Top Fantasy Waiver Wire TE Targets After Austin Hooper's Knee Injury

For fantasy football players, it isn't a great time to need a tight end.

The position is already thin, and with Wednesday's news that Atlanta Falcons tight end Austin Hooper could miss a month of action, it only got thinner.

Add in the uncertainty of George Kittle (nursing knee and ankle injuries) and Evan Engram (recovering from a mid-foot sprain), and it's likely that quite a few fantasy players will be hitting the waiver wire for another option at the position.

So, who should you be targeting?

The most obvious choice is Seattle's Jacob Hollister, who has been excellent the past two weeks, registering 12 receptions for 99 yards and three touchdowns on 16 targets.

It's become clear that he's going to be a part of Seattle's game plan going forward, and given the season Will Dissly was having before he was put on injured reserve (23 receptions for 262 yards and four touchdowns in five games), it isn't a stretch to think that Hollister could be a legitimate TE1 the remainder of the year.

The problem with that addition, however, is that he has a bye this week. So if you're adding Hollister, you'll probably need to add another player as well. 

And the pickings are slim. Houston's Darren Fells is one option. The downside to Fells is that he has very little value outside of touchdown production, with 42.5 percent of his fantasy points coming from scores in PPR leagues. The good news is that he has six touchdowns in nine games. 

So yeah, he's a weekly lottery ticket. In weeks he hasn't scored a touchdown he's averaging 4.3 points, and that's skewed by his Week 6 performance (six receptions for 69 yards). Basically, Fells has provided four weeks of double-digit production, one week with 7.1 points and four weeks with fewer than five fantasy points.

So just understand that he's going to be an all-or-nothing player for you.

Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle might offer you a bit more stability. He's been solid in the past three weeks, registering 10 receptions for 127 yards and two touchdowns on 13 targets. Not exactly elite numbers, but enough to hit the double-digit threshold in points three times in a row. 

Of course, one concern for fantasy players is that his teammate and fellow tight end, Eric Ebron, was targeted 12 times in Week 10, posting five receptions for 56 yards. Ebron isn't having a great year, missing the chemistry he had with Andrew Luck, and if nothing else, his presence makes Doyle a risky add.

Of course, Doyle's presence does the same to Ebron. It's tough to trust either player going forward, but if you find yourself in desperate straits and one of them is available, you could do worse. 

Finally, Dallas Goedert could be worth a look. In the past four weeks, he's registered 16 receptions for 175 yards and two scores on 23 targets. While the presence of Zach Ertz would appear to limit his upside, Philly's lack of weapons at wide receiver mitigates those concerns. 

A matchup against New England's elite defense in Week 11 isn't ideal, but Goedert is a sneaky play and worthwhile addition down the stretch.