RADIO
Fantasy football gets a little more back to normal this week after owners had to suffer through a bye week where a half-dozen teams were off.
You're probably not sweating as much this week with your Tight End. San Diego’s Antonio Gates is the most valuable tight end that is off, and most of the quality TEs are playing, so there probably aren't too many fantasy owners in dire need of help at the position. But for those who do need to pick up a tight end from the waiver wire, two athletic, exciting youngsters head the free agent crop.
Here are three tight ends worthy of a look on the waiver wire in Week 10.
Week 10 Waiver Wire - Tight Ends (TE)
Austin Seferian-Jenkins (TE, TB) - 50% Owned in Fleaflicker
Remember this guy? Back in Week 1 the Tampa Bay tight end made fantasy owners take notice of him by catching five passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns against the Tennessee Titans. ASJ was poised to become a top-10 tight end, but then a serious shoulder injury derailed his fantasy value.
Seferian-Jenkins has been sidelined the past six games due to his ailing shoulder, but because he practiced last week there appears to be a very good chance he will return this week. It is a little on the risky side to bank on him since he has not played in a month and a half and is no sure thing to suit up Sunday, but the signs are pointing towards Seferian-Jenkins making his long-awaited return.
If Seferian-Jenkins can finally play, he will get the opportunity to run his routes against a Dallas Cowboys secondary that has not allowed New England’s Rob Gronkowski, New Orleans’ Benjamin Watson or Seattle’s Jimmy Graham to catch touchdown tosses when they faced the Cowboys in recent weeks. But the same secondary just gave up 295 passing yards to Philadelphia flop Sam Bradford, so Seferian-Jenkins can certainly make some plays against it.
Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston has to be tired of throwing to Mike Evans and only Mike Evans after not having both Seferian-Jenkins and wideout Vincent Jackson around due to their injuries. He will target ASJ at least six times if the talented tight end plays, especially if Evans is double-covered by the Cowboys.
Fantasy owners may have erased Seferian-Jenkins from their memory banks once he missed several games, but not many tight ends have the athleticism or explosiveness that he has. Keep a close eye on reports about Seferian-Jenkins and scoop him up if he is available in your league.
Eric Ebron (TE, DET ) - 37% Owned in Fleaflicker
Fantasy owners have forgotten what Ebron has done at certain points this season, and they have forgotten what I said two columns back when I predicted this guy is about to break out.
Ebron has three touchdown catches in six games and was targeted at least five times in five of those contests. He was a first-round pick last season in the 2014 NFL draft and has more tools than an interior designer on HGTV. Yet because of the knee injury that knocked him out for a couple contests and because of the unrest with Detroit’s offense, fantasy owners still seem to shy away from him.
Detroit being on bye last week hopefully helped the Lions offensive players get on the same page and get more accustomed to what new offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter wants them to do. Quarterback/turnover machine Matthew Stafford cannot be any worse, but remember that Detroit played four of the best defenses in the NFL over their last four games (Denver, Seattle, Arizona, Minnesota). Stafford and the offense will do better, which in turn will make Ebron better.
Detroit has a date with division rival Green Bay this Sunday, and the Packers are probably madder than Brandon Browner gets after hearing a reporter’s question he doesn’t like. They are coming off losing two straight games and having their defensive players fighting with each other on the sideline this past Sunday. But will this vigor help the Packers cover tight ends any better? They allowed Carolina’s Greg Olsen to have 66 yards and touchdown this past week, Denver’s Virgil Green and Owen Daniels to combine for 105 yards the week before, and San Diego’s Antonio Gates and Ladarius Green to combine for 130 yards and a score the week before that!
Look for Ebron to have a field day against Green Bay, especially if the game becomes a shootout and/or his Lions fall behind and have to pass for most of the second half.
Owen Daniels (TE, DEN) - 32% Owned in Fleaflicker
The Denver Broncos did not trade for former San Francisco 49er Vernon Davis because they wanted to run a ton of three-tight sets or because Daniels was having such a superb season (more like subpar) and wanted the twosome to team up. Make no mistake that the Broncos acquired Davis to replace Daniels.
But while Davis learns the playbook and gets more comfortable with the offense and Peyton Manning, Daniels still has a chance to help fantasy owners get some unexpected fantasy points. Daniels played like the Davis trade lit a fire under his feet this past weekend when he had six receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown against the defensively-challenged Indianapolis Colts. His best game this year coming into last weekend was a 28-yard, one-TD effort in Week 3.
Daniels plays against the Kansas City Chiefs this upcoming weekend, who are ranked 23rd in the NFL in pass defense. Coupled with the fact that Manning is finding Daniels more often in recent weeks (61 yards in first five games, 170 yards in last three games), the veteran tight end can be called upon as a one-week option for fantasy owners.
Daniels’ shelf life is shorter than a gallon of milk’s. Davis will eventually supplant him or at least split snaps with him, thereby taking many if not most of Daniels’ targets. But coming off his 100-yard-game Daniels definitely has enough life in his legs to give fantasy owners one more decent week if they take a flyer on him.
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