Alright, let’s talk about digging through the waiver wire for tight ends. It feels like a weekly chore sometimes, doesn’t it? But finding that gem can really make a difference. Here’s how I usually go about it each week.
First off, Tuesday morning, after the Monday night game dust settles, I sit down and look hard at my own team. Did my starting tight end get hurt? Is he heading into a bye week? Or maybe he just laid a total egg, getting me zero points. I gotta figure out if I absolutely need someone new, or if I’m just looking for a potential upgrade or a spot starter.
Next, I actually open up the league’s waiver wire page. Simple enough, right? I’ll sort by a few different things.
- I glance at projected points, but honestly, I don’t put much faith in those.
- I definitely sort by last week’s scores. Who actually produced among the available guys? Sometimes it’s a fluke TD, but it points me in a direction.
- Most importantly for me, I sort by targets from the last game. This tells me who the quarterback was actually looking for.
Digging a Little Deeper
Okay, sorting is just the start. Now I actually start investigating the names that popped up. This is where I spend the bulk of my waiver time.
Targets are king for me. I don’t just look at last week’s targets, I try to check the box scores for the last 2-3 weeks. Is this guy consistently getting 5+ looks per game? Even if he didn’t catch them all, consistent targets mean opportunity. That’s huge for tight ends, who often aren’t the first read.
Then, I try to find out how much they’re actually playing. Snap counts matter. A tight end getting 2 targets on 90% of snaps feels different than one getting 2 targets on 30% of snaps. I look for guys who are on the field a lot, running routes. Some fantasy news sites track this, or you can sometimes piece it together from game summaries. More time on the field running patterns generally means more chances.
Matchup is the next thing I check. This is pretty straightforward. Who are they playing next week? Some defenses just bleed points to tight ends. I’ll quickly search for “defense vs TE fantasy points allowed” or something similar. If a usually quiet tight end has a matchup against the league’s worst TE defense, I pay attention. He gets bumped up my list.
I also give a quick thought to game script, though this is more guesswork. Do I expect his team to be playing from behind and throwing a lot? Or are they likely gonna be winning big and running the clock out? Pass-heavy scripts can sometimes favor tight ends getting checkdowns.
Making the Claim
So now I usually have a short list, maybe 2 or 3 guys I like, ranked in order. I decide how aggressive I need to be. If my starter is out for weeks, I might use a higher waiver claim position or spend a decent chunk of my FAAB budget. If I’m just covering a bye or looking for a streamer, I’ll be much more conservative, maybe just putting in a minimum bid or using a low priority claim.
I almost always put in claims for multiple players, just in case my top target gets picked up by someone ahead of me or someone outbids me. Better to have a backup plan ready.
Wednesday morning, I check the results. Did I get my guy? Great. If not, I see who’s left as a free agent. Sometimes a decent option slipped through waivers, and I can just add him directly. Then, the whole cycle starts again the next Tuesday. It’s a constant process, but finding that solid waiver wire tight end feels pretty good when it works out.
