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Week 8 should be great for fantasy football managers at the tight end position. Even though four teams are on bye --- Arizona, Washington, Jacksonville, and Houston --- none of them have a top-12 fantasy tight end.
So unless your fantasy squad relies on Logan Thomas or Darren Fells to be your top tight end, chances are you are not searching for a tight end this week. This is perfect timing because the tight end talent pool on fantasy waiver wires is as shallow as a turtle pool.
Here are the top tight end candidates to pick up in fantasy football leagues heading into Week 8!
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Top Tight End Waiver Wire Options
Eric Ebron, Pittsburgh Steelers
46% rostered
Remember 2018? What a year, right? Nobody wore masks unless it was Halloween or if they were a hockey goalie! Prince Harry married Meghan Markle! And that’s the year Ebron topped all tight ends with 14 touchdowns. Yes, 14 touchdowns (including a rushing TD!).
A lot has changed since then. Ebron was primed for a career rebirth in Pittsburgh, but so far Ben Roethlisberger has been targeting every Pittsburgh pass catcher except for Ebron inside the red zone. Chase Claypool is the man of the hour one week. The next week Diontae Johnson catches multiple touchdown tosses. Meanwhile, Ebron has been the underneath guy on the outside of the end zone. This is why Ebron has been dropped in 20-25 percent of leagues over the past two weeks…
…and that’s the good news for fantasy managers! It is not all bad with Ebron. He has topped the 40-yard mark in four of his six games and had a season-high eight targets this past weekend versus Tennessee. He is trending upward at the right time. Ebron has the big body that Big Ben loves to throw to in tight spaces down by the end zone, and the pair seems to be getting more comfortable with each other every week. If you need a tight end and Ebron is out there on your free agent list, snag him. He might be inconsistent and will not be the same player he was in 2018, but he can help your fantasy squad.
Tyler Kroft, Buffalo Bills
1% rostered
Buffalo’s tight end corps is all on the COVID list except for Kroft, and he thrived this past Sunday while they were all out. Kroft racked up four receptions for 64 yards against the hopeless New York Jets --- after having just six receptions for 43 yards coming into the contest. If Dawson Knox and the Bills’ other tight ends miss this week’s division battle against New England, look for Kroft to be targeted a lot for the second week in a row. When you are the only tight end in town, your target rate goes up. This is simple math even for those who have trouble with square roots and long division.
Other Tight End Options to Consider
Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys
45% rostered
Schultz’s roster rate in fantasy leagues is plummeting like the stock of a company that just went belly up. Since Dak Prescott suffered his gruesome season-ending ankle injury, Schultz, like many of the Cowboys, has been a shell of his former fantasy self (7-63-0 in last three games). Whether it’s Andy Dalton, Ben DiNucci or Roger Staubach helming the offense, Schultz is not going to be as productive as he was with Dak. That said, he has had better games this season than most available tight ends on waiver wires right now, so he deserves a long look if you are ready to give the tight end you have now the hook.
Harrison Bryant, Cleveland Browns
1% rostered
Bryant went from third-string rookie tight end to fantasy hero faster than Tyreek Hill runs a go route. He had eight catches in a half-dozen games entering Week 7, only to shock the fantasy world with two touchdown catches in the absence of top tight end Austin Hooper and top target Odell Beckham Jr. We do not know how long Hooper and Beckham are out, which really has an effect on Bryant’s short-term fantasy worth. What we do know is that Bryant can make the most out of an opportunity when presented with one.
Logan Thomas, Washington Redskins
26% rostered
The bye could not come at a worse time for Thomas, who is coming off his best game of the season (4-60-1 vs. Dallas) and has scored touchdowns in back-to-back weeks. Having Kyle Allen at quarterback instead of scattershot Dwayne Haskins has helped. Thomas has also been targeted at least four times in all seven of his games this season. He will be no use to fantasy managers this week, but he could certainly assist GMs the rest of the way if they need an upgrade at TE on their rosters.
Irv Smith Jr., Minnesota Vikings
7% rostered
Many fantasy managers probably overlooked Smith this past week because Minnesota was on bye and will likely forget about him entering this week since his name did not appear in any boxscore. The young tight end had 55 and 64-yard games heading into his bye week, however, and should continue to be a focal point of the Vikings passing attack from here on out. Take a flyer on the kid before he has another good game or two and gets snatched off your league’s waiver wire.
Drew Sample, Cincinnati Bengals
2% rostered
Sample finally gave fantasy managers a nice sample of what he can do when given the chance to make things happen. The second-year upstart had his first 50-yard game of the 2020 season against Cleveland. Of course, it took Joe Burrow 47 pass attempts to target Sample a not-so-grand total of six times, so let’s not carried away about how valuable Sample is yet.
Don’t Forget About…
Richard Rodgers, Philadelphia Eagles
8% rostered
The former Green Bay Packers veteran might be the best No. 3 TE on an NFL roster right now. He has stepped in for the injured dynamic duo of Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert and has caught nine passes for 116 yards over his last two contests. If Ertz and Goedert cannot play this Sunday night, Rodgers has a mouthwatering matchup against Dallas’ disastrous defensive backfield.
David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
4% rostered
You never know whether this former first-round pick is in the doghouse or getting a second lease on life. Even though Austin Hooper missed the Browns’ last game, it was the aforementioned Bryant who got the start and not Njoku. Njoku still managed to find his way to the end zone, though, and should still have a spot reserved for him in dynasty leagues where he can be stashed and saved until he realizes his potential or is traded to a team who figures out how to get the most out of him.
Trey Burton, Indianapolis Colts
20% rostered
Two things going for Burton: He scored two touchdowns in his last game and his next game is against a Detroit defense that has not held any quarterback under 240 passing yards in a game yet this year.
Two things going against Burton: He has to split time and targets with two other decent tight ends on his tea (Jack Doyle and Mo-Alie Cox) and he has spent more time on injured reserve the past couple years than he has in the end zone.
Your call, fantasy folks!
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