Week 10 was a throwback week for the tight end position with seasoned vets Travis Kelce ($6,300) and Mark Andrews ($4,600) producing the top two point totals of the week. Sam LaPorta (shoulder) also had a good week but is out for this week. He’ll be joined on the sidelines by regular starters Trey McBride and Cade Otton, who are on their bye weeks. If you regularly start one of those options and are shopping for a replacement on the waiver wire or are just looking for a cheap DFS tight end, check out my five fantasy football sleeper tight ends for Week 11.
Last week, my five sleepers were Jonnu Smith (7.5 FPTS), Will Dissly (8.0 FPTS), Juwan Johnson (4.2 FPTS), Theo Johnson (7.7 FPTS) and Jeremy Ruckert (3.7 FPTS). Ruckert was there mostly as a sleeper play if Tyler Conklin was out, but he actually ended up out-producing Conklin anyway.
This week, I ranked my top-10 plays at the position on Monday, but some other values have emerged as news broke throughout the week. Coming into the 13 games on Sunday and Monday, here are my top five fantasy football sleepers at the position:
Davis Allen, Los Angeles Rams
Normally, I save my deep sleeper at the minimum salary for my last pick, but this week, Allen is just too good an option to not lead with.
He makes a ton of sense in DFS contests like the NFL $2.5M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st] since he allows you to have more salary to spend in other spots than any other player on the slate. Even if you go another way in your TE spot, using him at the FLEX spot is basically a cheat code that unlocks more salary for other positions.
Last week, Allen played a season-high 80% of snaps for the Rams and caught 5-of-6 targets for 34 yards. Before that game, he had just one catch on five targets for five yards all season. He worked into the offense much more than Colby Parkinson ($3,600), who played just 11 snaps and appears to have taken over the starting job.
Getting any starter at this salary is a steal for DFS, and Allen is almost universally available in season-long leagues, making him a solid add and play this week after how involved he was in Week 10. He’s also in a good matchup agains the Patriots. New England held the Bears’ TE in check last week but gave up two tight end touchdowns and six catches to the position in each of the two previous contests.
Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills
I hyped Knox as a strong start on Friday, and the short version is that he gets a smash spot against the Chiefs while filling in for Dalton Kincaid (knee).
Knox has already been scooped up in many season-long leagues and could be a chalky play, but he’s too good an option not to include in any list of sleepers at the position this week.
If he’s on your league’s waiver wire and you need a one-week fill-in only, he’s the best solution. Buffalo is on its bye next week, so he’s a great start then drop option for McBride owners or others who really just need one week.
Will Dissly, Los Angeles Chargers
The other team from Los Angeles also has a nice sleeper tight end to consider this week. Dissly has taken over as the clear top pass-catching option after sharing time early in the season with Hayden Hurst.
Dissly and the Chargers face the Bengals on Sunday Night Football, so he’s not on the main slate. He is an interesting DFS play at $5,200 in single-game Showdown contests like the NFL Showdown $1.11M Sunday Night Showdown [$250K to 1st] (CIN @ LAC).
Dissly is still owned in under 15% of leagues despite catching at least five passes in three of the last four weeks. He started that run with a ceiling game of 16.1 fantasy points against the Cardinals.
While the veteran hasn’t found the end zone, he has averaged 6.75 targets per game over his last four games. Though the Chargers don’t throw enough to get him into the top-10 tight ends on a regular basis, he is a solid fill-in play at the position and a good DFS option for Sunday night.
AJ Barner, Seattle Seahawks
Even after a bye week, Noah Fant (groin) is not ready to return for the Seahawks, so Barner will get a second straight start. Back in Week 9 against the Rams, the rookie got seven targets from Geno Smith ($5,700) and finished with a solid four catches for 27 yards.
In Week 9, he played 91% of the snaps for Seattle and will likely be very involved again this week. The rookie from Michigan is basically un-owned in fantasy football leagues but can also be a one-week fill-in and produce for as long as Fant is sidelined.
The 49ers have given up at least five catches to tight ends in each of their last five games, so Barner should have opportunities to make plays in what could end up being a high-scoring NFC West matchup.
Brock Wright, Detroit Lions
With LaPorta out, Wright will step in as the starter. He has nine catches on 11 targets in nine games for a total of 58 yards and a touchdown, which came in Week 9 vs. the Packers.
He’ll almost certainly set season-highs across the board in snap share, targets, catches and yards this week, but the other options on this list are much more established. He’s a desperation flier but does have touchdown-dependent upside in a very favorable matchup with the Jaguars.
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