Monday, September 24, 2018

2018 Fantasy Football TE Waiver-Wire Options Heading Into Week 4

Every week, we examine players that may be available on your league's waiver wire that could help your team in the short and/or long term.

For a player to be listed, he must be owned in 50 percent (or less) of Yahoo! leagues. The goal is to provide recommendations of players that have a greater chance of being available on your league's waiver wire. Of course, your league's size and settings could significantly impact whether these players (or better options) are available in your particular league(s).

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With that said, here are some tight end waiver-wire options that I like heading into Week 4 (Yahoo! ownership in parenthesis):

[Note: Players listed below are sorted by my preference to add.]

1. Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati Bengals (51 percent)

Yet to score a touchdown this season, Eifert has the potential in any given week to score a touchdown or two. At the same time, durability has always been the concern as he played just 24 games over the previous four seasons combined. Healthy now, Eifert had his best game (6/74 on eight targets) in Week 3.

While A.J. Green left Sunday's game early and appears likely to play in Week 4, his absence would help Eifert's short-term cause. In a year where tight end is weaker than usual and made worse by some serious injuries to Delanie Walker and Greg Olsen, Eifert has the potential to be a helpful fantasy asset that should be owned in more than 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

[Eifert was at 50 percent Monday morning so I'm violating my own self-imposed rule by including him here now that his ownership level has crept up by one percent.]

2. Ben Watson, New Orleans Saints (44 percent)

In Sunday's overtime win against the Falcons, Watson had five catches for 71 yards on six targets, all of which were season highs. In an offense bound to score lots of points in any given week, Watson naturally has some built-in weekly upside. Historically, the Giants, Watson's Week 4 opponent, have been a fantasy-friendly defense to opposing tight ends even if they have limited their TE-deficient opponents early this season.

3. Vance McDonald, Pittsburgh Steelers (11 percent)

With 10/112 on a team-high 16 targets in their playoff loss to the Jaguars last year, there was some early offseason buzz that McDonald's momentum would carry over into the 2018 season although he missed the season opener. Returning in Week 2, McDonald had three catches for 26 yards on five targets. At the time of this post (halftime of MNF), McDonald already has a productive Week 3 with a 75-yard touchdown. Going forward, I'd expect McDonald to outscore teammate Jesse James assuming both tight ends are healthy.

4. Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles (two percent)

Goedert goes into MNF with the most fantasy points at tight end so far this week as the rookie tight end had seven catches for 73 yards and a touchdown against the Colts on Sunday. Before Sunday's game, however, he had just one catch for four yards in his two previous games. Rookie tight ends struggle to make a consistent impact and that may continue to be the case when the offense is back to full health.

5. Jake Butt, Denver Broncos (five percent)

Butt had just two catches for eight yards on three targets against the Ravens in Week 3. Through three games, he has eight catches for 85 yards on 13 targets. Those numbers aren't necessarily anything to write home about, but Butt has perhaps the best possible matchup of the week against the Chiefs in Week 4, especially if Eric Berry misses another game. Going into MNF, no team has allowed more fantasy points to opposing tight ends than the Chiefs.

- More Fantasy Football Waiver-Wire Advice Heading Into Week 4

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