Fantasy football waiver wire: Best tight ends available in Week 6

We are entering the middle grind of the fantasy football season. With the bye weeks in full force and the injuries continuing to pile up, the waiver wire is more important than ever in this stretch of the season.

Week 5 was another bad day for injuries at the tight end position. Rob Gronkowski was a late scratch on Thursday, while Travis Kelce suffered a concussion in Sunday night’s loss. Both men should be back for Week 6, but it’s yet another reminder that there’s no such thing as a “safe” tight end. In grimmer news, Charles Clay went down with a serious knee injury, leaving Tyrod Taylor without his top target.

This week’s bye teams are the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, and Seattle Seahawks. That means Jimmy Graham and Jason Witten aren’t available, so it’s going to be another week of diving for streamers. Here are the top wide receiver options owned in 50 percent or less of Yahoo! leagues.

Austin Hooper, Atlanta Falcons (44 percent)

The Falcons still aren’t using Hooper much, a curious decision given his obvious talents. He got more targets than usual in Week 4 with Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu out, finishing with five catches for 50 yards. That might be his ceiling for a while, now that the Falcons are out of their bye and Jones and Sanu are healthy again. Treat Hooper as a backend streamer for the time being.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, New York Jets (28 percent)

ASJ finally turned the hype into results in Week 5, grabbing six catches for 29 yards and a touchdown, his first of the season. He still doesn’t get much yardage, but Josh McCown is throwing to him — 15 catches in three games since coming back from a two-game suspension. ASJ has put himself on the TE1 map, especially with all the tight end injuries.

David Njoku, Cleveland Browns (seven percent)

The Browns pulled the plug on DeShone Kizer, playing Kevin Hogan in the second half of yet another loss. Despite the quarterback struggles, however, Njoku has been quietly productive with three touchdowns in five games. He remains a boom-or-bust option, but that touchdown potential means Njoku must be considered as a streaming option. The Browns get the Houston Texans next.

Ed Dickson, Carolina Panthers (six percent)

Well, that was pretty random — 175 yards on five catches from a guy who never before topped the 100-yard mark in an eight-year career. It’s probably not happening again, but Dickson should be taken seriously as a TE2 with Greg Olsen on injured reserve. Cam Newton is looking much better and elevating the Panthers’ offense as a result.