Which Tight End Storylines Are The Most Lineup-Influencing for Week 8?
- Jonnu Smith vs. Delanie Walker: Strong matchup against Tampa Bay, Walker barely played in Week 7, splash game from Smith.
- Mike Gesicki: Buying any momentum from back-to-back notable games for the second-year tight end on a negative game script haven in Miami? At Pittsburgh in Week 8.
- Austin Hooper: Chalk play but coming off back-to-back touchdown games but season-low volume in Week 7 and potential for Matt Schaub under center. Strong matchup against Seattle.
- Evan Engram: Coming off 1-6-0 effort on just five targets. Good matchup against Detroit.
- Darren Waller: Offensive centerpiece, draws tough Houston matchup
- Gerald Everett: Rising with three impact performances over the past month, including at least five targets in each of said games. Too much competition for targets in quality matchup against Cincinnati?
JASON WOOD
- Evan Engram: Coming off 1-6-0 effort on just five targets. Good matchup against Detroit.
- Darren Waller: Offensive centerpiece, draws tough Houston matchup
PHIL ALEXANDER
- Darren Waller: Probably a cash game must. His 8.3 targets per game trail only Zach Ertz (8.4) for the league-lead among tight ends and the Raiders have no one else to throw to with Tyrell Williams no closer to returning.
- Gerald Everett: He's carving out the weekly value at the expense of the Rams wide receivers, which is a trend we need to take notice of. Cooper Kupp's snap-share has been below 70% in two out of the last three games, and Everett's emergence in the passing game is one reason why. He projects as a solid point-per-dollar value at a position where not many exist.
JAMES BRIMACOMBE
Austin Hooper: Now with Sanu traded away, Hooper has the potential to see even more volume his way. The Falcons are a bad team and with no Ryan this week at quarterback you might see Hooper’s ownership lower than usual so I feel like he is a strong play. The Falcons will likely be down in the second half and might be forced to pass the ball often and that is where Hooper can pad the stats in his favor.
DAN HINDERY
We should be nearing the point where we can trust Gerald Everett’s volume to be there. No tight end has seen more targets (34) than Everett over the last four weeks. On paper, the Bengals numbers against opposing tight ends have been solid this year. However, this defense has struggled mightily through the years defending the position and it is almost entirely the same personnel. At some point, an opposing tight end is going to go off for a huge week against Cincinnati. He might fly under the radar a bit this week given the other strong options at the position and the Bengals strong DvP numbers to date.
Darren Waller has been a monster this season. He is a freakish athlete and is just destroying linebackers in one-on-one matchups with his speed and bullying small cornerbacks if teams try to defend him that way. It will be a popular GPP build but despite high ownership, stacking the Houston passing game and running it back with Waller looks like a great tournament option this week.