What Week 3 tells us about the TE position and Week 4 DFS salaries

The tight end position went OFF in Week 3. Usually, a position reserved for salary savings and not given much thought, we had five players score at least 22 DKFP and most of them were surprises. When you find yourself angry that you missed out on someone like Jordan Akins, you know the tight end position got wild. Let’s look at two players from here and how their salary changed heading into Week 4. Prices come via DraftKings.

Austin Hooper ($4,300) vs. Tennessee Titans

It’s hard to judge how a defense performs against opposing tight ends. Some teams simply don’t target them while others do heavily. The Oakland Raiders, for example, have targeted Darren Waller an average of 9.6 times per game. The Cardinals, on the other hand, target their tight ends an average of two times per game. Yup, they’ve received a whopping six targets through three weeks.

One aspect of the Falcons that’s been consistent has been their looks toward Hooper. He’s drawing an average of 7.3 targets per game and has turned that into an average of 59 receiving yards and has scored twice. Now he’ll face the Titans, who have been scored on by a tight end in three straight weeks while allowing an average of 36 yards per game. For this matchup and salary, Hooper feels like a really strong value for someone who could easily be higher priced. I expect Hooper to continues to be overlooked as well, as Greg Olsen ($4,200) and Delanie Walker ($4,800) are sandwiched in between him in terms of salary. Two players who also draw a considerable amount of looks from their quarterback and are active in the red zone.

Well, all the better for us in that case!

Will Dissly ($3,600) vs. Arizona Cardinals

I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t been high on Dissly at any point this season. Had I not been so stubborn, I could have earned myself 18.2 DKFP in Week 3 when he was priced at $3,400 against the Saints or even 22 DKFP when he was $2,800 against the Steelers. Now he’s likely to draw plenty of attention with back-to-back big performance and going against one of the worst defenses against tight ends in the Cardinals. Somehow, they’re already allowing an average of 116 yards per game (!?!?!) and five touchdowns scored! This defense has simply been dismantled by TJ Hockenson ($3,300), Mark Andrews ($5,000) and Greg Olsen ($4,200).

Russell Wilson has really shown a liking to Dissly, looking his way an average of 4.6 times per game. His snap count has been high and he’s been getting some looks in the red zone as well. With this cake matchup coming up, he’s going to be one of the most popular options of the lower-tier options. It’s at the point where he’s a borderline must start as the Cardinal simply have no answer for opposing tight ends. If Dissly comes through in this game, his salary could continue to rise and become more popular as the weeks progress. Get in before the party really begins.

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