Gary Barnidge (TE, CLE) - NFL Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Stream in 10- and 12-Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 66% Fleaflicker

ANALYSIS: The Browns have been easier to laugh at this season than Louie C.K. or Dave Chappelle. Meanwhile, Barnidge has been one of the bigger busts at tight end in 2016. After a breakout 2015 campaign that saw him sneak out of obscurity to record 1,043 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, he has been M.I.A. this season. He was likely dropped by many fantasy owners in recent weeks after producing just 434 yards and zero touchdowns in his first 10 games. But is Barnidge ready to rebound?

He caught his first touchdown pass of the season against Pittsburgh in his last game, so maybe that was a sign that he is ready to awaken from his season-long coma. Couple that with Cody Kessler getting concussed for the second time in a short span and the return of Josh McCown to the starting quarterback role for Cleveland in the immediate future, and you see Barnidge has some things going well for him right now.

Barnidge and his Browns have a date with the surging New York Giants this weekend, and while the G-Men have been playing their best defense of the season in recent weeks, they still have trouble covering tight ends. Over the last three games Chicago’s Zach Miller (61 yards and a TD), Cincinnati’s Tyler Eifert (96 yards) and Philadelphia’s Zach Ertz (97 yards) all did well against the Giants. A renewed Barnidge could prosper against them, as well.