Fantasy football’s regular season is past the halfway mark and headed for home!
Fantasy football managers will be without Denver’s Noah Fant and Los Angeles’ Tyler Higbee at tight end this week due to their teams being on bye. This is on top of the ongoing Rob Gronkowski injury saga. There have been worse weeks for fantasy managers this year, though. If you need a tight end on your fantasy league’s waiver wire, there are some warm bodies that can fill in either for one week or possibly the rest of the season for you.
Here are the best available tight end options on fantasy waiver wires heading into Week 11, with top billing going to Minnesota’s top tight end!
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Top Tight Ends to Pickup - Week 11 Waiver Wire
Tyler Conklin, Minnesota Vikings — 30% rostered
Pro Bowl wideouts Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson may receive 50 percent of quarterback Kirk Cousins’ targets, but Conklin has carved out his place in Minnesota’s passing attack. Yet while he was doing a decent job giving the fantasy managers who had him 30-70 yards per week, he was having as much trouble finding the end zone as Aaron Rodgers has had finding a barber. Conklin only scored one touchdown over his first eight games, which made fantasy players long for Irv Smith Jr. and his penchant for turning Cousins’ tosses into touchdowns.
Everything changed for Conklin this past Sunday, however. He scored not one, but two touchdowns against the L.A. Chargers. This bodes well that Cousins will zero in on Conklin more often inside the red zone the rest of the way. Do not be scared away that Conklin is set to face Green Bay’s staunch defense in his next game. The Packers just allowed Seattle’s Gerald Everett to have his best game of the year and let Kansas City’s Travis Kelce score a TD the week before. Pick up Conklin and he could bless you with 50 yards and another trip to Touchdownville.
Others Tight Ends to Consider Adding
Logan Thomas, Washington Football Team — 54% rostered
Remember this fellow? He was the breakout star at the position in 2020 but has been sidelined for most of this season due to a hamstring injury. There is a good chance he returns his week and he is available in almost half of the fantasy leagues at the moment. Put a claim in for Thomas and he could be a major addition to your starting lineup while you make your playoff push.
Evan Engram, New York Giants — 32% rostered
Despite coming off his best game of the season in Week 9, Engram was rostered in eight percent less of leagues because his Giants were on bye in Week 10. He should be fresh and healthy heading into a Monday night matchup next week against Tampa Bay’s beatable defensive backfield. Engram also has upcoming contests against Miami and Dallas on his slate where he could bring some fantasy shine to a squad in need of a TE.
Dan Arnold, Jacksonville Jaguars — 26% rostered
Arnold continues to be an underrated find in PPR leagues as he keeps being peppered with Trevor Lawrence passes because Jacksonville is as light on receivers as a vegetarian’s refrigerator is light on steaks. Arnold has strung three consecutive 60-yard games together and should be targeted another 7-10 times this upcoming weekend versus San Francisco.
C.J. Uzomah, Cincinnati Bengals — 21% rostered
Uzomah is another tight end whose fantasy stock was at a high point right when his bye came, so many fantasy managers dropped him or ignored him last week. The veteran blocker shocked the fantasy world with five touchdowns in six games heading into his bye, however, and should be able to produce solid stats against the reeling Raiders in Week 11.
Adam Trautman, New Orleans Saints — 5% rostered
New Orleans is subpar in the pass-catching-playmaker department with Michael Thomas out for the season with his ongoing ankle issues and Alvin Kamara out for the time being with a knee injury. In the meantime, Trautman has been targeted 19 times over his last trio of outings and appears to have some chemistry with quarterback Trevor Siemian.
Gerald Everett, Seattle Seahawks — 20% rostered
Everett’s fantasy value gets a boost now that Russell Wilson is back at the helm of the offense. That was clearly evident as he caught all eight of the passes thrown to him Sunday against Green Bay and had a season-high 63 yards to show for it. Everett has not caught a touchdown pass since Week 1, but that might change soon with Wilson throwing to him.
Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears — 18% rostered
Many fantasy managers probably forgot about Kmet since he was on bye/vacation this past week. You should remember that his last game was his best game of 2021 as he had six receptions for 87 yards. Quarterback Justin Fields seems to be getting the hang of throwing in the NFL, and as Fields improves, so should Kmet’s fantasy value. Kmet should find openings against Baltimore’s porous secondary this Sunday afternoon.
Do Not Forget About…
Austin Hooper, Cleveland Browns — 23% rostered
Figuring out the Cleveland tight ends in fantasy leagues is more frustrating than figuring out your taxes every April. Hooper was the Browns top tight end this past Sunday since he scored a touchdown and next has a home game against the winless Detroit Lions, but do not be shocked if David Njoku has the better day this weekend.
Donald Parham Jr., Los Angeles Chargers —1% rostered
The Chargers are in no position to start phasing veteran Jared Cook out to give Parham Jr. more play and targets since both are playing well and the team is in the playoff hunt. At this point if you want to pick up Parham in a dynasty league because Cook probably will not return to the team in 2022, that is likely a better idea than picking him up and playing him now in the hopes of immediate returns.