Fantasy Football Week 5 Tight End Preview: Projections, numbers to know, and more
Everything you need to know about tight end for Fantasy Football in Week 5
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2 min read
The tight end position looks very much like the haves and the have-nots, at least when you look at projections. If you have Trey McBride, Jake Ferguson, Brock Bowers, or Tyler Warren, you can forget about the tight position for as long as your tight end stays healthy. It may seem strange to see Bowers listed with the other three, but I remain hopeful that he is healing and going to be great as soon as he is 100%. Last year, after four weeks, he had 20 catches for 216 yards and zero touchdowns on 24 targets. This year, he has 19 catches for 225 yards and zero touchdowns on 27 targets. I know the last few weeks have been frustrating, but there is no way I am sitting him unless I have one of the other three names listed above.
You may also be wondering why Hunter Henry, Tucker Kraft, Dalton Kincaid, and Juwan Johnson didn't make the list of haves. They are all averaging more than 12 PPR FPPG. For Henry, it is the fact that he has 15 catches, which is tied with Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews for 13th at the position. Kincaid is even lower than that at 13, and just played a season-low 37% of the team's offensive snaps. Kraft has one game out of four with more than five targets. I am not telling you to sit these guys this week, quite the opposite, but I also do not expect them to maintain their scoring with this usage.
Johnson is the exception. His usage has been elite in three of four games this season. It is a little bit more concerning when a 28-year-old breakout has a three-target game, but I am not going away from him yet. I am a little concerned that with Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau both returning to practice, his elite usage could be coming to an end. But I don't project those guys back for Week 5, so it is still wheels up for Johnson for at least one more week.
Here's everything else you need to know about tight end in Week 5:
Week 5 TE Preview
TE Preview
Numbers to Know
- 16 -- Darren Waller only played 16 offensive snaps in his debut. He scored 17 Fantasy points.
- 22.9% -- 22.9% of Bryce Young's passes have gone to tight ends this year. With Ja'Tavion Sanders likely out, expect Tommy Tremble to see the majority of those.
- 4.75 -- The Bills are giving up 4.75 PPR FPPG to tight ends this year. Hunter Henry is up next.
- 4.5 -- T.J. Hockneson is averaging 4.5 targets per game and has yet to break 50 receiving yards in a game this season.
- 3 -- Dallas Goedert has three receiving touchdowns in three games. Last year, he had two in 10 games. The year before, he had three in 14 games. He has never had more than five in a season.
- 182 -- Brenton Strange leads the Jaguars with 182 receiving yards.
- 2 -- Tyler Warren had two carries inside the five-yard line for the Colts in Week 4. If that becomes the norm, he may be TE1 overall.
TE Preview
Waiver Wire Targets
Week 5 Streamers (TE Preview)
We have been fooled so many times at this position already this year. I would understand if you are hesitant to buy into Waller after one game in which he had a 27% snap share. But with Tyreek Hill out for the year, there is simply too much upside to leave Waller on the waiver wire. This passing game will revolve around Jaylen Waddle and De'Von Achane, but Waller could be third, and first in the red zone. The Panthers are giving up 71 yards per game to tight ends.
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This is a one-week play with Ja'Tavion Sanders likely out again. Tremble just saw eight targets against New England and now faces a Dolphins defense that is giving up 75 yards per game to the position. Tyler Warren, Dalton Kincaid, and Mason Taylor all had their best game of the season against this defense.
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Strange probably has the highest floor on the waiver wire this week. He's scored at least 9.9 PPR Fantasy points in three of four games, and he doesn't have a touchdown yet. He has 14 targets in his last two games combined. The Chiefs have given up very little to opposing tight ends, but Mark Andrews is the closest thing they have faced to a good tight end.
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TE Preview
DFS Plays
Top DFS Play
Projections powered by
Sportsline
Ferguson is my number two tight end, but he is only the fourth most expensive on FanDuel. He is averaging almost 10 targets per game and has scored at least 16 PPR Fantasy points in three straight games. The Jets have missed more tackles than any defense in football, so don't be surprised if Ferguson has a little more YAC than usual this week.
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Contrarian DFS Play
Projections powered by
Sportsline
I am probably going to play Bowers in tournament lineups every week until he pops, or at least until I run out of money. And there really isn't any data from this year to justify it. But he averaged more than 15 points per game last year, and this year's Raiders offense is far more competent. Yeah, I just left those two sentences here from last week. Let's hope he's finally 100%. If you don't want to keep running Bowers out there, Tremble is still priced like a backup.
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TE Preview
Heath's Projections
My full set of Week 5 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. You can find them here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 5. Projected stats for all starting tight ends are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.
