By: Jake Rajala

There are a plethora of under-the-radar tight ends that are worth discussing heading into Week 3. With that said, I’m going to dive right into five TE sleepers to target.

David Njoku

The man of the hour, David Njoku, ousted nine grabs (on 10 targets) for 89 yards and a touchdown last night. Meanwhile, Donovan Peoples-Jones and David Bell combined for three catches against the Steelers. The scary part is that Njoku doesn’t even have Deshaun Watson at the helm. The Browns TE is owned in 33% of ESPN leagues & 51% of Yahoo leagues.

Tyler Higbee

There may still be room for the illustrious Rams TE Tyler Higbee on your roster (owned in 50% of ESPN leagues). Higbee garnered nine targets (after a whopping 11 targets in Week 1 against a deadly Bills defense) and ousted several receptions in Week 2. Ultimately, he’s second in TE targets at this point. Fantasy Pros has slotted him as the seventh-best TE moving forward.

Logan Thomas

Logan Thomas, also known as Taysom Hill before Taysom Hill, dazzled with a touchdown grab last week. He also had had 11 targets in the past two contests. Thomas registered 110 targets, 72 receptions, 670 yds, and six TDs in 2020. With Carson Wentz, he could certainly be in line to have a season at least as similar as his 2020 campaign. He is owned in 33% of Yahoo leagues & 39% of ESPN leagues, so there’s more than an “only hope” to get him off the bench.

Irv Smith Jr.

The Minnesota Vikings TE Irv Smith Jr. is only owned in 35% of ESPN leagues, but he’s starting to climb the ladder. He impressively hauled in a touchdown and three catches on eight targets last week. Don’t sleep on him due to his complete in-action in Week 1. The Vikings TE will feast when opponents focus on the potential OPOY Justin Jefferson.

Juwan Johnson

The New Orleans Saints TE Juwan Johnson (who is a bit of a deep sleeper) edged out Adam Trautman for the keys to the starting TE spot. Last week, he grabbed four catches for 40 yards. ESPN has projected Johnson to reel in 706 yards & 102 targets this season. At this point, Johnson has garnered a 69.2 grade by PFF for his work. It may be wise to target the TE in a week against a dreadful pass defense.

The post Fantasy: 5 TE sleepers entering Week 3 appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Dave Stewart

Week 1 is in the books and just like every season, we saw some unfortunate injuries to fantasy-relevant players. You may have lost Raheem Mostert, Jerry Jeudy, or Ryan Fitzpatrick. You also may have lost the Elijah Mitchell sweepstakes or decided not to enter. So, now you could be left with difficult lineup decisions, as a result. Well, I have good news.

In ”˜Getting Deep,’ we will be focusing on deeper (16-team+) leagues, looking for startable players to help fill your lineup holes.

QB – Teddy Bridgewater Denver Broncos Bridgewater looked very competent in his first start as a Bronco. He threw for 264 yards and a pair of passing touchdowns. His 77.8% completion rate was second only to Russell Wilson. His average depth of target (aDOT) was 8.7 yards, so he was looking to make plays down the field. This week, he heads to Jacksonville to face a Jaguars’ defense fresh off making Tyrod Taylor look like a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback. Jacksonville allowed 291 yards and 2 touchdowns through the air against Houston. This matchup appears prime for Bridgewater to build off his opening game success and deliver another top-15 quarterback finish.

RB – Nyheim Hines Indianapolis Colts I know you like Jonathan Taylor. I like him, too. But, it is time to face facts. Hines has a role in this offense. If you are looking for a deeper start this week, I like Hines, at home, facing the Los Angeles Rams. Last week, Hines had 15 total touches, including six receptions on eight targets, and 82 total yards. The Rams’ defense was beaten up by David Montgomery last week, and Damien Williams did some damage as a pass-catching running back. Expect Hines to shine in that area this week.

WR – Jaylen Waddle Miami Dolphins It did not take long for the connection between Waddle and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to materialize. Waddle caught four of his five targets and found the end zone in his NFL debut. Now, Buffalo comes to South Beach and Waddle will face a difficult challenge against the Bills’ defense. Still, with a 75% slot rate in Week 1, Waddle is unlikely to see much coverage from Tre’Davious White. Playing 80% of the snaps was encouraging for Waddle and his rapport with Tagovailoa should continue to build. With 15.3 yards per reception and 25 yards after the catch, look for Waddle to be involved as a playmaker, once again.

