Fantasy Football Week 2 Tight End Preview: Have patience with Hayden Hurst, Chris Herndon and Mike Gesicki
Don't cut bait on those upside tight ends quite yet.
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1 min read
With Noah Fant, T.J. Hockenson, and Dallas Goedert emerging in Week 1, it's understandable that Chris Herndon, Mike Gesicki, and Hayden Hurst all showed up on the most-dropped list for tight ends. You may be in a situation where you really don't have much choice. But patience could really pay off with all three.
Hurst was playing his first game with the Falcons and, while I started him everywhere, we should probably give him a free pass. All the things I cited about Hurst's pedigree and Dirk Koetter's history with tight ends in the preseason still apply. Personally, I'd rather start Hurst this week than drop him, but it would be preferable to stash him on the bench.
Herndon and Gesicki have now seen their roster rate fall below 60%, but I firmly expect at least one of them to show up on the most added list at some point this season. We told you with both young tight ends that their first two games would be very tough, but we expect both to turn it around soon. In fact, Herndon might be an okay play this week if Jamison Crowder can't go.
Most years I'd be the guy telling you not to waste a roster spot on a second tight end, but these three still have enough upside to justify the move.
Week 2 TE Preview
TE Preview
Who's Out
The following players are not being projected to play Week 2 at this time. Here's what it means:
Dalton Schultz is the starter for now, but we don't expect him to earn the same role as Jarwin.
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Hopefully this means more targets for Austin Hooper. Watch Harrison Bryant because the Browns will run a lot of two tight end sets.
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Numbers to Know
- 8 -- Targets for Logan Thomas in Week 1. Only Goedert saw more.
- 0.64 -- Evan Engram averaged 0.64 yards per target in Week 1. He was miserable. We'll give him a pass because he was facing the Steelers defense, but Engram needs a big Week 2.
- 71% -- Mark Andrews played 71% of the Ravens snaps in Week 1. He never topped 60% in his first two seasons.
- 16 -- Jared Cook averaged 16 yards per catch in Week 1, much as he did in 2019. With Michael Thomas banged up, I'm done doubting Cook.
- 10.8% -- Hayden Hurst was targeted on just 10.8% of Matt Ryan's throws in his Falcons debut.
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Matchups that matter
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Waiver Wire Targets
Week 2 Streamers
Howard looked very good in Week 1, with more targets than Rob Gronkowski and more red zone looks than anyone on the team. The Buccaneers project to score a bunch in Week 2 against Carolina, which helps Howard's touchdown odds. Howard's outlook improves even more if Chris Godwin is ruled out.
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I'd rather wait one more week to make sure Thomas' involvement was no mirage, but it's hard to leave a guy who led his team in targets on the waiver wire. He faces the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2, and they were laughably bad against tight ends in 2019, although they did hold George Kittle in check in Week 1.
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I'd prefer to wait one more week to start Herndon, but he could legitimately have double-digit targets against the Jets. He's a better start in PPR.
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DFS Plays
Top Play
Projections powered by
Sportsline
The Chargers corners are very good, but they don't have any answer for Travis Kelce without Derwin James. There are plenty of values at other positions to pay up for the best tight end this week in cash games.
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Contrarian Play
Projections powered by
Sportsline
Much like last week, I still don't expect anyone to play Howard and he's still dirt cheap. If anything, I like his chances of scoring more against Carolina than I did against New Orleans.
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Heath's Projections
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