This past week, the tight end position continued to be a major headache for fantasy managers. Only five tight ends scored more than 10 half-PPR points on the week! AJ Barner, Austin Hooper and Blake Whiteheart were all in the top 10 at the position. Travis Kelce finally delivered but Mark Andrews put up zero fantasy points. Sam LaPorta had seven points when his team scored 42. It’s getting really bad out there, folks.
Who will step up in Week 5 and deliver at least decent fantasy production at the tight end position? Are there low-rostered players available on the waiver wire who could step in as temporary measures if Noah Fant (left Monday Night Football early) or Trey McBride (concussion) can’t suit up? What matchups might dictate a tight end breakout, even in this low-scoring environment we have in early 2024?
This weekly column will help identify tight end options that are strong streaming options for the weekend ahead. Whether it’s due to bye weeks, injuries, or overall lack of production, these tight ends are often widely available on the waiver wire (all are fewer than 50% rostered) and have matchups worth exploiting for fantasy football rosters.
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Fantasy Football Tight End Streamers & Waiver Wire Pickups (Week 5)
(Rostered percentages based on Yahoo! leagues as of the time of publication)
Tucker Kraft (TE – GB) @ Los Angeles Rams | 6% Rostered
There is really no debating now that Tucker Kraft is the TE1 for the Green Bay Packers. He played 86% of the snaps in Week 4 compared to 33% for Luke Musgrave. Kraft had nine targets in that game to just three for Musgrave and has 10 more targets than Musgrave over the entire season.
Notable TE Snap Share Increasers in Week 4:
Erick All????
Tucker Kraft????
AJ Barner????
Travis Kelce???? pic.twitter.com/ybqPGwWedI– Scott Spratt (@Scott_Spratt) October 1, 2024
With Jordan Love back under center and Christian Watson set to miss some time with a high ankle sprain, now is the perfect time to buy in on Kraft. After three straight games with two catches, he busted out for six grabs, 53 yards and a touchdown against the Vikings last week.
Looking ahead, he faces the Rams this week and the Cardinals in their next game. The Rams have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points per game to tight ends, and the Cardinals just got destroyed by Jayden Daniels and the Washington pass-catchers. There is likely to be a bidding war for Kraft this week on the waiver wire, but he has the opportunity to pay off that investment.
Cade Otton (TE – TB) at Atlanta Falcons | 15% Rostered
The first two weeks of the 2024 season started slowly for Cade Otton, even though the Tampa Bay offense has been humming since just about day one. In Weeks 1 and 2, Cotton combined for just four targets, one catch and five yards. But in Week 3, that all changed. In Weeks 3 and 4, he has combined for 17 targets, 13 catches and 99 yards.
The Buccaneers have made a much more concerted effort to get Otton the ball, while still not making Mike Evans and Chris Godwin suffer as a result. The outcome has been an offense that is second in the league in passing touchdowns per game, ninth in passing yards per game, and 10th in yards per pass attempt.
Among tight ends, Otton now ranks fourth in targets, third in route participation and sixth in red zone targets. With that kind of usage, big days will be head in one of the pass-friendliest offenses we have in 2024 fantasy football.
Elijah Higgins (TE – ARI) @ San Francisco Giants | 6% Rostered
As Week 5 gets underway, Trey McBride is still in concussion protocol and could be in serious danger of missing the game against the San Franciso 49ers as a result. Elijah Higgins started in his place in Week 4 and saw a significant uptick in usage and opportunity. Higgins was in on 68% of snaps and did get three targets.
The outcome of last Sunday’s game quickly got out of hand and Kyler Murray was not at his best, but Sunday might be another chance for a high-volume passing attack. The 49ers are currently 7.5-point favorites against Arizona, which means there could be a large portion of this game where the Cardinals are trailing and forced into passing situations.
TE route participation – Week 4
94% – Travis Kelce
93% – Elijah Higgins
90% – Tyler Conklin
86% – Jake Ferguson
86% – Sam LaPorta
86% – Tucker Kraft
86% – Zach Ertz
83% – Pat Freiermuth
82% – Cade Otton
81% – Colby Parkinson
81% – Brock Bowers
80% – George Kittle
80% – Hunter…– Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) October 1, 2024
Higgins might not have the outstanding upside of either Cade Otton or Tucker Kraft, but is a nice consolation prize if your fantasy rosters don’t end up with either of those two after the waiver period ends this week. The 49ers have been excellent at stopping the run this year, so the Cardinals taking their offense to the air may be the best possible plan to stay in this Week 5 game.
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