TE – Juwan Johnson New Orleans Saints This does feel like a bit of a gamble. After all, Johnson saw only three targets in his Week 1 effort. However, two of those targets were from inside the 10-yard line and both were touchdowns. Counting on touchdown production is risky, but when we are looking for tight ends, particularly deep tight ends, touchdowns make all the difference. Johnson will not get double-digit targets like Darren Waller, but if he can find the end zone again, fantasy managers will be happy. The good news is that Winston is looking for him around the end zone. Carolina gave up six completions for 48 yards against the Jets last week. Covering the tight end is no strength of the Panthers’ defense. Johnson should see red zone targets again this week in Carolina.

Hopefully, this exercise helps you identify some potential targets to use in your deep league lineups. Getting deep is never easy, but we all need it once in a while. Good luck in your Week 2 matchups.

The post Deep fantasy targets: QB, RB, WR, and TE appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Malcolm McMillan

When playing dynasty fantasy football, you need to be thinking for the long term. Successful dynasty fantasy football managers are constantly looking for NFL players that are diamonds in the rough. Remember Jacksonville Jaguars RB James Robinson? That was someone who was definitely not picked up in your rookie drafts. That was a player you needed to pick up off of the waiver wire, to spend a little (or a lot) of FAAB on.

Well, these guys may not be the next James Robinson, but they may be available in your dynasty leagues right now and are worth a stash on your bench if you have the room.

Juwan Johnson (Tight End) New Orleans Saints

Look, the tight end may not be the sexiest position, but you still need to play a tight end in your weekly fantasy football lineup. Luckily, the New Orleans Saints may have found the answer for you. Juwan Johnson is a sophomore tight end converted from wide receiver, and he has been turning heads in the preseason. In Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens, he caught both of his targets for 71 yards. But what really set fantasy football Twitter on fire was the 21 routes run he ran in that game. While the follow-up performance in Week 2 was comparatively lackluster, his three targets still lead all New Orleans Saints tight ends. Given that everyone was hyped for fellow New Orleans Saints tight end Adam Trautman going into this season, who is currently dealing with an injury and saw zero targets in the preseason, stashing Johnson could be an easy way to outsmart your league-mates.

Mike Strachan (Wide Receiver) Indianapolis Colts

What if I told you, that there was a wide receiver available who saw an average of over five targets per game in the preseason, played in all three preseason games, was getting work with the first team, and was rostered in zero percent of leagues on Sleeper? To quote Bob Ryan of Entourage fame, “Is that something you might be interested in?”

Seriously though, the Indianapolis Colts rookie wide receiver has been given every opportunity to shine since being selected in the seventh round, and he has been making the most of them. Week 1 of the preseason against the Carolina Panthers, he posted a line of three receptions on five targets for 57 yards and no touchdowns (3/5/57/0). Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings was a low point with a 2/4/12/0 line, but the four targets in a low scoring game were still a bright spot. Strachan then ended the preseason with 5/7/61/0 against the Detroit Lions in Week 3, leading all Indianapolis Colts in targets and receptions. Does this mean Strachan is suddenly the WR1 in Indianapolis? Probably not. But it is definitely a good sign to see Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard have to field questions about Strachan’s rising star.

Trinity Benson (Wide Receiver) Detroit Lions

“Who the hell is Trinity Benson?”

That is a fair question to ask, especially since it is exactly the same question Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes asked when the Lions scouting department first mentioned the (at the time) Denver Broncos wide receiver. After trading a fifth-round and seventh-round pick to bring in Benson, nobody in the Detroit Lions organization is asking that question anymore.

Like Mike Strachan, Benson is another ascendant young wide receiver in an ambiguous wide receiver room with an excellent preseason in the books. Week 1 Benson brought in all four targets for 36 yards and two touchdowns (4/4/36/2) in the Denver Broncos game against the Minnesota Vikings. Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks was a quieter performance, but still a perfect two receptions on two targets (2/2/10/0). Finally, Week 3 completed a perfect preseason for Benson, with another two receptions on two targets against the Los Angeles Rams (2/2/34/0). While Benson surely will fail to bring in all his targets this season, he may have plenty of opportunities in Detroit as their wide receiver room shakes out.

The post Deep Fantasy stashes ahead of Week 1 appeared first on Pro Football Mania.