Last season’s final tight end sleepers piece was just a series of quotes about futility. Every single week this season, I’ve staved off the urge to recreate that post. We have so many top-ten TEs missing due to byes and injuries that the position is mostly a big pile of garbage this week. Luckily for you, I rolled up my sleeves and dove right into the trash pile to find some tight end sleepers. To qualify for this article, a player must be unowned in at least 50% of Yahoo! leagues. And to quiet the squawking about people who complain that the wide receiver sleepers aren’t available in their league, one guy is unowned in at least 90% of Yahoo! Fantasy Football leagues. As always, check to make sure the guys from Waleed’s Waiver Wire Cheat Sheet didn’t slip through the cracks. If you have nowhere else to turn, turn to these guys below.
Week 11 Tight End Sleeper:
Noah Fant at Minnesota (23% Owned)
Most people will tell you that Noah Fant took a big step forward last weekend due to his large catch and run that notched over 70 yards and a score all on its own. However, the real encouraging statistic is Fant’s thirteen targets in the last two games. Why the last two games? That’s how long it’s been since they turned Emmanuel Sanders into some picks. He was also in on 82% and 86% of snaps in those games, his highest percentages of the season.
Overall, the Vikings provide Fant with a middling matchup. Minnesota hasn’t allowed double-digit fantasy football points to a tight end since week three. However, six different tight ends have at least eight targets against them, which suggests a hole in the defense there. If Fant gets the targets, you better believe he’ll do more with them than the likes of Jeremy Sprinkle and Blake Jarwin, who the Vikes shut down.
Week 11 Tight End Sleeper:
Tyler Eifert at Oakland (11% Owned)
Much like Noah Fant, Eifert has thirteen targets in his last two games. He only pulled down two catches last week, but he scored a good touchdown with one of those catches. The week before, he notched six catches and 74 yards. That means that Eifert is getting varied quality targets, which makes for a quality usage profile to make week eleven’s tight end sleepers list.
The Raiders have come on lately, especially defensively. However, they haven’t figured out how to defend one position: the tight end. Last week, Hunter Henry was the lone bright spot for the Chargers’ passing game. Since their week six bye, they Raiders allow an average of 4 catches, 52 yards, and a touchdown to tight ends. Eifert is finally getting used, which means you have to strike while the iron is hot (before the injury bug strikes him).
Deep Dive Week 11 Tight End Sleeper:
Ryan Griffin at Washington (2% Owned)
Welp, we spent ten weeks chasing the Chris Herndon Express. Here’s how it turned out for his owners. Whereas the pursuit of Chris Herndon was Cyrus the Virus levels of terrible, Ryan Griffin can be our Cameron Poe on our “airplane full of criminals,” a good guy surrounded by trash on a collision course with fantasy football rosters.
Griffin had just one target with Herndon’s return, as he went from between 85% and 95% of snaps, to just 65% of snaps. In the two games prior to Herndon’s return, he averaged six targets a game, hauling in an average of five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown per game. This week, he gets a middling tight end defense in Washington, on the road. There will be lots of dump offs to Griffin this weekend, making him even more useful in PPR leagues.
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