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Bottom of the barrel TE streamers. Who ya got? (1 Viewer)

zftcg

Footballguy
For those of you who own Burton, Brate, Howard or Eifert and are looking for a replacement, either for this week or going forward, who are you targeting?

In my 14-team 0.5 PPR league where Burton is on bye and McDonald was already snatched up, I'm currently rolling out Gates, but I'm far from excited about it. Other options available are Vannett, Swaim, Uzomah, Kroft and Goedert.

I'm inclined to say that the options are so bad, just run with the consensus highest ranked guy (Gates) and don't waste time trying to figure out the unknowable. I will say, though, that the two that have me intrigued are Vannett and Swaim. The former because with Dissly's injury, he has the job to himself. The latter because he's been seeing a slight uptick in usage the past couple weeks and scored last Sunday. But both offenses are pretty bad.

Anyone have insight on either of these guys? I think I'm avoiding Cinci altogether since I don't know which one will be getting the reps. And Goedert is a clear TE2, which seems incredibly risky.

 
Pretty much in the same boat, have Burton and picked up Eifert just in time for his injury.

At first I planned on going Kroft, but the uncertainty with him and the other guy are making me shy away.

At the moment I'm thinking I'll probably go with Ben Watson. And mostly because he's on Drew Brees' offense. Also looking at ASJ and Gates, this is all for standard scoring so really just trying to figure out who's the best bet for a TD. ASJ does have a great matchup against KC, and Gates is, well, Gates.

 
Rolling with Heuerman since Butt got hurt.
You're right, he's an option as well. Looked like he was somewhat involved on MNF.

But man, all these guys are playing in garbage offenses. Do I really want to put my faith in Case Keenum (or Wilson or Dak)?

 
Also looking at ASJ and Gates, this is all for standard scoring so really just trying to figure out who's the best bet for a TD. ASJ does have a great matchup against KC, and Gates is, well, Gates.
ASJ only played on 47% of the snaps last week after averaging 85% in week 1-3. I'm not sure what the reason was, maybe it's the core injury. 

 
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Pretty much in the same boat, have Burton and picked up Eifert just in time for his injury.

At first I planned on going Kroft, but the uncertainty with him and the other guy are making me shy away.

At the moment I'm thinking I'll probably go with Ben Watson. And mostly because he's on Drew Brees' offense. Also looking at ASJ and Gates, this is all for standard scoring so really just trying to figure out who's the best bet for a TD. ASJ does have a great matchup against KC, and Gates is, well, Gates.
If Watson was available I would definitely play him. Like I said in my earlier post, a lot of these other guys are playing on really bad offenses. And you figure Brees will be chucking it to get the record.

 
Ooh, sneaky play courtesy of an alert I just got on Sleeperbot: If Olsen was dropped in your league (he wasn't in mine, unfortunately), rumors are he could be back as soon as this weekend.

 
Ooh, sneaky play courtesy of an alert I just got on Sleeperbot: If Olsen was dropped in your league (he wasn't in mine, unfortunately), rumors are he could be back as soon as this weekend.
He's already been ruled out for this weekend. 

 
Maybe Uzomah or Kroft? Kroft got more play last year, but Uzomah has been leading snaps and utilization over Kroft this year. 

 
Maybe Uzomah or Kroft? Kroft got more play last year, but Uzomah has been leading snaps and utilization over Kroft this year. 
The fact that we're not sure which one will benefit is enough to rule out both of them for me. On the other hand, if your league allows you to start a "team TE" ...  :D

One more option from a bad offense: Rhett Ellison has been getting more targets with Engram out. He has three catches each of the past two weeks, with one score.

 
Maybe Uzomah or Kroft? Kroft got more play last year, but Uzomah has been leading snaps and utilization over Kroft this year.
Probably Uzomah. Not only is he overwhelmingly out-snapping Korft but I also believe he's running more routes when he's on the field. 

 
The fact that we're not sure which one will benefit is enough to rule out both of them for me. On the other hand, if your league allows you to start a "team TE" ...  :D

One more option from a bad offense: Rhett Ellison has been getting more targets with Engram out. He has three catches each of the past two weeks, with one score.
Well, I'm pretty sure I know based on this year's trends. Just figured I'd mention Kroft, too, just to cover my bases. 

 
 I grabbed gates as a touchdown or bust in both leagues this week as a TD or bust option. 

It’s less than ideal, but I like the matchup & history. And Burton on the BYE in both leagues leaves me a bit desperate. 

 
I grabbed gates as a touchdown or bust in both leagues this week as a TD or bust option.

It’s less than ideal, but I like the matchup & history. And Burton on the BYE in both leagues leaves me a bit desperate.
His history at home vs. OAK isn't all that great to be honest, he seems to perform much better on the road vs. OAK but the position is such a crapshoot you can make a case for just about anyone. 

 
Anyone looking at Hooper? That Pitt D has holes in it. I’m thinking he’s a good option.
I thought the same last week vs. CIN, since they're bottom five in points allowed to TEs. Then I watched Logan Paulsen catch a TD.

