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.

  • Week 6 previews: QB | RB | WR

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:

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Week 6 TE Preview

Who's Out
Numbers to Know
Matchups That Matter
Waiver Wire Targets
DFS Plays
Projections
TE Preview
Who's Out

The following players are not being projected to play Week 6 at this time. Here's what it means:

Pat Freiermuth TE
PIT Pittsburgh • #88
Age: 25 • Experience: 4 yrs.
Zach Gentry is also banged up for the Steelers.
TE Preview
Numbers to Know
  • 134 -- Passing and rushing yards for Taysom Hill in Week 5 to go along with four total touchdowns. He needs to be rostered everywhere.
  • 0 -- Dalton Schultz hasn't caught a pass in two weeks; hopefully Dak Prescott can salvage his season.
  • 73 -- David Njoku has three straight games with at least 73 receiving yards.
  • 90.4 - Cade Otton had a 90.4% route participation in Week 5, a 35.7% increase from Week 4. 
  • 7 -- Hayden Hurst saw seven targets in Week 5 with Tee Higgins hobbled. He's a starter if Higgins is out.
TE Preview
Matchups that matter
George Kittle TE
SF San Francisco • #85
Age: 30 • Experience: 8 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ ATL SF -5.5 O/U 43.5

OPP VS TE

28th

PROJ PTS

12.7

TE RNK

9th

YTD Stats

REC

11

TAR

15

REYDS

99

TD

0

FPTS/G

6.3
David Njoku TE
CLE Cleveland • #85
Age: 27 • Experience: 8 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs NE CLE -3 O/U 42.5

OPP VS TE

21st

PROJ PTS

9.4

TE RNK

6th

YTD Stats

REC

24

TAR

29

REYDS

289

TD

1

FPTS/G

11.4
Hayden Hurst TE
LAC L.A. Chargers • #81
Age: 30 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ NO CIN -1.5 O/U 43.5

OPP VS TE

5th

PROJ PTS

8.5

TE RNK

8th

YTD Stats

REC

20

TAR

28

REYDS

157

TD

2

FPTS/G

9.5
TE Preview
Waiver Wire Targets
Week 6 Streamers (TE Preview)
Taysom Hill QB
NO New Orleans • #7
Age: 33 • Experience: 8 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs CIN CIN -1.5 O/U 43.5

OPP VS TE

23rd

TE RNK

17th

ROSTERED

53%

YTD Stats

REC

1

TAR

1

REYDS

2

TD

6

FPTS/G

15.2
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.
Hayden Hurst TE
LAC L.A. Chargers • #81
Age: 30 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ NO CIN -1.5 O/U 43.5

OPP VS TE

5th

TE RNK

8th

ROSTERED

32%

YTD Stats

REC

20

TAR

28

REYDS

157

TD

2

FPTS/G

9.5
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.
Cade Otton TE
TB Tampa Bay • #88
Age: 25 • Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ PIT TB -8 O/U 43.5

OPP VS TE

12th

TE RNK

19th

ROSTERED

4%

YTD Stats

REC

10

TAR

13

REYDS

76

TD

0

FPTS/G

4.4
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.
TE Preview
DFS Plays
Top DFS Play
Projections powered by Sportsline
Tyler Higbee TE
LAR L.A. Rams • #89
Age: 31 • Experience: 9 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs CAR LAR -11 O/U 41

OPP VS TE

13th

PROJ PTS

10.1

TE RNK

5th

YTD Stats

REC

33

TAR

48

REYDS

290

TD

0

FPTS/G

12.4
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.
Contrarian DFS Play
Projections powered by Sportsline
Quintin Morris TE
BUF Buffalo • #85
Age: 25 • Experience: 2 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ KC BUF -3 O/U 54

OPP VS TE

20th

PROJ PTS

2.2

TE RNK

NR

YTD Stats

REC

6

TAR

9

REYDS

67

TD

0

FPTS/G

2.7
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.
TE Preview
Heath's Projections