Week 10 TE Waiver Pickups & Adds: Austin Hooper To Have A Strong Second Half

With Travis Kelce on bye this week, the tight end position is very ugly. George Kittle is essentially done for the year and Mark Andrews has been on a lengthy vacation of not scoring fantasy points. Now Darren Waller, Jonnu Smith, and TJ Hockenson have been able to put up decent points but there is a big gap between the usual 3-4 elite tight ends we have and them. Streaming tight ends has been even trickier with the inconsistencies but as we head into the playoffs and home stretch here, we are going to key in on tight ends with positive matchups. The same names will be floating around as they have all season long.

Week 10 TE Waiver Wire Pickups

Jordan Reed – San Francisco 49ers

Jordan Reed didn’t exactly dazzle in his second debut of the season filling in for the injured George Kittle. Reed, as long as he can stay healthy, will be a weekly guy to play. Reed had 17 targets in the prior two games Kittle missed, but against Green Bay it was a dud with one catch on two targets. I anticipate that moving up over the next few weeks. They get the Saints this week which is a plus matchup as the Saints have allowed a 42-395-6 line to tight ends on the season. Reed is worth a look but like most of these games we aren’t making them a priority one. I still prefer Goedert and Hooper below as the more premium options in the long run.

Dallas Goedert – Philadelphia Eagles

The Dallas game isn’t one that dictates Dallas Goedert moving forward. I would anticipate him being more of the 7-8 target guy from the first two weeks where his upside is pretty strong. He had just one target against Dallas and this was the game removed from a four-game absence. He gets the bye to get back up to speed and will face the Giants, Browns, Seahawks, Packers, and Saints over the next four weeks. His playoff schedule continues to be decent with Arizona and Dallas in the final two weeks. Despite missing five games, Goedert is still TE36 on the season. It shows how bad the position has been.

Austin Hooper – Cleveland Browns

Austin Hooper was dealing with a medical issue over the past two weeks before the bye and is back ready to roll for the final stretch of the season. Hooper was producing strong numbers before he missed time with 15 catches, 26 targets, and 133 yards. He had double-digit fantasy points in each of those games. He gets a strong matchup against Houston this week, but the Eagles, Jaguars, and Titans games after are also going to be strong spots for this Browns offense to produce in. He also has both New York matchups in weeks 15 and 16, it bodes well for those in fantasy playoff matchups.

Trey Burton – Indianapolis Colts

The Colts team continues to be a mess for fantasy football because they have committees at multiple positions and are not at high octane offense that can carry a few strong fantasy players. Mo Alie-Cox has been dealing with a knee injury and Jack Doyle left with a concussion. Frank Reich said he is doubtful to play this week. Burton being in there with even just one of the three tight ends out would give him some stability. He certainly relies on the touchdown as most waiver wire tight ends do, but the Titans are a team that sits in the bottom third for fantasy points allowed to opposing tight ends.

Dalton Schultz – Dallas Cowboys

Dallas continues to be an offense that struggles with the absence of Dak Prescott. The one thing I can say is Dalton Schultz’s targets have been relatively consistent. He has 24 over the last four games. Dallas is on bye this week so there won’t be any sort of risk to grab him as a free agent. The future matchups are promising and the offense looked a bit better with Gilbert under center, especially for playing a tough Steelers defense. He faces the Washington Football Team and the Vikings in the next two weeks. Washington is allowing the 6th most fantasy points per game to tight ends and the Vikings rank 14th.

Mike Gesicki – Miami Dolphins

Mike Gesicki hasn’t been the breakout guy we expected, although he has had a couple of big games this season and a lot of games below five fantasy points. With Preston Williams injured and Isaiah Ford traded, the Dolphins receiving threats are a bit limited now. This could open the door for a few more targets to Gesicki and it would be great if he can get out into the slot. The Chargers are a decent matchup in Week 10 as they have allowed the 10th most fantasy points per game to tight ends. Miami also plays the Bengals in a few weeks, who have allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to tight ends.