Week 8 Tight Ends - Waiver Wire Pickups and Adds

There will be a lot of tight ends not playing this upcoming week, but most of them will not be missed by fantasy football owners.

While another four teams will be off during Week 8, the only tight end fantasy footballers will need a replacement for is Atlanta’s Austin Hooper, and he has only become a decent option in recent weeks. That’s lucky for fantasy owners, because the pickings at tight end are slimmer on most league waiver wires than they are at a pumpkin patch on November 1st. Nevertheless, if you are in need of a tight end, you came shopping at the right store.

Without further adieu, here are the best tight ends to pick up heading into Week 8. Good luck RotoBallers!

TE Waiver Wire Options for Week 8

C.J. Uzomah, Cincinnati Bengals – 39% owned

I think I have featured Uzomah in three of my past four columns now, but between the lack of tight ends available in most fantasy leagues and the lack of fantasy players picking him up, the man deserves to be spotlighted once again.

Uzomah has either scored or had 40-plus receiving yards in five of his past six games. Not many tight ends on waiver wires and free agent lists in fantasy leagues can boast about that these days. Uzomah’s next game is against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are dead last in passing defense in the NFL and have allowed tight ends to catch touchdowns against them in each of their past four games, and the game before that the Bucs allowed Philadelphia’s Zach Ertz to snag 11 passes. Uzomah needs to be owned and played in all fantasy formats this week.

Michael Roberts, Detroit Lions – 1% owned

Not too many fantasy owners were invited to Roberts’ breakout party when he caught two touchdown tosses against the Miami Dolphins judging by the amount who owned him entering the weekend. Feel free to pick him up this week

Quarterback Matthew Stafford has perennially shunned tight ends during his tenure in Detroit. Just look how well Eric Ebron has done since leaving “The Motor City.” So I cannot fault fantasy players who are wary that Stafford will go back to zoning in on Golden Tate and Marvin Jones and ignore Roberts entirely from here on out, but considering Roberts scored 16 touchdowns during his last collegiate season with Toledo and is now converting on end zone opportunities in the pros, I would not be shocked if Roberts turns into Stafford’s go-to guy in the red zone.

Chris Herndon, New York Jets – 7% owned

Herndon has turned things around quicker than you can blurt out “Come on, Kevin White!” this year. After cranking out a paltry 47 yards over his first five games of the season, Herndon has given patient (or crazy) fantasy owners touchdowns in back-to-back games to go along with a half-dozen receptions for 98 yards.

With Quincy Enunwa injured and Terrelle Pryor released, Herndon has suddenly leaped up a couple spots on Sam Darnold’s favorite target list. He seems to have the hands and the speed to make plays near the end zone and between the 20-yard-lines as well. Herndon might be in for a tough matchup this weekend at Chicago, but the Bears have allowed Brock Osweiler and Tom Brady to both throw for a trio of touchdowns against them in their last two outings, so do not rule Herndon out.

Other Tight End Options

Ricky Seals-Jones, Arizona Cardinals – 40% owned

Troy Aikman was talking Seals-Jones up during last Thursday night’s FOX telecast like the young tight end and rookie quarterback Josh Rosen had the same chemistry Dan Fouts and Kellen Winslow had together in the 1980s. The numbers do not bear this out (17-204-1), but Arizona changing offensive coordinators can only mean better things in the short and long terms for the young tight end.

Erik Swoope, Indianapolis Colts – 3% owned

The bad news for Swoope is that in four of his past five games he has only had one catch. The good news is that he is the Cris Carter of tight ends. All the man catches is touchdown passes! Swoope has scored in three straight contests and will continue to be a red-zone force as long as Jack Doyle remains sidelined.

Follow Craig on Twitter @craigrondinone!

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