more targets for Gresham.
Gresham will not break any 40-yard plays, nor will he rack up 10 receptions or 100 yards in any game the rest of the way. But now that Palmer and his top tight end are clicking, and with a mouth-watering matchup against New Orleans in two weeks when fantasy leagues will be thick into their playoffs, Gresham is a guy to think about picking up.
Other Options
Jared Cook, Green Bay Packers
Cook’s fantasy value is bipolar. One game he torches a defense for 100 yards and makes you think he is Green Bay’s best tight end since Jermichael Finley. Then the next game he catches one lone pass and is back to being someone who should not be on a fantasy roster. Pick him up and pray you play him for his good weeks and not his bad ones.
Daniel Brown, Chicago Bears
Does the Matt Barkley-to-Daniel Brown connection bring back memories of Joe Montana-to-Jerry Rice? Nope. But Brown has been seeing some targets in Zach Miller’s absence and has five receptions and one touchdown in his first two contests since Miller suffered his season-ending injury.
Jack Doyle, Indianapolis Colts
The return of Dwayne Allen and the injuries of Andrew Luck have sapped the fantasy value out of Doyle over the last month, but now that Luck is back on the field Doyle could score a sneaky touchdown here and there from here on out.
