Fantasy Football Week 5 Tight End Waiver Wire Targets: Gesicki, Hockenson and More

There is generally a scarcity of productive fantasy tight ends, so whenever a guy has a big week, that brings plenty of fantasy attention with thoughts of whether the performance can be repeated. That's true at every position, but it stands out even more at a place where many fantasy owners are shuffling through guys who are pretty much the same in terms of potential value from week to week.

Let's look at four of the top tight end names on the waiver wire heading into Week 5. Most stats are from NFL.com, and fantasy points and rankings are from FantasyPros.

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Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals

Gesicki had a dud in Week 2, getting shut out by the Texans. In the other three games, though, he has averaged around four catches, 50 yards, and one touchdown per game. Gesicki ranks among the top 12 tight ends in both standard and PPR leagues, and he is worth a look when the matchup is right.

This week against the Dolphins is a positive matchup, as Miami has allowed the fourth-most yards per pass attempt and the fifth-most fantasy points to tight ends. The Bengals have their bye in Week 6, so Gesicki is more of a one-week option, but he is a very strong option for that one week.

Grab Gesicki this week if you need someone to fill in for Travis Kelce on bye, for instance. He has had success so far, and though he is unlikely to score in 75% of his games moving forward, Gesicki is a strong player this week.

T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings

Hockenson is owned in around 50% of leagues, not as widely available as some others but also worth checking in on if you need help at tight end. After three middling-or-worse games, Hockenson had a huge Week 4, catching all 13 of his targets for 119 yards. That came in the fantastic matchup against Miami that we just talked about, but it showed that Hockenson can still be a factor in fantasy football.

Minnesota has a stretch of average-or-better matchups coming up, with their next three games against the Saints, Colts, and Lions. Detroit and Indianapolis rank in the top 10 in most yards per pass attempt allowed, and New Orleans and Detroit are both in the top six in fantasy points given up to tight ends. Hockenson will be on our radar for the next few weeks.

Michael Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders

There will always be questions around Mayer's fantasy value because he is behind star Brock Bowers on the depth chart. He was fairly anonymous through his first three seasons and even during the first three weeks this year, but Mayer is more than halfway to his career highs in both receptions and yards through four weeks.

Mayer had one of the best games of his career in Week 4, catching eight passes for 82 yards. While the Chiefs have been better than average against the pass, they have struggled to stop tight ends, and Mayer took advantage of that matchup. His next seven games are against the Patriots, Bills, Rams, Jets, 49ers, Seahawks, and Broncos, much tougher opponents, so the good times aren't likely to keep rolling.

While Mayer entered the league with intrigue as an early second-round pick, he is likely to lack in big fantasy performances behind Bowers, leaving him as a tough player to trust. Mayer is probably better left on the waiver wire, even after his big Week 4.

Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars

While Evan Engram was on top of Jacksonville's tight end depth chart early in Strange's career, the younger player was seen as a very similar player who could take over the veteran's spot eventually. That came to fruition when Engram signed with Denver last season, and Strange set career highs across the board, but he still was middling at best as a fantasy player, looking like nothing more than a streamer.

Much like Mayer, Strange didn't do much in the first three weeks before breaking out in Week 4, catching seven passes for 95 yards. That came in a good matchup against the Bengals, a team that ranks in the top 12 in most yards per pass attempt allowed and fantasy points given up to tight ends.

Strange is nothing more than a middling fantasy option in any week. He is like a lot of players at the position who generally need to find the end zone to have successful weeks; that's not a sustainable model.

Strange has a tougher matchup this week with the Eagles but a better outlook in the next two games against the Texans and Colts. He is nothing more than a streaming player, and Strange is a guy better left on the waiver wire until his outlook improves heading into Week 6.