Two weeks of NFL action are officially in the books, but this didn’t come without a good amount of injuries. Seemingly every team lost at least one important playmaker, which means the tight end waiver wire should be busier than ever. Looking around the league shows that players like Mo Alie-Cox and Dalton Schultz offer the best chance of positive performance moving forward.
Note that in order to be eligible for this list, the player needed to be available in at least 50% of ESPN leagues. Obviously, there is some variation from league to league, so make sure you peruse all available players before making your claims. There could be better players out there that didn’t qualify for this list.
Week 3 Waiver Pickups: Running Back – Wide Receiver – Quarterback
Mo Alie-Cox, Dalton Schultz Highlight Fantasy Football Week 3 Tight End Waiver Wire Pickups
Mo Alie-Cox
Mo Alie-Cox is an absolute monster of a man that finally has the opportunity to be a valuable fantasy asset. Starting tight end Jack Doyle missed Week 2’s action, leaving Cox as the de-factor starter at the position. The 6’-4”, 262-pound tight end was up for the task, ending the day with five receptions for 116 yards on six targets.
Philip Rivers loves tight ends, and this team has a major target vacancy. After losing Parris Campbell in Week 2, there should be plenty of targets to go around. If Doyle misses another week, then Cox is a locked-and-loaded start. Even if Doyle comes back, Cox might have shown enough to justify a handful of targets.
Dalton Schultz
Dak Prescott loves throwing to the tight end, and that was one of the reasons I was so high on Blake Jarwin this year. Jarwin tore his ACL in Week 1, but backup Dalton Schultz was able to admirably answer the call. During that crazy game, Schultz finished with a team-high nine receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown on 10 targets. Now, Prescott obviously won’t be throwing 50 times a game, but the high target share suggests that Schultz will remain a key part of this offense.
Jordan Reed
Week 2 gave us a blast from the past with Jordan Reed coming out of nowhere to have a huge game. The oft-injured tight end looked fantastic without George Kittle, recording seven receptions for 50 yards and two touchdowns on eight targets. Any longtime fan of the NFL knows that Reed is one of the best tight ends in the league when healthy, and he looked like his old self in Week 2.
Reed would be much higher on this list if it weren’t for the inevitable return of George Kittle. Kittle suffered a knee injury in Week 1 and couldn’t play in Week 2. However, everyone in San Francisco expects Kittle to be back on the field in Week 3, and that’s terrible news for Reed. Even with Kittle hobbled in the opener, Reed saw just a 16% snap share. Ultimately, Reed only carries fantasy value if Kittle cannot play.
Drew Sample
Zac Taylor is not afraid to let Joe Burrow go out there and sling it. The first-overall pick had a staggering 61 pass attempts in Week 2, which means there should be plenty of fantasy opportunity to go around. Drew Sample is definitely not the top option in this passing attack, but he should have a decent target share with C.J. Uzomah suffering a season-ending injury.
Now, Joe Burrow will obviously not throw the ball 61 times every single game. However, Cincinnati’s subpar defense means that Burrow should be near the top of the league in pass attempts. Sample recorded seven receptions for 45 yards on nine targets last week and should only see his role increase with Uzomah sidelined.
Week 3 Waiver Pickups: Running Back – Wide Receiver – Quarterback
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