The tight end position isn't quite as terrible as it has been. That's about as excited as I can get about it, though.
We've had a solid seven for most of the season and a couple of veterans have joined them in recent weeks. Kyle Rudolph and Jack Doyle have taken advantage of the fact that their No. 1 receivers can't get healthy. Since Week 10 they've both been top-10 options, and I don't expect that will change unless Adam Thielen or T.Y. Hilton return. For Doyle, I'm not even sure the return of Hilton would ruin him.
It's also not just the old guys coming on strong. Mike Gesicki has scored in back-to-back games and has six targets or more in each of his past five games. Dallas Goedert saw his role expand when Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor went out but it didn't disappear in Week 13 when they returned. Tyler Higbee had a monster game without Gerald Everett, and Jacob Hollister has essentially been Russell Wilson's No. 2 receiver for the past month.
Of course, it's fitting that all of these options emerge right when half of the league is eliminated. If you're in the playoffs, you probably don't need a fill-in at tight end anyway. You definitely don't if you have Doyle this week.
Week 14 TE Preview
Who's Out
The following players are not being projected to play Week 14 at this time. Here's what it means:
Ian Thomas is a good streamer in deep leagues.
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Numbers to Know
- 7.3 - Targets per game for Jacob Hollister over the past month. Only Zach Ertz and Travis Kelce have more.
- 10.3 - Yards per target for George Kittle this year, tops at the position.
- 72 - Snaps for Higbee in Week 13, a career-high.
- 16.8 - Vance McDonald has scored 16.8 Fantasy points in his past four games combined.
Matchups that matter
Waiver Wire Targets
You can make a solid argument for all three of these guys, but Hollister's target volume gives him a PPR floor I can't pass up.
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Higbee would be my favorite if I knew for sure Gerald Everett wasn't coming back. As it is, he's a fine streamer.
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Gesicki is the one guy who has the room, ability and matchups to be a monster in the Fantasy playoffs.
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DFS Plays
Kittle and Kelce have a very similar projection, so the price makes a difference, especially on DraftKings. I also think Kittle has more upside in New Orleans.
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I'd expect a bounceback from Henry, who was terrible in Week 13. I would also expect his ownership to reflect his poor play last week.
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Heath's Projections
Non-PPR Rank | PPR Rank | TE | NON-PPR | PPR |
2 | 1 | George Kittle | 10.31 | 16.59 |
1 | 2 | Travis Kelce | 10.33 | 16.30 |
3 | 3 | 10.18 | 15.62 | |
4 | 4 | Jack Doyle | 8.94 | 14.31 |
5 | 5 | Zach Ertz | 8.94 | 13.84 |
7 | 6 | 7.93 | 12.81 | |
6 | 7 | 8.63 | 12.54 | |
8 | 8 | 7.37 | 11.33 | |
11 | 9 | Tyler Higbee | 6.49 | 11.32 |
15 | 10 | Jacob Hollister | 5.97 | 10.61 |
9 | 11 | 6.63 | 10.56 | |
10 | 12 | Dallas Goedert | 6.54 | 10.20 |
12 | 13 | 6.28 | 9.95 | |
14 | 14 | Mike Gesicki | 6.20 | 9.88 |
13 | 15 | Kyle Rudolph | 6.24 | 9.81 |
