With Monday Night Football still to come, Week 5 offered few surprises at tight end. Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, Tyler Warren, and Sam LaPorta all posted top-six production. Isaiah Likely continued his breakout season, leading the position with 32.4 PPR points. The only outlier in the top six was Teagan Quitoriano, third-string tight end for the Arizona Cardinals, who turned two targets into two touchdowns. In other tight end news, Colston Loveland continued to disappoint, Kyle Pitts showed his first signs of being a real part of the Atlanta Falcons’ game plan, George Kittle fell back to earth, and Dallas Goedert posted a quiet return from injury.
Streamers-wise, Mike Gesicki caught just one target, but it went for a touchdown. Brenton Strange had a stronger game, turning eight targets into seven receptions for 68 yards, but failed to score. Tyler Higbee’s game hasn’t kicked off quite yet, so for now we’ll grade that as an incomplete. Week 6 presents a bit of a challenge, as several of the teams we’ve been targeting as advantageous matchups are on bye. Nevertheless, a few options stand out as ascending options in their offenses.
AJ Barner
Rostered in 21% of Sleeper leagues / 12% of Yahoo leagues / 6.8% of ESPN leagues
AJ Barner may not be an exciting option, but he possesses two main selling points. First, he’s coming off a game where he played 95% of the offensive snaps. Second, the Seahawks have shown a willingness to use Barner in quarterback-sneak-style plays, giving him another path to scoring touchdowns around the goal line. Normally, the Denver Broncos aren’t a matchup we’d want to attack. But the Broncos are dealing with several impact injuries to their defense, and are unlikely to get meaningfully healthier on a short week. Seattle has injuries of their own, as star wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba left Sunday’s game a few times, including once to get his ankle heavily taped. On a short week, the Seahawks may shift some additional work away from JSN, and Barner presents as a good candidate to siphon off some of those targets.
Pat Freiermuth
Rostered in 17% of Sleeper leagues / 15% of Yahoo leagues / 20.3% of ESPN leagues
Pat Freiermuth has been a frequent flier in these articles, with mixed results. Coming off a two-touchdown game, it may feel a little bit like chasing points to turn back to him. The difference going forward, however, is that Michael Pittman Jr. was placed on injured reserve and Roman Wilson suffered a finger injury. Without those two on the field, Freiermuth’s competition has thinned out. DK Metcalf remains the alpha receiver, and rookie Germie Bernard appears to have gained Aaron Rodgers‘ trust ahead of schedule, but after that, Freiermuth is next in line for targets downfield. With the receiver injuries adding up, the Steelers are also more likely to feature two-tight end sets, especially given Jaylen Warren‘s dominance of late. Freiermuth draws a plus matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and has the chance to settle into a more reliable week-to-week option until the receiver room gets healthy.
Chig Okonwo
Rostered in 11% of Sleeper leagues / 16% of Yahoo leagues / 3.1% of ESPN leagues
Chig Okonkwo was a popular sleeper this offseason, but an early-season hamstring injury coupled with Jayden Daniels missing time has led to a slow start. This past week stands as the first game both players started and finished healthy, and Okonkwo played 71% of the offensive snaps, turning six targets into four receptions for 60 yards. Not too exciting, but a promising game to build on now that he and his quarterback are healthy. More important than the raw production, Okonkwo’s six targets led the team. With Stefon Diggs missing due to injury, and Terry McLaurin suiting up at less than full strength, Okonkwo is the next man up for this passing attack. Okonkwo has flashed yards-after-the-catch ability, and figures to get more manufactured touches as he gets back to full strength. Washington faces the San Francisco 49ers, potentially missing Dre Greenlaw because of suspension, which should force the Commanders into a pass-heavy attack to keep pace with the high-powered 49ers offense. It’s not the best matchup on paper, especially if Greenlaw successfully appeals his suspension, but Okonkwo also offers the chance that he develops into a more consistent option as he carves out a role in this offense.
Feature image by Michael Packard (@CollectingPack on Twitter) / Photography by Rich von Biberstein/ Icon Sportswire