Fantasy football managers have some big fish to fry this week. We saw some pretty unspectacular performances from top quarterbacks, we have running back usage concerns on a few teams, and somewhere out there, there’s a milk carton that has photos of Ja’Marr Chase, A.J. Brown and Nico Collins plastered all over it.
Most of that will iron itself out with more than one game, but the tight end position took some hits, and your waiver wire is going to be a hotbed of action.
Injuries are always a part of the game, but when two of the top three at the position — Brock Bowers and George Kittle — go down early, you need to be aggressive should they be lost for a game or three.
Bowers downplayed his knee issue, saying he wanted to go back in but the team was being cautious. Kittle’s hamstring injury seemed to be more serious, and the team sent him for an MRI exam Monday. Results were not in at the time of writing this, but a scheduled MRI is not a good thing.
Though Bowers managers may be able to breathe a sigh of relief, having a backup is wise. Is the Raiders’ Michael Mayer that backup? Probably not, but 49ers tight end Jake Tonges, who found his way into the end zone after replacing Kittle might be. Should Kittle miss time, Tonges is actually in a favorable spot, as Jauan Jennings re-injured himself and no one is expecting much from Marquez Valdes-Scantling or Kendrick Bourne. With Luke Farrell tethered to the O-line as the blocking tight end, Tonges should see a solid target-share.
But the real waiver darling at tight end this week is going to be Juwan Johnson of the Saints. The fantasy community has been hopeful that the converted wide receiver would, one day, be targeted heavily, and it looks like now is his time.
Spencer Rattler threw Johnson’s way 11 times Sunday, second most behind Chris Olave, who got hurt once again. The Saints are a bad team that will be playing from behind most of the time, so Rattler’s 46 pass attempts could be close to the norm. If Johnson is available and you lack a strong tight end, put in the claim.
Some tight end situations require a bit more finesse. David Njoku managers shouldn’t panic over Harold Fannin Jr.’s usage. He had a great camp and the team wanted to keep the momentum rolling against a defense that was soft against the position. Yes, Fannin will see some work, but don’t count out Njoku or his talents.
The same goes for Mark Andrews. Please revisit the panic from last season, when people dropped him in Week 4. After that, he went on to catch 11 touchdowns over his next 13 games. The Ravens were running the ball well, so Charlie Kolar got extra snaps as a blocker. When the Ravens need a pass-catching tight end, they will call Andrews’ number over and over again.
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One week does not a season make. Panicking over one poor performance is a sure-fire way to make a mistake. Deal with the injuries you have to deal with, but give the players you drafted more than one game to prove their worth.
Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on X @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy football news and advice.
