RADIO
This is not the week to have a turkey at the tight end position in your fantasy football lineup. Thanksgiving week is not just about the turkey, the stuffing, the mashed potatoes, the sweet potatoes, and the mashed sweet potatoes. It is a huge week for football and fantasy football as the games become more important during the second half of the season.
Kansas City’s Travis Kelce and Arizona’s Zach Ertz are on bye this week, which leaves gaping holes at tight end for millions of fantasy squads. New Orleans' Adam Trautman was looking like one of the top waiver wire options after his best effort of the season on Sunday, but a knee injury will knock him out of action for the next month-plus. While the fantasy waiver wire cupboards are usually bare at this time of the season, there are still some tight ends that fantasy managers can plug in and play this week if need be.
Here are the best available tight end options on fantasy waiver wires heading into Week 12, with top billing shared by three tight ends I have been talking up a lot in this column lately!
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Top Tight Ends to Pickup - Week 12 Waiver Wire
Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers — 52% rostered
The two things going against the prominent Pittsburgh rookie is that Eric Ebron is back catching touchdown passes for the Steelers and that Freiermuth is rostered in over half the fantasy leagues out there. The two things going in his favor are that he is indeed available in 48 percent of leagues (so hopefully yours) and no tight end on waiver wires can say he has four touchdowns over his last four games like he can.
Evan Engram, New York Giants — 32% rostered
Engram is staying healthy and has not been plagued by dropped passes like he has in past seasons. We will have to wait and see what he does Monday night against Tampa Bay, but we know he has scored touchdowns in back-to-back games and his Week 12 game comes against a Philadelphia defense that has gifted New Orleans’ Adam Trautman, Denver’s Albert Okwuegbunam, and Los Angeles’ Stephen Anderson their best games of the season over the past three weeks.
Tyler Conklin, Minnesota Vikings — 37% rostered
Conklin returned to being the solid safety valve of Minnesota’s offense who watches Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson catch the TD passes after he scored twice himself during what might have been an aberration in Week 10. If you pick him up and play him just know there is a better chance of Conklin posting a 5-45-0 line than a 3-30-2 line.
Others Tight Ends to Consider Adding
Logan Thomas, Washington Football Team — 52% rostered
Fantasy managers never know from week-to-week what Thomas’ status is, but we can only hope and pray he returns this week since he will find hundreds of openings against a Seattle secondary that just allowed Zach Ertz to score two touchdowns this past Sunday afternoon.
Dan Arnold, Jacksonville Jaguars — 42% rostered
Arnold has been Jacksonville’s primary option in its passing attack, yet somehow he went with a target against San Francisco. Chalk it up as another notch in Urban Meyer’s belt when it comes to how he ruins the fantasy values of his own players. Arnold should bounce back this week against a Minnesota that allowed Aaron Rodgers to light it up for 385 passing yards and four touchdown tosses despite only having nine good toes.
Josiah Deguara, Green Bay Packers — 0% rostered
Deguara will never get targeted 12 times like Davante Adams does, but his 2-37-1 line against Minnesota shows he can be a mini Robert Tonyan in this passing attack. He will be facing a Los Angeles Rams defense that has given up touchdowns to tight ends in each of its last three games.
C.J. Uzomah, Cincinnati Bengals — 22% rostered
Uzomah continues to have the best year of his career, yet fantasy managers have no idea if he will give them 90 yards or 19 yards week in and week out. You would think since he is coming off a clunker that he should be due for a solid stats day this Sunday, but that was my rationale in my last column and all Uzomah could muster was nine measly yards.
Gerald Everett, Seattle Seahawks — 21% rostered
Everett is energized now that he is a few weeks remove from his bout with COVID. He has 11 catches for 100 yards over his last two games and has been able to prosper even though Russell Wilson has not been the same Russell Wilson throwing the ball since he hurt his hand. Everett has a date next Monday night with a Washington pass defense that has been ranked near the cellar over the last month.
Austin Hooper, Cleveland Browns — 22% rostered
Cleveland’s highest-paid tight end has hauled in four passes in three of his past four games as he is finally earning some of his millions. With Odell Beckham Jr. gone and Donovan Peoples-Jones injured, targets have opened up in the Browns offense for Hooper. His next game is against a Baltimore pass defense that has been ranked near the bottom of the league in recent weeks.
Do Not Forget About…
Donald Parham Jr., Los Angeles Chargers —1% rostered
Parham Jr. is not blowing the world away with his usage, but his four receptions and five targets this past Sunday night were his best of the year in those categories. He is the dreaded touchdown-dependent tight end fantasy managers normally cannot stand, but he should be more than that next season if Jared Cook departs from the Chargers.
Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears — 25% rostered
Just when we thought Chicago’s offense had been righted and Justin Fields was looking like a franchise quarterback, Fields injured his ribs and the Bears offense was downright pathetic versus Baltimore. Kmet is hard to count on this year but should still be considered for a pickup in dynasty leagues as he should be better in 2022.
Anthony Firkser, Tennessee Titans — 5% rostered
Firkser set season-highs in targets and receptions and scored his first touchdown of the season (albeit on a fumble recovery) this past weekend. As long as No. 2 WR Julio Jones is hamstrung by his hamstring, Firkser should see additional looks from Ryan Tannehill over the next couple contests.
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