Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets & FAAB Advice: Tight Ends (Week 2)

We will have you covered throughout the 2023 fantasy football season with our bevy of tools, including our Waiver Wire Assistant. Find the top available players and get detailed analysis on how potential waiver wire adds will impact your team. Of course, our team of analysts will also have written advice each week. Check out our top waiver wire targets for the week below.

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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets

Tight Ends

Written by Derek Brown

Luke Musgrave (GB): 19% rostered

• Next Opponents: @ATL, NO, DET
• True value: $6
• Desperate Need: $8
• Budget-minded: $3

Analysis: I have not been the biggest Musgrave fan, but we must adjust to new information. Musgrave’s Week 1 usage could lead to TE1 production as the season progresses. His 81% of snaps played and 85% route participation are numbers we love to see. While I have major questions about the Packers’ passing volume, the volume bar is much lower for tight ends to gain fantasy relevance than wide receivers. Musgrave finished Week 1 with a 14.8% target share and 2.17 yards per route run (per PFF). These numbers alone should perk up your ears, especially if you’re hurting at the TE position. I have no problem with anyone spending 10%-12% of their FAAB on Musgrave, depending on their scoring format and need at the position.

Hayden Hurst (CAR): 11% rostered

• Next Opponents: NO, @SEA, MIN
• True value: $3
• Desperate Need: $5
• Budget-minded: $1

Analysis: If you pick up Hurst with streaming aspirations, I implore you not to start him against the Saints. They have been a no-fly zone against tight ends for multiple seasons. Chigoziem Oknokwo found out in Week 1 that it’s still real, as he posted a goose egg on the stat sheet with only two targets. Hurst’s fantasy finish has some intriguing pluses while also some worries in the deeper recesses of his usage. Hurst only played 53% of the snaps, but his route participation was decent (71%). We’re cooking with gas if he can inch closer to 80%. I don’t care if his snaps are limited because he’s running routes when he’s out there. Leave the run blocking to Ian Thomas and Giovanni Ricci. Hurst did see an 18.4% target share while producing 1.5 yards per route run as the best of a bunch of terrible receiving threats. Hurst could continue to soak up ugly targets weekly and volume his way to a low-end TE1 season. After New Orleans, Hurst has solid matchups against Seattle (second-most fantasy points allowed to tight ends in 2022) and Minnesota (tied for the ninth-most receiving touchdowns allowed to tight ends last year).

Hunter Henry (NE): 16% rostered

• Next Opponents: MIA, @NYJ, @DAL
• True value: $1
• Desperate Need: $2
• Budget-minded: $0

Analysis: Like Bourne, Henry’s fantasy day was aided by the Week 1 game script. Henry’s 11.1% target share and 1.33 yards per route run aren’t as sexy as his 56 receiving yards and touchdown. His playing time (78% snaps, 77% route participation) is in line with low-end TE1 production when he happens to fall into the end zone, like in Week 1. His upcoming matchups after Miami are tough, so if you choose to stream him this week, I get it, but he’s likely right back on the waiver wire after Week 2.

Zach Ertz (ARI): 5% rostered

• Next Opponents: NYG, DAL, @SF
• True value: $1
• Desperate Need: $2
• Budget-minded: $0

Analysis: Ertz is another nasty volume candidate who could offer up top-12 production in any week if he flops into the paint. Well, so much for being eased into action in Week 1 while returning from a major injury. Ertz played 77% of the snaps while rocking a 100% route participation. Ertz gobbled up a 33% target share, but he did almost nothing with it. He finished with six receptions and 21 receiving yards. In PPR leagues, this alone can pay the bills, but Ertz must show that he’s not total dust, or Trey McBride could begin to eat into his playing time.

Isaiah Likely (BAL): 34% rostered

• Next Opponents: CIN, IND, @CLE
• True value: $1
• Desperate Need: $2
• Budget-minded: $0

Analysis: I would not break the bank for Likely. You find him at the bottom of this list because Mark Andrews could easily be back in Week 2 and send Likely back to the bench. Likely was not the plug-and-play stud that fantasy GMs hoped for when Andrews was ruled out. While he played 71% of the snaps with strong route participation metrics, he could only manage one target. That’s not exactly the fantasy output you were hoping for. Even if Andrews is sidelined another week, Likely is, at best, the third or fourth target in an offense that only threw the ball 22 times in Week 1. I have no qualms if you read this with Likely on your roster and choose to cut bait.