Welcome to Week 14 of the Daily Fantasy season. While season-long leagues are down to their playoff weeks, leaving the majority of those owners with no games to play, the DFS world keeps chugging right along. This article looks at some of the projected lesser-owned plays at tight end who could provide huge boosts to your tournament lineups, as well as some trap plays to avoid.
PLAY
Cameron Brate $5,600 (Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans Saints)
With Adam Humphries and Cecil Shorts ruled out of this game, the bulk of the pass-catching duties falls to Mike Evans and Brate. This is much more significant for Brate, as Evans already commands a bushel of targets. Brate was a huge factor last week against the Chargers with a 6-86-1 line, and he stands to do even more damage against the terrible Saints pass defense.
Zach Ertz $5,700 (Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington)
Ertz is finally back to where he was suspected to be all season. Last week, Ertz had a season high in targets (15) and receptions (9) and turned it into another season high – FanDuel points (18.4). The Redskins pose no particular threat to the tight end position, and with Carson Wentz looking a little rattled late in his rookie season, expect Ertz to have another huge target day, as Wentz seeks his safety valve early and often.
Dwayne Allen $4,800 (Colts vs. Texans)
If you used Allen last week in contests that included the Monday night game, you probably turned a nice little profit. Is Allen going to snag three touchdowns this week? Probably not. But he is clearly back on Andrew Luck’s radar, and unlike Pittsburgh’s Ladarius Green, who saw his salary skyrocket after a big game last week, Allen’s price was baked in before his huge game, making him a tremendous value play this week.
Jason Witten $5,100 (Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants)
This recommendation is certainly not based on past performance, as Witten has really struggled to be relevant in the Dallas offense this season. But the fact remains that the Giants allow the third-most tight end points in the league, and Witten is dirt cheap at the position. So he won’t need to do much to make rostering him worthwhile.
C.J. Fiedorowicz $5,100 (Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts)
He’s not the sexy pick he might have been four weeks ago, but C.J. is still commanding around nine targets per game and the Colts defense is missing a bunch of players this week, giving him a little more upside than usual. His price is right, and he has shown the ability to find the end zone.
NAY
Delanie Walker $6,200 (Tennessee Titans vs. Denver Broncos)
Walker has seen his production decline as Rishard Matthews has ascended in the passing game. Neither Matthews nor Walker is looking at a productive day against a Broncos pass defense that shuts everyone down.
Ladarius Green $5,800 (Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills)
Green was a great play last week at $4,500, especially with the news that coach Mike Tomlin wanted to get him more involved. Will Green’s usage exceed last week’s output? Doubtful. Does that make him overpriced and overowned by those who will chase his points? Definitely.