Week 9 Fantasy Football TE Waiver Wire Targets: Which Surprise Players can Continue Succeeding?

I talked last week about how tight end fantasy scoring was falling severely behind the other positions. It's not surprising to see the top TEs scoring less than their counterparts at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver, but more than five kickers were outscoring the top tight end in standard scoring (Isaiah Likely) before Week 8 started.

A few guys tried making up that gap on Sunday, including top names like Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, and Harold Fannin, who all scored more than 20 PPR points. We'll talk about some of the other guys who excelled below, but it was encouraging to see a group of tight ends come up big in Week 8.

Let's look at five of the top tight end names on the waiver wire heading into Week 9 of the NFL season. Most stats are from NFL.com, and fantasy points and rankings are from FantasyPros.

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Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals

Gesicki has been something of a regular here on the tight end waiver list. After catching four passes for 76 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, Gesicki has now found the end zone in six out of seven games.

He hasn't always performed consistently from a statistical perspective, catching one pass or fewer in three games, but he scored on his only catch in two of those contests, a major factor at a position where it is tough to find regular fantasy points. It's impossible to ignore how often Gesicki is getting into the end zone.

The problem is that touchdowns are impossible to predict, especially for a guy who doesn't catch that many passes. Gesicki hasn't had more than five catches in any game and has had three or fewer receptions in five of seven games.

Picking up Gesicki isn't the worst idea given what he has done, but he's a player who should only be deployed in the right matchups. There are some good upcoming matchups, including the Commanders, Saints, Colts, and Chiefs (who have struggled against tight ends), so Gesicki will have more times where he is an asset. The problem is that he will have just as many weeks where it's tough to trust him if he doesn't find the end zone, making him more of a middling fantasy option.

Gunnar Helm, Tennessee Titans

Helm had probably the best games of his young career on Sunday, catching five passes for 76 yards. He reached six receptions a few times last year and caught a touchdown in two other games (he has zero this season), but Helm had never topped 51 yards before Week 8, and he only hit 40 twice.

That should probably be enough to tell you where my recommendation is going to go from here. Helm hasn't been nearly effective enough to be a real fantasy option, and his big performance came on a day in which his quarterback threw the ball 40 times for only the third time in his career.

Cam Ward hasn't been good in the NFL. There's no arguing that fact, as Ward has averaged just 5.8 yards per pass attempt, and his team has lost 21 of his 25 career games (he only threw three passes in one of those losses, but still). Counting on Helm means that you're believing in a guy who hasn't produced and plays in a bad offense with a bad quarterback on a losing team.

This was a strong performance from Helm, but he is unlikely to put up another game with these numbers in 2026. The best plan is to leave the Tennessee tight end on the waiver wire.

T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings

We'll just talk about Hockenson quickly, as he is owned in more leagues than any of the others here and isn't a true waiver the same way. I talked about him as a player to start in a great matchup against the Lions, and Hockenson had a good game, with four catches, 58 yards, and a touchdown.

He has an A-plus-level schedule remaining in terms of matchups according to our trade value chart, still with games coming against the Bills, Bears, Commanders, and Lions again, so there will be plenty of chances to deploy Hockenson.

The problem is that he plays in a low-level offense that is unlikely to see big improvements, limiting Hockenson's ceiling when he doesn't score a touchdown. He's a fine deep-league option or a guy to keep as part of a rotation, but don't count on Hockenson as a weekly starter unless you're OK with being disappointed (some of us have gotten used to that feeling).

Michael Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders

I've talked about Mayer way more than I thought that I would this season. He is the second tight end on the Raiders, generally a player you wouldn't consider talking about, but Brock Bowers is a true WR1-level player, operating more as that type of player at times and leaving plenty of tight end work for Mayer.

Mayer had another solid game against the Jets on Sunday, catching five passes for 53 yards. His main issue is a tough schedule most of the rest of the season, including the 49ers, Seahawks, and Broncos over the next three weeks.

He could have more successful games, but it's hard to count on Mayer to put up consistent numbers. There will be a few opportunities in which he's a better option later in the year, but Mayer is another guy to leave on the free agent market for now.

Brevyn Spann-Ford, Dallas Cowboys

Spann-Ford hasn't been productive, but he's here because his playing time has been growing, as Jake Ferguson has played less and been unproductive compared to the past four seasons. Their snaps were essentially even in Weeks 6 and 7, and Ferguson suffered a sprained ankle early on Sunday and didn't return.

Over the past three weeks, Spann-Ford has caught four passes in two of those games, reaching 35 and 31 yards. It hasn't nearly been enough to be a fantasy factor, but if he keeps playing more, especially if Ferguson misses some time, then Spann-Ford could put up a few decent games when the matchup is right.

He has good matchups in two of the next three games, facing the Colts this week and Titans two weeks later, but the outlooks aren't great after that, including matchups against the 49ers, Seahawks, and Rams before Christmas. Spann-Ford might be Dallas' best fantasy tight end moving forward if things stay the same as they have, but he's another guy who shouldn't be added to your roster until we see much more out of him.