Charles Clay started off the first quarter of the season paying dividends to those who trusted their fantasy football TE slot to him. But then he missed weeks six through nine with an injury. He’s back on the injury report this week with a knee injury, though reports are the Bills expect Clay to suit up. With Kelvin Benjamin already declared out this week, they’ll desperately need Clay. I expect they’ll get Clay out there against the Chiefs unless a Rube Goldbergian series of events lead to a pregame loss of limb for Clay.
Like I said, Clay started the season hot for his fantasy football owners, getting at least 9.9 fantasy points in three of his first four games. He was also on pace to absorb 100 targets for the season before getting hurt (and getting only three targets in week five). The Bills he returned to are actively trying to blow their team apart, so it’s understandable that he hasn’t produced in his two games back. Since returning from injury, Clay has seven targets for forty yards and no scores. It’s been bad for Clay since coming back, and that seems to be through no fault of his own. This week’s matchup will do him no favors in the productivity department.
This week the Bills take on the Chiefs, who have been outright bad on defense this season in most aspects. The one aspect they actually do well with is the tight end. They give up the ninth-fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends, and they’ve done it while facing a murderer’s row. Rob Gronkowski, Zach Ertz and Evan Engram all went to-toe-toe with the Chiefs defense and only Ertz ended up with more than 3.5 fantasy points. On the season, only Jared Cook has topped 100 yards and only A.J. Derby has a touchdown against them. They even snapped Evan Engram’s touchdown game streak and held him to just nine yards in the process just last week.
Charles Clay was a hot fantasy football commodity before going down with an injury in week five. He’s now back but the Bills went full dumpster fire around him while he was gone. He simply does not get the volume or opportunity to produce now that he’s back. This week he gets a defense that stifles the heck out of tight ends. Clay will be no different. Look elsewhere this week for tight end production.
