Week 16 TE Waiver Pickups & Adds: Logan Thomas Is A PPR King

Week 15 was actually a perfect scoring week for tight ends. We saw the studs go off like Darren Waller and Travis Kelce, but Tyler Higbee and Austin Hooper popped up with decent scores. I wouldn’t put much stock into some of these big scores as Hooper hasn’t been very productive, and the Rams were oddly trailing. I will still look at a few options down the stretch here that have started to come on of late. FAAB money is likely gone for most teams, and tight end isn’t a high spending spot anyway. Week 16 is a championship or third place week for many teams, so picking up a tight end might make or break if you have been streaming or rotating options.

Week 16 TE Waiver Wire Pickup

Logan Thomas – Washington Football Team

Logan Thomas gets a strong Week 16 matchup against the Panthers, who rank 27th against the pass. Thomas is coming off another big game against Seattle with 13 catches for 101 yards on 15 targets. He now has four straight double-digit scoring weeks in a row and has 9, 7, and 15 targets over the past three games. The more impressive thing was him catching 13 passes from Haskins, who struggled with efficiency back in the early stages of the season. Carolina has allowed a 78-789-7 line to tight ends this season, and those 78 receptions are the 5th most in the league at the moment. It is a great spot for Thomas to finish up the season strong.

Jared Cook – New Orleans Saints

Jared Cook was quiet in Drew Brees’ return as he had just two catches for 29 yards on five targets. Brees didn’t look good himself, and that was not great for Cook, given he doesn’t see high enough volume to mask if Brees is having a rough day. That is hardly the case, but coming off an injury and likely still somewhat injured, we saw him struggle. I believe he can have a better day against Minnesota this week, who have been middle of the road against tight ends this season.

Cole Kmet – Chicago Bears

It wasn’t enjoyable to see just two targets for Cole Kmet after 14 in the last two games, but the positive remains that he played 100% of the team snaps. Kmet is clearly now a starter. Chicago will have another strong matchup in Week 16 against the Jaguars, who have allowed 11 touchdowns to tight ends this season and 14 PPR points per game. I like Kmet to bounce back this week, and if you are struggling at the position, he isn’t a bad add. It is also nice to have some insurance on the bench if anything happened to the starter midweek. Kmet is one of the up and comers and a bounce-back week is in order.

Irv Smith Jr. – Minnesota Vikings

Once again, a disappointing week for Irv Smith, who dropped a pass in the end zone and then saw Conklin have a long touchdown. Kyle Rudolph was out again this week and didn’t log any practice during the week. He played 82% of the snaps and had four targets. Tight ends have had middling success against the Saints this season, and I would expect a bit more passing game usage out of Minnesota this week.