The tight-end position matters greatly in fantasy football. They are not as flashy as their blazing-fast, route-running counterparts at wide receiver. They also do not get the same volume of touches as fantasy-relevant running backs. That can sometimes lead to them being overlooked or treated as an afterthought. Do not make that mistake.
The tight-end pool is the shallowest of them all in terms of fantasy. Finding production there on a weekly basis can be incredibly challenging, especially for those who did not invest in one of the top TE options during their drafts.
How might one find success at the position? Well, one way can be by carefully playing the waiver wire week-to-week. The goal of this weekly article is to help fantasy managers do just that by finding low-rostered (under 75%) TEs in the best situations for that particular week.
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Tight End Waiver Wire Options for Week 14
Rostered Percentages based on Yahoo! Leagues as of the time of writing.
Gerald Everett (LAC) vs. Denver Broncos: 39% Rostered
Over the past two weeks, Gerald Everett has matched up with the Ravens and Patriots, two of the better teams at defending tight ends in the league. The veteran TE has caught four passes in both contests, gaining over 40 yards each time. He even scored one of his three touchdowns on the season in Week 12 against the Ravens.
On Sunday, Everett will take the field in Denver, opposite a Denver defense that surrenders the most fantasy points per game to the tight end position this season. It would not be surprising to see Everett turn in his best performance of the campaign.
Isaiah Likely (BAL) vs. Los Angeles Rams: 36% Rostered
On the road against the Chargers back in Week 12, Isaiah Likely caught four of six targets for 40 yards while stepping in for Mark Andrews (ankle). Likely will be in the TE1 role again for the Ravens this Sunday, facing off with the other L.A. team. This past Sunday against the Browns, the Rams allowed their sixth touchdown of the season to an opposing TE. Likely has yet to find the end zone on any of his 13 grabs this season, but he has a good shot to change that in Week 14.
Tanner Hudson (CIN) vs. Indianapolis Colts: 4% Rostered
Feeding off the surprisingly stellar play from QB Jake Browning on “Monday Night Football,” Tanner Hudson continued his emergence in the Bengals’ offense. Hudson came down with all four of his targets for 35 yards in the shootout victory over the Jaguars. He has now caught at least four passes in each of the last five weeks, gaining more than 30 yards in four of them. The Colts’ defense showed some susceptibility to the position in Week 13, allowing the Titans’ TEs to go for 78 yards on just four grabs.
Kylen Granson (IND) at Cincinnati Bengals: 1% Rostered
Staying with the upcoming Colts-Bengals matchup, Kylen Granson re-emerged for the Indianapolis offense in a win at Tennessee this past Sunday. The third-year pro set a new career-high with 72 receiving yards, and he needed just three catches to do it. Granson also recorded the longest gain of his career to date, as some trickery from the Colts’ offense resulted in a 46-yard play during the second quarter.
The Bengals’ defense has allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends this season. Jacksonville TE Evan Engram went for 82 yards and a touchdown on nine grabs against the Cincy unit Monday night. While Granson is not likely to match that output, he should get several opportunities to show off his play-making ability.
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Nate Miller is a featured writer at FantasyPros and a nine-year veteran of the fantasy sports industry. For more from Nate, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @Miller_RotoDad.