We’re at the halfway mark of the NFL regular season and the fantasy season is really starting to take shape now. At the tight-end position we’ve faired pretty well with injuries so far (touch wood!), but there has been the usual volatility at the position. Even the fantasy stars haven’t been immune, as Travis Kelce owners can attest to just this week. If you’re struggling at the position this week, there are still a few options worth considering on the waiver wire.

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.

Hunter Henry, New England Patriots

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Rostered in 38 % of Yahoo Leagues

In the first week without Kendrick Bourne, Hunter Henry saw a big step up in his role. For the first time since week 2 Henry topped 5 targets. His 7 targets tied for the team lead alongside Demario Douglas and Juju Smith Schuster. Henry did pretty well with them, turning his 7 targets into 4 catches for 39 yards and a touchdown. Bourne is out for the long term, but Devante Parker should return from a concussion to cloud the picture a little.

This week the Patriots travel to Germany to take on the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts have been a pretty middle of the road match-up for opposing tight-ends and have given up just 1 receiving TD to the position all season. However, they have given up 50+ yards to tight ends in three of the last four games. Despite the return of Devante Parker, Hunter Henry’s role increased role should continue this week.

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Rostered in 10 % of Yahoo Leagues

After a slow return from injury in week 8, Juwan Johnson saw his targets climb to 5 against the Chicago Bears. There wasn’t a lot of yardage for Johnson, but he did catch all 5 targets including a short touchdown from Taysom Hill. Johnson was tied in second for targets in the Saints offence, although it was a bit of a strange week as Michael Thomas received just 1 target.

Johnson will hope to keep things rolling in week 10 as the Saints travel to Minnesota. The Vikings have given up some big weeks to the position in recent weeks including over 150 yards and a touchdown to the Falcons TEs last week. Johnson might have a bit more competition for targets this week, but his strong role in short-yardage give up him excellent TD upside!

Jonnu Smith, Atlanta Falcons

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Rostered in 28 % of Yahoo Leagues

Jonnu Smith remains criminally under-owned in fantasy football. The veteran tight-end has had a surprising renaissance in the Falcons offence. It looked like his role was fading in the last couple of weeks with Desmond Ridder struggling badly. However, now Taylor Heinicke has taken the starting QB role the outlook looks brighter for Smith. In Heinicke’s first start Jonnu Smith had a monster game against the Vikings on Sunday. He caught 5 of his 6 targets for 100 yards and a long touchdown.

This week the Falcons face the Arizona Cardinals who have been pretty stingy to tight-ends this season. However, they haven’t exactly faced a murderer’s row at the position. When they have faced stronger tight ends they’ve given up respectable fantasy performances, including touchdowns to Mark Andrews and David Njoku in the last two weeks. Given the importance of the tight-end position in the Falcons offence I think they’ll overcome a Cardinals defence that isn’t as strong against tight-ends as the headline numbers suggest.

Other Options

Cade Otton (6%) had a monster week against the Texans as he caught 6 passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns. His 9 targets made it three games in a row with 6+ targets. If the opportunities keep coming he should be serviceable.

The turmoil in the Raiders offence hasn’t been great for Michael Mayer (19%) as he was targeted just twice against the Giants. The match-up is good against the Jets this week, but it’s hard to trust the volume.

As position group it was a great week for the Bengals tight-ends on Sunday night, but with the volume so spread out they’re all just dart throws.

Luke Musgrave (22%) scored the first touchdown of his career last week. But this weeks game against the Steelers is a tough one.

Both the Chargers tight-end are pretty low owned, but it’s tough to trust the volume for either Gerald Everett (31%) or Donald Parham Jr (5%)

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!