T.J. Hockenson’s return changes the tight end landscape. Need an option to stash moving forward? Check out AJ Barner & more sleepers from Zach Thompson.
Last week was National Tight Ends Day, and even though it’s a totally made up holiday, it definitely seemed to boost tight end production in Week 8. Week 9 brings another strong slate of games with 12 games on the main Sunday afternoon slate and 30 of 32 NFL teams in action at some point. And, to boot, T.J. Hockenson is returning!
The top performer last week was in my sleeper plays since Cade Otton was so affordable in Sunday’s DFS contest. He went off for a monster game and will be a good play once again this week on Monday Night Football against the Chiefs. Here are my full results from last week: Cade Otton (29.1 FPTS), Jonnu Smith (6.0 FPTS), Will Dissly (9.1 FPTS), Chig Okonkwo (2.4 FPTS) and Lucas Krull (3.8 FPTS)
While there isn’t a slam dunk value like Otton at this low salary this week, there are still some very good sleeper plays who fall outside my top-10 plays at the position but are poised to produce
Looking ahead to Week 9, here are my top five sleeper tight ends:
Gesicki is only $3,100 in DFS contests like the NFL $2.75M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st], and he’s the closest thing we have to a “Cade-Otton-like” perfect storm this week.
For the second straight week, Gesicki will likely get a boost from the expected absence of Tee Higgins ($6,400; quad). Last week without Tee, Gesicki caught 7-of-8 tarets for 73 yards and 13.3 fantasy points. Prior to that game, he had only totaled four targets over his previous four games with double-digit yards in only one of those contests.
Part of his performance last week was due to matchup while Andrei Iosivas ($3,900) was held without a catch on three targets. Iosivas will probably have a better day while Gesicki could be in store for a little regression this week.
However, the Raiders have allowed at least three catches to opposing tight ends each week and gave up 13 catches and a touchdown to Chiefs’ tight ends last week. It should be a great spot for Gesicki, and he brings a high ceiling even though he’s likely to be a popular play after last week’s performance.
After a solid week with Tua Tagovailoa ($6,200) back at QB, Jonnu Smith’s ($3,500) DFS salary actually went down $100 even though he caught 4-of-6 targets for 20 yards against the Cardinals.
Smith didn’t do a ton with his chances, but he did keep getting looks even with Tua back at QB, which is a great sign for his involvement and upside going forward. Smith has 21 targets over the last three weeks and has amassed a total of 16 catches for 178 yards and a touchdown.
The game between the Bills and Dolphins has the second-highest over/under on Sunday’s slate, so there are potential points to be had if Smith stays involved as he has been. He’ll probably have much lower ownership than Gesicki, so he makes a solid leverage play.
At the halfway point in my list of five tight end sleepers for Week 9, let’s get wild!
The Seahawks have thrown the ball a lot this season, but they’ll be without top WR DK Metcalf (knee) and TE Noah Fant (groin) for their home matchup this week with the Rams.
Fant has multiple targets in every game this season and is averaging 3.4 catches on 4.0 targets for 35.6 yards per game. His absence will open the door for rookie A.J. Barner ($2,600) to step up as the top tight end.
Last week, Barner played 40% of the team’s snaps and caught both of his targets for 34 yards. He scored his first NFL touchdown back in Week 4 vs. the Lions and has caught all 10 passes thrown his way for a total of 105 yards.
The Michigan man is definitely high-risk since he hasn’t been in this role before, but he has the potential to come through with a great game, and he’s so incredibly affordable that he can stretch your salary cap if you fit him in your flex spot.
I highlighted Chig Okonkwo ($3,100) last week after the trade of DeAndre Hopkins opened up more targets. The big man did see a season-high with five targets against the Lions but only hauled in two catches for 14 yards. The targets are still a positive sign, though, indicating there is possible upside still to target.
Mason Rudolph ($4,600) racked up 266 passing yards against the Lions and should continue to settle in as the starter in a favorable matchup with the Pats. There could be more targets available for Okonkwo with Tyler Boyd ($3,700; shoulder) questionable this week as well.
New England has allowed an average of 47.9 receiving yards per week to opposing tight ends. Opposing tight ends have scored two touchdowns against the Patriots, both coming in the last five weeks.
The Colts don’t play until Sunday Night Football, but Mo Alie-Cox ($1,600 Showdown)may be an option worth waiting for, stashing or at least watching moving forward. His Colts will have a new look when they take on the Vikings since they’re going back to Joe Flacco ($9,800) over Anthony Richardson ($8,800).
In Week 5 and Week 6, Alie-Cox produced 11.7 and 8.1 fantasy points while working with Flacco. He hasn’t had a catch in the two games he has played since Richardson returned and only had one catch in the first four games of the season as well.
He has been sharing time with Kylen Granson ($1,400) and Drew Ogletree ($600) in a three-way timeshare that has not resulted in any kind of fantasy football goodness. However, with Flacco at the helm, the whole passing game should be better and Alie-Cox has enough upside to be a deep sleeper at tight end.
If you’re playing the Sunday Night Football showdown slate DFS contests like the NFL Showdown $1.11M Sunday Night Showdown [$250K to 1st] (IND @ MIN), Alie-Cox is a awesome FLEX play to consider since he has been the team’s top pass-catching play at the position.
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