The tight end position in week one was hit-or-miss, but you can say that just about every week and be right. Rob Gronkowski topped the list of most productive tight ends followed by another household name…Will Dissly? Of course guys like Jordan Reed and Jack Doyle were among the best, but there were some major disappointments as well. Travis Kelce produced a putrid 1.1 points and was the bane of many DFS players’ existences. So, let’s sidestep the landmines and examine which tight ends to avoid in week two.
Jimmy Graham: $6,000
The single most overrated offensive signing this offseason was Jimmy Graham. And he did not disappoint in week one. Well, owners of Jimmy Graham were disappointed, but those of us who saw through the facade and didn’t roster him in seasonal or daily were happy. Apart from the obvious flaws with the “he’s gonna be a red zone monster” argument, his production between the 20’s and individual matchup made him an easy candidate for tight ends to avoid in week two.
I will say, I was wrong on George Kittle last week, who had the same matchup. The injury to Marquise Goodwin helped allocate more targets to Kittle; however, there’s one thing no one wants to say. George Kittle, right now, is a more versatile and dynamic athlete than Jimmy Graham. Kittle was one dropped pass away from having over 100 yards receiving and a touchdown versus Harrison Smith.
If we’re keeping with this player comparison, Kittle’s quarterback targets him when he’s on the field. In week one, Graham was on the field for 98.33 percent of the offensive snaps and Kittle was only on the field for 77.27 percent of his team’s offensive plays. Even with that large of a difference in Graham’s favor, he saw less targets (4) than Kittle had catches (5). Essentially, it wasn’t a priority to get Graham the football when he ran routes. And more importantly, Graham saw zero red zone targets, while Kittle was received one target inside 10 yards, and another target inside five yards. Couple this information with the fact that Aaron Rodgers’ status is unclear for week two, and it’s clear that Graham is a clear fade.
O.J. Howard: $5,400
There’s no reason to take the risk with O.J. Howard this weekend. The Buccaneers tight ends as a whole were targeted five times. That’s including the target that resulted in a Cameron Brate touchdown that was later nullified for offensive pass interference. So, in a game in which the Buccaneers scored 48 points and accumulated 417 passing yards, both tight ends combined for two catches and 54 yards. In cases like this where there are two candidates and the opportunities between them are unclear, it’s best to avoid the whole group altogether. There are plenty of better options like Jared Cook and David Njoku to provide you with salary relief. Also, this is nothing against Howard. If Brate were the more expensive option, it would be his name on this list of tight ends to avoid in week two.
Charles Clay: $4,800
Much like the O.J. Howard argument, there’s no point in playing Charles Clay. We just saw how terrible the Bills offense looked. Yes, they will improve. However, they are hosting the Chargers this week, who just held Travis Kelce to one catch for six yards on six targets. While Clay is their second-best receiving option, he was barely targeted. You don’t need to take so much risk at the position this week. If you want to go dumpster diving, you’d be better off playing Ryan Griffin ($4,700) who was targeted five times in the Texan’s loss to the Patriots.
Featured Image Courtesy of Chicago Tribune
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