With Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews out Week 1, the worst position in Fantasy Football had maybe the worst week in the history of the game. They weren't the only reasons. Dallas Goedert played, but didn't catch a pass. Darren Waller rested in the second half of a blowout loss. Kyle Pitts dominated his team's passing game, but that doesn't mean much when your team throws for 115 yards.
And now we have to react. Or we don't. For the most part, if you drafted someone as a starter and they were terrible in Week 1 (almost all of them were), you should not react. I'm still starting George Kittle, Waller, Pitts, Goedert, Pat Freiermuth and David Njoku this week. I'm sticking with Tyler Higbee one more week, too.
If these guys stink in Week 2, we may have to have a conversation about a few of them, but I'm probably sticking with the rest of them through the first month of the season. Because it's not like the tight ends who were good in Week 1 are actually desirable moving forward. Just be patient and hope we get Kelce and Andrews back this week.
Check out how Jacob Gibbs projects these TEs for Week 2. You can find that and a lot more in his Week 2 Fantasy Football Lineup Advice column over at SportsLine.
Here's everything else you need to know about tight end in Week 2:
Week 2 TE Preview
Who's Out
The following players are not being projected to play Week 2 at this time. Here's what it means:
Adam Trautman will be the No. 1 tight end while Dulcich is out, but we don't have any interest in him.
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We're hoping for a Kelce return, but you need to keep a plan B at the ready.
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The Isaiah Likely experiment didn't end well. Make a different plan for Week 2 if Andrews remains out.
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Numbers to Know
- 1 -- Isaiah Likely saw just one target in Mark Andrews' Week 1 absence. The Ravens may not be as tight end centric as they once were.
- 82.5% -- Kyle Pitts led all players, receiver or non, with an 82.5% share of his team's air yards.
- 0 -- Dallas Goedert did not catch a pass in Week 1. It was his first game with zero yards since Week 12 of 2021. He followed that up with six catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns.
- 4 -- Only four tight ends scored double-digit Fantasy points in Week 1: Hunter Henry, Hayden Hurst, T.J. Hockenson, and Donald Parham.
- 7 -- Cole Kmet tied for the team lead in targets with seven.
- 26.7% -- Logan Thomas led the Commanders with a 26.7% target share. Eric Bienemy's offenses have been tight end centric; maybe that wasn't solely about Travis Kelce.
Matchups that matter
Waiver Wire Targets
I loved Musgrave's usage, especially the downfield targets. In Week 2 he'll face a Falcons defense that just let Hayden Hurst into the end zone. I view Musgrave as more of a long play than a stream, but I am perfectly comfortable starting him this week, especially if Christian Watson remains out.
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In Week 1 I am more concerned about usage than performance, so I'm going to enjoy all those red-zone targets Ferguson saw and ignore the fact that it looked like he couldn't catch a cold. The Jets corners are so good that teams often look to the tight end more against them, so I expect another heavy dose of targets for Ferguson in Week 2. Someone is probably going to drop him after last week. Don't be afraid to pick him up and stream him.
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We can't just ignore the fact that over a fourth of Sam Howell's pass attempts went to Thomas in Week 1. Both Thomas and Ertz are veterans who were understandably undrafted, but if their Week 1 usage carries over to Week 2 they will look more like starters than waiver wire adds.
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DFS Plays
If Travis Kelce comes back, I'm just playing him this week. We can find values somewhere else. But if Kelce and Andrews remain out, I'm not sure why you would do anything other than punt the position. At least Ferguson has the red-zone usage that could lead to a touchdown or two.
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Sticking with the theme of punting tight end, I like Musgrave's athleticism and matchup, but I like his $3,200 price tag on DraftKings more than either of them. Build an elite lineup around him and count his points as gravy.
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Heath's Projections
My full set of Week 2 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 2. Projected stats for all starting tight ends are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.
