Tennessee Titans tight end Delanie Walker won’t play in Week 8, which gives backup tight end Jonnu Smith a path to fantasy football relevance. The tight end position is absolutely desolate in fantasy football, as there are not nearly enough good tight ends to go around. Smith is largely unowned in most fantasy formats, so let’s take a look at what the desperate can expect from the former third-round pick.
Fantasy Football: Jonnu Smith Outlook Without Delanie Walker
Jonnu Smith Himself
This isn’t the first time Jonnu Smith had a chance to start without Delanie Walker. Walker missed the vast majority of the 2018 season, leaving Smith atop the depth chart. Smith made 12 starts while playing in 13 games, but didn’t do much from a fantasy standpoint. Throughout 2018, Smith recorded just 20 receptions for 258 yards and three touchdowns while finishing as the TE33 in PPR scoring formats. This placed him among the ranks of Jeff Heuerman, Tyler Higbee, and Jordan Thomas in the world of fantasy irrelevance.
While he obviously provided no consistent fantasy value in 2018, there is some reason to believe he can improve this time around. Most of his underwhelming production had to do with Tennessee’s terrible passing attack. Marcus Mariota battled injuries throughout the year, leaving Smith catching passes from either a beaten up Mariota or Blaine Gabbert. Ryan Tannehill should serve as an upgrade and could theoretically boost Smith’s production.
Smith’s best traits coming out of college were his athleticism and versatility. According to Joseph Yun of SB Nation’s Music City Miracles, Smith can “accelerate and decelerate on a dime” and lined up “literally everywhere” as an offensive threat. He hasn’t had a chance to utilize these skills in the NFL, but now he has an opportunity to shine. The only question is whether or not Jonnu Smith can take advantage of the opportunity in front of him.
Projected Usage/Matchup
The Titans go up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which is fantastic news for everyone in the Titans passing game. Tampa Bay has one of the best rush defenses in the league but simply cannot stop anything through the air. Tannehill is more than capable of taking advantage of this matchup, which means his receivers should have a solid outing.
The only question is determining who is going to get said targets. Tannehill only made one start with the Titans, so we’re going off small sample sizes here. However, it appears that Corey Davis and A.J. Brown are both ahead of Smith on the pecking order. Adam Humphries could be as well, considering Tampa’s struggles with stopping the pass.
The good news is that, even with the split targets, there should be enough opportunity to go around. So far this year, the Buccaneers have faced five tight ends who could be considered threats in the passing game (Evan Engram, George Kittle, Gerald Everett, Jared Cook, and Greg Olsen twice). In each of those matchups, Tampa Bay has allowed at least 50 yards or a touchdown.
Ryan Tannehill has plenty of NFL experience and can get the ball to a good tight end. Back in the day, he helped Charles Clay finish as the TE7 in 2013 and the TE16 in 2014. Tannehill hasn’t had a reliable tight end since Clay, but he prefers to throw it short, which bodes well for Smith.
Smith isn’t going to be a top-five tight end unless he finds the end zone, but he should see a solid target share in what should be a pass-happy gameplan. If you’re stuck in tight end hell and are choosing between Smith and someone like Ben Watson, go with Jonnu Smith.
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