His name is Logan Paulsen. His name is Logan Paulsen. His name is Logan Paulsen.

 
On the Kroft/Uzomah usage debate, it appears Kroft may still be working his way back from a mysterious offseason injury. That could explain why Uzomah's usage has increased relative to last year. Or maybe Kroft's dominant snap counts last year are really meaningless and it's a crapshoot going forward. I don't claim to know. But I found this interesting pulled from a 9-10-18 Marvin Lewis presser:

TE C.J. Uzomah played a lot yesterday. Is TE Tyler Kroft still working his way back from his offseason injury, or is that how you envisioned it going?

“Tyler is still working... It just depends on the opponent and the personnel that Bill Lazor calls. That’s going to change week to week.”

 
A real flyer in redraft would be Hurst in Baltimore. May not get a majority of snaps but may have a higher % of usage when he's in.

 
A real flyer in redraft would be Hurst in Baltimore. May not get a majority of snaps but may have a higher % of usage when he's in.
I've had my eye on Hurst, my only issue is they have been utilizing 3 other TE's on the reg and they have been doing well with it.

 
I like Brate as a long term replacement. I expected a lot more from Hooper but he just isn’t getting it done. I would prob use Ellison this weekend as a one time option. 

 
my bench isn't deep enough to hold onto Hurst, however I'm eager to see how he gets used over the next two weeks.  

 
On the Kroft/Uzomah usage debate, it appears Kroft may still be working his way back from a mysterious offseason injury. That could explain why Uzomah's usage has increased relative to last year. Or maybe Kroft's dominant snap counts last year are really meaningless and it's a crapshoot going forward. I don't claim to know. But I found this interesting pulled from a 9-10-18 Marvin Lewis presser:

TE C.J. Uzomah played a lot yesterday. Is TE Tyler Kroft still working his way back from his offseason injury, or is that how you envisioned it going?

“Tyler is still working... It just depends on the opponent and the personnel that Bill Lazor calls. That’s going to change week to week.”
That confirms my belief that this is a stay-away. At a minimum, Lewis knows and is not saying. But I think it's just as likely that they will see how things play out. Heck, it may be that they split the targets evenly and neither is a true TE1.

 
In one leafue my TE's are Olson

The fact that we're not sure which one will benefit is enough to rule out both of them for me. On the other hand, if your league allows you to start a "team TE" ...  :D

One more option from a bad offense: Rhett Ellison has been getting more targets with Engram out. He has three catches each of the past two weeks, with one score.
In one of my leagues my TE's were Olsen, Eifert, Doyle, and Jonnu Smith. I picked up Ellison. WW was bare, next best option was Nick Boyle.

 
I've said this before, but particularly when you're deciding between replacement-level TE options, you've officially reached the end of meaningful fantasy analysis. There is nothing that can definitively tell you whether Geoff Swaim will outscore Nick Vannett this weekend. It is, for all intents and purposes, unknowable.

My best advice is to simply pick a rationale and then stick with it. If you want to go with the consensus rankings on Fantasy Pros, do that. If you want to pick the one ranker you most respect and go with his pick, do that. If you want the guy who shares the same first name as your cousin's friend's uncle's dog, that's fine, too. There is no right answer. Just take a deep breath and let it go ...

(Meanwhile, I'm totally not following my own advice. I've already picked up Kroft and then Gate, and now I'm leaning toward Swaim under the logic that he has the least competition for targets from his WRs).

 
Lost Walker in week 1 in a 14 team league, so I've been playing dart throw at TE for the last few weeks.  Went with Jonnu week 2, ate his goose egg.  Picked up Butt for week 3, he flopped and got hurt.  Tried Goedert in week 4, he got a couple.  Somebody dropped Njoku this past weekend and I managed to snag him yesterday so :fingerscrossed: 

 
Went with Swaim. 

Ellison has OBJ, Shepard, and Barkley to fight with. Swaim just has Zeke.

Looked at Heuerman, but NYJ 30th vs TEs.

CIN TEs are splitting each other. RSJ snaps dropped with Gresham coming back.

Geodert is available, but Swaim is the only TE in DAL.

 
Went with Swaim. 

Ellison has OBJ, Shepard, and Barkley to fight with. Swaim just has Zeke.

Looked at Heuerman, but NYJ 30th vs TEs.

CIN TEs are splitting each other. RSJ snaps dropped with Gresham coming back.

Geodert is available, but Swaim is the only TE in DAL.
We're thinking alike. Which means we are both definitely wrong.

 
I'm rolling with swaim over Ellison and Watson in a 14 teamer in a league where I have burton on bye.  Just seems like Dak is getting more and more comfortable with him week to week.  Hoping for the best. 

 
I wrote something up yesterday that will prob help.

I think Ellison would be my top streaming option this week due to a confluence of favorable factors. 
Right now I'm starting Goedert with Engram out for me, hoping for a shootout w/ Minny.

Thinking about scrapping that plan and taking a flyer on Gesicki given the info in your post that matches what I researched. Neither are good options. Ellison and Swaim are out there as well. So much yuck this year at TE.

 

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