I thought the tight end position was a mess at the beginning of the year, I had no idea how bad it was about to get.
Through the first five weeks of the season, only nine tight ends have scored even 10 PPR Fantasy points per game. That includes Tasyom Hill, who only has one catch on the season. It also includes Gerald Everett, who had one catch for two yards last week. It obviously includes Tyler Higbee, who somehow still doesn't have a touchdown yet this year.
We should probably include Pat Freiermuth in that list. He's at 9.9 FPPG. He's also currently in the concussion protocol. So we aren't expecting him, and we'll also be without Darren Waller and T.J. Hockenson due to their teams being on a bye this week. Add in the fact that Kyle Pitts is still projected out with a hamstring injury, and the tight end position looks worse than even we could have imagined in Week 6.
I have a few waiver wire adds below, but the truth is that just about anyone you could envision scoring a touchdown is streamable at tight end this week. That includes Tyler Conklin, who has fallen off a cliff since Zach Wilson took over. In fact, if you can't get Hill or Hayden Hurst, I'd likely just hold on to Conklin and start him one more week against the Packers. That defense hasn't been as good as expected, and this will be the first game since Wilson took over that the Jets face an NFL-ready starting quarterback. I would expect their pass volume to rebound.
Here's everything else you need to know about tight end in Week 6:
Hill is far more valuable in non-PPR because he only has one catch all season. But he's a starter in both formats due to his upside and red-zone involvement. Just don't look for him in the projections below because he's broken my process. I wasn't properly accounting for running tight ends.
Hurst is a very good play if Higgins is out, but this is a tough matchup for tight ends, so I would be much less excited if Higgins plays. It's likely Hurst needs a bunch of volume just to be serviceable.
I think it's quite possible Otton becomes the best Buccaneers tight end, regardless of who is healthy. But I'm only considering starting him this week if Cameron Brate remains out.
Travis Kelce gets the Bills, who are awesome against tight ends, and Mark Andrews faces his former defensive coordinator, who I'd imagine will try to scheme him away. For those reasons I'll go with Higbee, who has been remarkably productive in Fantasy considering he still hasn't scored a touchdown.
I'm playing the Bills tight end against the Chiefs. If Dawson Knox is back, it will be him. If not, it's Quintin Morris, who saw five targets in Week 5.
