Target Watch: Flex That Tight End

With six weeks’ worth of games under our belts – nearly half the fantasy regular season – certain trends for this season have been established. The running back position is an absolute nightmare (just try picking one up this week to fill in for an injury or a bye week) and the number of elite wide receivers can probably be counted on one hand right now. The tight end position, however, seems to be as fruitful as ever and many fantasy owners, particularly the ones who have been suffering at the hands of Jamaal Charles’ ACL, Dez Bryant’s foot and C.J. Anderson’s ineptitude, are starting to turn to the tight end position for their flex play.

In looking at the two tables below, you’ll see that eight of the 27 most-targeted receivers in Week 6 were tight ends which put the season’s year-to-date tally at 11 of the top 50 most targeted players in the NFL. That’s roughly 30-percent for the week and 22-percent for the entire season. Those numbers have risen significantly from last year where, at this point in the season, we were looking at just seven of the top 50 (14 percent) who were listed as tight ends.

In recent years, the tight end position consisted of Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham, Julius Thomas and a bunch of other guys who rarely garnered any real attention from fantasy owners. Players like Zach Ertz and Tyler Eifert walked into the year with a little bit of preseason buzz, but between injuries and a lack of targets, most tight ends fell to the wayside. This season, Gronk tends to sit in a tier all alone while Graham and Thomas have joined the ranks of such household names like Gary Barnidge, Charles Clay and Delanie Walker.

But you have to look at this shift as a blessing, particularly if you’re scouring the waiver wire for some help.  Forget about the running backs. That’s a disaster even in 10-team leagues. And with so many leagues moving to a three-receiver and a flex format with PPR scoring, the pickings are pretty slim in the wide receiver pool. Sure, you can take a shot and hope that Stefon Diggs continues his two-game hot streak, but the majority of receivers available sit more in the Cole Beasley/Chris Hogan range. Meanwhile, the tight end position has guys like Jordan Cameron, Benjamin Watson and Kyle Rudolph available. Not to mention the return of injured players such as Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Eric Ebron.

We’re not talking world-beaters by any means here, but considering how teams are utilizing the tight end more and more, are these guys any worse than some of the crap wideouts who are available? And don’t forget to add in cost too. While everyone focuses on the receivers and running backs, you can save a few FAAB dollars and go for a tight end to use instead. It won’t solve all of your fantasy issues, but it does give you an alternative way to structure your lineup during the bye weeks.

Now let’s get to the targets…

Week 6 Target Leaders

Antonio Gates, TE SD – He failed to find the end zone this week, but 16 targets make for an awesome play for fantasy owners. He’s got 27 targets through two games and back to back 90-yard performances with two touchdowns. With no ground game of which to speak, the Chargers are airing it out big-time right now and with Keenan Allen dealing with a hip flexor issue, Gates should continue to see a higher percentage of the team’s passes coming his way.

John Brown, WR ARI – The 196 receiving yards was a career-best and a franchise record for the Cardinals. He’s still the secondary option to Larry Fitzgerald, but with the hamstring problem clearly behind him, he should continue to produce just as many expected when the season began.

Benjamin Watson, TE ATL – While the performance this week was in direct relation to the soft matchup he was facing, Watson should emerge as a more consistent target moving forward. Drew Brees is working hard at getting comfortable with his new receiving corps and he’s starting to fall back on some old Jimmy Graham plays with Watson on the field. If he doesn’t have to be locked in as a blocker too much, he should continue to blossom as a reliable fantasy option.

Bryan Walters, WR JAC – Who? Exactly. With Marqise Lee and Rashad Greene still out, Walters has stepped in as the third wideout option. But before you get too excited about the performance, keep in mind that his heavy target load didn’t start until after Allen Robinson left the game with a leg contusion. The Jaguars were down and airing it out, so Walters saw a ton of looks by default. Don’t expect a repeat performance.

Alshon Jeffery, WR CHI – Good evening, Mr. Jeffery. We’ve been expecting you. Your table is right this way…

Devonta Freeman, RB ATL – Is there anything this guy can’t do? I don’t want to over-hype him by any means, but it’s tough to criticize the performance and after four-straight weeks of fantasy deliciousness, it’s even tougher to say he won’t do it again.

Overall Target Leaders

Target Percentage Leaders

The cream has certainly risen to the top and there are very few situations out there where you can’t just rattle off each team’s most-targeted receiver. Last week we showed you all the teams whose most-targeted receiver was the tight end. This week, here are a couple of guys you may not have known.

Michael Crabtree, WR OAK – After five games, it’s Crabtree who leads the team in targets and not Amari Cooper. He’s become a reliable option for Derek Carr, he does a great job moving the chains and he’s even seen a strong portion of the red zone work. If someone had to drop him last week because of the bye, you should try to swoop in and grab him.

Allen Hurns, WR JAC – We recognize that Allen Robinson is the most-targeted receiver on the Jaguars and have to note that Hurns’ numbers continue to drop. Even with Robinson out and hurt, Hurns still saw a decrease in target percentage as the looks went to Walters. We can say that it was a one-time thing with Walters, but with the return of Julius Thomas and the expected return of Lee, Hurns could see his numbers slide even more. Just food for thought.

Red Zone Target Leaders

Anquan Boldin, WR SF – With eight red zone targets in the last two weeks, Boldin has finally re-emerged as Colin Kaepernick’s go-to guy. He’s seeing crazy targets in general, but that heavy reliance on him inside the 20 should hopefully result in an increase in touchdowns. Careful with him this week, though, as he’s battling a hamstring injury and it’s a Thursday night game.

Jordan Matthews, PHI – Not gonna lie, Matthews has absolutely sucked this year given where he was drafted and how high the preseason expectations were. But with a 30.4 percent share of the Eagles’ red zone targets, he’s obviously got something going on. Far too many people are ready to give up on him, so if you’ve got a nervous owner in your league, try and pry him away. He’s leading the team in targets both inside and outside the red zone. At some point, things will click and he could go off.

Potential Risers

Potential Fallers

Week 7 Matchup to Watch

Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers --  Neither team is sporting a particularly strong ground attack and both have a strong receiving corps and quarterbacks who like to air it out. Philip Rivers may not have Keenan Allen (hip) this week, but he still has Antonio Gates, Malcom Floyd, Ladarius Green and possibly even Stevie Johnson. You could even see a Dontrelle Inman touchdown again. On the other side, the Raiders will have to try and keep pace, so the tandem of Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper should be very productive while the check-downs to Latavius Murray and Marcel Reece could be abundant as well.