Tight-end is a fickle position in fantasy football and this season is no different. There is the usual variety of underwhelming options in the back half of the TE1s. To compound things the bye weeks begin this week, with 4 teams not playing. They including some potential starters such as David Njoku and Gerald Everett. If you need someone to fill in for a week, or are streaming the position, we’ve got you covered.

All of the options discussed in the article are rostered in less than 50% of Yahoo fantasy leagues. These suggestions are aimed at players in 10-12 team leagues. In shallower leagues there may be better available. In deeper leagues there’s a good chance some of these players will not be available for you.

Zach Ertz, Arizona Cardinals

Embed from Getty Images

Rostered in 26 % of Yahoo Leagues

After a down game in week three where Ertz was targeted just two times, he rebounded well in week 4. The Cardinals Tight End was targeted a whopping 10 times resulting in 6 catches for 53 yards against a tough 49ers defence. Ertz is up to three games with 8+ targets this seasons and for as long as Josh Dobbs remains the starting QB he’s a good bet to continue to be targeted heavily. He doesn’t have huge yardage upside at 32 years old coming of an ACL injury and so far he hasn’t caught a TD, although he did drop one last week. Ertz isn’t going to single-handedly win you the week, but he’s got a really strong floor.

This week the Cardinals face a Bengals side in free fall, they’ve looked pretty poor on both sides of the ball so far and will have Arizona hopeful of earning a second win of the season. The Bengals have also been fairly generous to Tight Ends, ranking in the top 10 for the position. Ertz’s role should remain strong, and in a game the Cardinals will be competitive he might earn his first touchdown of the season.

Tyler Conklin, New York Jets

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Rostered in 36 % of Yahoo Leagues

The role for Dalton Schultz in the Texans offence has been pretty disappointing to start the season. He has topped 4 targets just once and recorded under 10 yards in 2 of 4 games. The passing game in Houston is focussed on Nico Collins and Tank Dell, but Schultz still has potential as a red-zone weapon at least. He’s going to be a bit boom or bust, but is at least on the field for the majority of snaps.

This weeks game against the Atlanta Falcons is a solid match-up on paper. The Falcons have allowed 5+ catches to a tight-end in three of four games this season. They also have to travel back from London this week, so may have a disrupted week of practice to contend with as well. As the 3rd or 4th option in the passing game Schultz isn’t a guarantee by any means, but there’s potential there.

Other Options

Despite Kyle Pitts being healthy, Jonnu Smith (1%) has caught 6 passes in each of the last three weeks. A match-up with the Texans is pretty kind.

Logan Thomas (6%) faces the Bears which is another nice match-up. He seems to have a solid role for the Commanders.

Kylen Granson (1%) is getting consistent targets for the Colts. Despite a potential Jonathan Taylor return, they should need to throw again this week against a stout Titans run defence.

Durham Smythe (1%) has some TD upside in the Dolphins offence at least. But I wouldn’t expect a lot of yardage.

Interested in reading more? Check out our Rookies to Watch series here. Follow on twitter @ThinkingFantasy for more thoughts and notifications when new articles go live!