Week 13 TE Waiver Pickups & Adds: Robert Tonyan Shows Off Weekly Upside

It actually was not a bad week for tight ends in Week 12 but we are still dealing with the week-to-week duds. Darren Waller had a six-point game and struggled alongside the Raiders as a whole. Noah Fant had a wide receiver throwing to him and was not able to take advantage of a good matchup. There have been a few injuries at the position but Irv Smith and Tyler Higbee are likely due back this week. This will shift Kyle Rudolph back to a limited role. Looking at Week 13 it continues to be the same names off the waiver wire, so hopefully, you are in a better situation, but this week some of these names have some better matchups to attack.

Week 13 TE Waiver Wire Pickups

Points/GameRebounds/GameAssists/GameBlocks/GameSteals/Game
26.79.43.12.41.5

Jordan Reed – San Francisco 49ers

The Rams game was one of the tougher matchups for Jordan Reed and the two-catch day showed that. He still had six targets which is a plus but now things open up against easier defenses over the next few weeks. San Francisco will face the Bengals this week, who have allowed the third-most PPR points to opposing tight ends this season. Washington and Dallas are also on the schedule, who are both allowing 12 fantasy points per game to tight ends this year. The 49ers are well within the reach of a playoff spot and have some must-win games moving forward. The offense has battled injuries all year but still has had a fantasy reliable bunch due to the coaching. Reed should continue to see decent targets each week and the matchups over the next few weeks should result in better fantasy numbers.

Jordan Akins – Houston Texans

With Will Fuller out and Kenny Stills not on the team anymore, we have just seen a lot of changes happen at once for Houston. Moving forward we should see two tight-end sets which mean Jordan Akins stands a better chance of being a weekly play moving forward. Will Fuller was seeing 22% of the team’s targets. Brandin Cooks, Randall Cobb, and Jordan Akins were all right around him. Akins will see the Colts twice over the next three weeks, who have given up the 5th most fantasy points per game over the last five weeks to tight ends. Houston will also face Chicago, who is tied for the most fantasy points allowed to tight ends on the year. These are plus matchups for Akins down the stretch.

Mike Gesicki – Miami Dolphins

Miami’s passing upside is far higher with Ryan Fitzpatrick under center and that seems to be the case for the next few weeks. Mike Gesicki is coming off a strong game against the Jets and gets the Bengals, Chiefs, Patriots, and Raiders over the next four weeks. Neither of these teams has been particularly tough on tight ends this season. Gesicki should continue to be in the five-six target range and his usage in the red zone isn’t bad. He is second on the team in targets and first in red zone targets with 13. The downside has been completing just 30% of those targets in the red zone. Gesicki is available in smaller leagues for sure and possibly mixed in a few 10-12 man leagues. He comes in just around the 60% mark.

Dalton Schultz – Dallas Cowboys

Dalton Schultz is second in red zone targets on the Cowboys with ten. He also ranks 4th in the team with 15% of the team share. Schultz has seen five or more targets in the last four weeks and 26 total in that same span. Dallas will face Cincinnati and Baltimore over the next two weeks. Baltimore is allowing 13.1 fantasy points per game to tight ends this season and the Bengals are allowing the 5th most fantasy points per game. Schultz has some decent matchups coming up and Dalton under center isn’t great but it gives them more stability in comparison to the other names on their roster. Schultz ranks 10th in PPR scoring at the position and is 6th targets. You can certainly do worse than Schultz off the waiver wire.

Robert Tonyan – Green Bay Packers

We saw the weekly upside for Robert Tonyan against the Bears. Tonyan is now TE4 in scoring this season, which is crazy to think but here we are. He has seven touchdowns this season and a 37-458-7 line. Tonyan has five red zone targets this season, catching all five for four touchdowns. Tonyan has had a few duds of late but also three double-digit fantasy point games over the last five. Tonyan faces Philadelphia, Detroit, Carolina, and Tennessee over the next four games. This is a great schedule for the Packers offense. The Titans, Panthers, and Eagles matchups especially are all in the bottom-12 in fantasy points allowed to tight ends. We know Detroit isn’t a good defense and over the last five weeks, tight ends have averaged 14.4 PPR points.

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Jason Guilbault is the Brand Content Manager for Lineups.com, powered by Catena Media. He has worked 10+ in the sports betting & iGaming space as a writer and content manager. Jason has also written for DailyFantasyCafe, NBAMockDraft, & FantasyPros. He aims to bring the best sports data & insight to the industry for both novice & advanced users.

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