Tight ends in Week 10 performed how fantasy football managers hoped they would perform all season. Of the top 10 tight ends in half-PPR scoring for this week, the names included Travis Kelce, Trey McBride, Sam LaPorta, Mark Andrews, George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson, Dallas Goedert and Pat Freiermuth. Only Tanner Hudson was a late-round tight end dart throw.
Does this mean the tight end position is finally course-correcting? Kelce and McBride are back in the top five at the position for the season. It will always be a volatile position for fantasy football, but after some roller-coaster weeks, it seems the position is finally settling into what fantasy managers were hoping it would be.
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This weekly column helps identify tight ends that are strong streaming options for the week 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 in Yahoo! leagues) and have matchups worth exploiting for fantasy football.
Fantasy Football Tight End Streamers & Waiver Wire Pickups
Dawson Knox (TE – BUF) vs. Kansas City Chiefs | 1% Rostered
Dawson Knox is likely the number one tight end waiver priority heading into Week 11. Despite his low usage and fantasy production this season, he is a must-add if it is confirmed Dalton Kincaid will miss any time with the knee injury he suffered during his game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Because of that injury, Knox played in 70% of Buffalo’s snaps, saw three targets and caught two balls for 40 yards. That may not sound like much, but considering Knox has eight games this season with either one or zero catches, it’s a step up and he would have no competition if Kincaid is out.
In addition, the upcoming matchup for Knox could not be much better. The Bills host the Kansas City Chiefs next week. The Chiefs allow the second-most fantasy points per game to the tight end position. They have allowed the third-most receptions and most yards to tight ends as well this year. That game between the Chiefs and Bills has opened up with a 45.5 total and is heading upward. If I am tight end desperate and Knox is available ahead of this sublime matchup, I am certainly opening up the FAAB wallet so I can secure his services.
Will Dissly (TE – LAC) vs. Cincinnati Bengals | 2% Rostered
Quietly, Will Dissly has been putting together extremely useful fantasy performances for the Los Angeles Chargers. It certainly correlates to how well Justin Herbert is playing right now, as Dissly has become one of his favorite targets during this streak of four wins in five games. In four of his last five games, Dissly has at least five targets and four receptions. The catches and yards have both been there for Dissly. Just the touchdowns are missing. Dissly does not have a score on the season despite three red-zone targets and 185 yards after the catch (eighth-most among tight ends).
Dissly also ranks in the top 15 of tight ends in target share, receptions, yards per route run and fantasy points per route run. In three of his first four games of the season, Dissly was under 50% of his team’s snap share. That changed after the Week 5 bye week as he now has been over 60% for four of the last five games. It’s been clear the team is prioritizing Ladd McConkey and Dissly in the passing game, who are reliable targets for Herbert. The touchdowns will come eventually. We will want to buy low before they do.
Mike Gesicki (TE – CIN) @ Los Angeles Chargers | 45% Rostered
Cincinnati Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki will likely never be able to repeat his success from Week 9 when he torched Las Vegas for 100 yards and two touchdowns. When he was a top waiver wire priority that week, some of his managers might have been disappointed when Gesicki only had four receptions for 30 yards against the Ravens in the offensive bonanza last Thursday night. However, a deeper look under the hood shows he is just as valuable a player as he was two weeks ago and continues to be a major part of an elite Bengals offense.
In that Thursday night game, Gesicki saw nine targets, including two in the red zone. Those two red-zone targets are the same number drawn in by Ja’Marr Chase. Of course, Chase went nuclear in that game and sucked up all the touchdown scoring, but Gesicki was still heavily involved. His nine targets came on 71% of the snaps played — far and away his highest of the season. With rookie tight end Erick All Jr. out for the season with an injury and Tee Higgins frequently missing games, Gesicki is a tight end who needs to be on all rosters for the remainder of the 2024 season.
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