Top 5 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups: Tight Ends (Week 5)

We will have you covered throughout the 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 fantasy football waiver wire adds will impact your team. Of course, our team of analysts will also have written advice each week. Check out some of our top fantasy football waiver wire tight ends to target for the week below. And check out all of our fantasy football waiver wire advice for Week 5.

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets: Tight Ends

Tight Ends

Written by Derek Brown

Mason Taylor (TE – NYJ): 6% Rostered

Next Opponents: DAL, DEN, CAR
True Value: $2
Desperate Need: $4
Budget-Minded: $1

Analysis: Mason Taylor began the season quietly, with only three targets and 25 receiving yards in his first two games. He has been a full-time player in each game, playing 78.3% of the snaps. In Week 3, he finally got more involved in the passing attack with a 13.9% target share, 18 receiving yards, 0.62 yards per route run and a 12.5% first-read share, per Fantasy Points Data. Taylor has one red-zone target this season. Taylor dealt with an ankle injury in training camp and the preseason, so he could finally be inching closer to 100%, which would explain the expanded role in Week 3. Taylor has entered the weekly streaming radar and has the runway in this offense to develop into a fringe TE1 as we move through the season.

Theo Johnson (TE – NYG): 5% Rostered

Next Opponents: @NO, PHI, @DEN
True Value: $1
Desperate Need: $2
Budget-Minded: $0

Analysis: Theo Johnson entered Week 4 with a 66.4% route share, a 9.1% target share, 0.58 yards per route run and a 7.7% first-read share, per Fantasy Points Data. His usage is about to get a bump with wide receiver Malik Nabers likely out for the season. In Week 4, Johnson had a 66.3% route share, a 25% target share, 17 receiving yards and a score. Johnson is a fringe streaming option at tight end this week against a Saints defense that has allowed the 14th-most fantasy points per game and 14th-most receiving yards to tight ends.

Dalton Schultz (TE – HOU): 19% Rostered

Next Opponents: @BAL, BYE, @SEA
True Value: $1
Desperate Need: $2
Budget-Minded: $0

Analysis: Walking into Week 4, Dalton Schultz had a 67.3% route share with a 15.7% target share, 1.33 yards per route run and a 16.4% first-read share, per Fantasy Points Data. He had averaged 32 receiving yards a game. Against the Titans in Week 4, Schultz had an 87.5% route share and 21.4% target share, finishing with five receptions and 30 scoreless receiving yards. Schultz has been a steady source of eight PPR points over the last two games. Add a touchdown to either of those stat lines and he’s a TE1 for the week. That could easily happen in Week 5 against the Ravens, who have allowed the fourth-most receiving yards and seventh-most fantasy points per game to tight ends. If you need a streaming tight end option this week, Schultz is your guy.

Elijah Arroyo (TE – SEA): 2% Rostered

Next Opponents: TB, @JAX, HOU
True Value: $1
Desperate Need: $2
Budget-Minded: $0

Analysis: In Week 4, Elijah Arroyo hit season highs in route share (53.3%), target share (15.3%), air-yard share (23.1%) and first-read share (16.7%). The talented rookie is the upside swing that you should take at tight end if your weekly options are iffy. He has been stellar on a per-route basis with 1.86 yards per route run, per Fantasy Points Data. Arroyo will likely still have to contend with AJ Barner for snaps and routes, but if Arroyo’s role continues to grow, he could evolve into a fringe TE1. The Seattle passing attack is condensed, and while I don’t see it becoming a pass-first offense, the Seahawks could still bump up their weekly passing volume somewhat as we move through the season, which would benefit Arroyo greatly.

Brenton Strange (TE – JAX): 28% Rostered

Next Opponents: KC, SEA, LAR
True Value: $1
Desperate Need: $2
Budget-Minded: $0

Analysis: Brenton Strange had a very Strange-esque stat line in Week 4. He finished with a 22.5% target share and 45 scoreless receiving yards. He has had at least four receptions and 45 receiving yards in three of four games. Strange hasn’t scored a touchdown this season. That will likely change at some point this season, but entering Week 4, he hadn’t seen a red-zone target. Strange is a snooze-worthy weekly streaming option that offers middling PPR production, but there’s not much of a ceiling here. Strange is basically the Chig Okonkwo of Jacksonville.