In this piece, I highlight tight ends who stand out in our large suite of analytical fantasy tools, most specifically, our FantasyLabs Player Models. While the models are built for DFS contests, this is an all-purpose fantasy article with actionable information for all formats.
As news breaks throughout the week and we adjust our projections (powered by Sean Koerner), player ratings in our Player Models will change. For updates, visit the models directly.
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Top NFL DFS Tight End Picks in the FantasyLabs Models
On DraftKings, there are three tight ends near the top of the individual Sean Koerner, Chris Raybon, Cash Game, and Tournament Player Models.
- Mark Andrews
- Darren Waller
- Brevin Jordan
We’ll discuss why these are popping in our models, as well as take a look at some other tight ends.
Top Model NFL DFS Tight End Picks
Mark Andrews ($6,400 DraftKings, $7,400 FanDuel): Baltimore Ravens (-3.5) vs. Miami Dolphins (44.5 total)
Mark Andrews didn’t turn heads with his Week 1 performance, going for 52 yards on five catches, but he did lead the team in target share with 23% of Baltimore’s targets. He also commanded 27% of the team’s air yards, showing that Andrews is more than capable of ripping off big plays and being targeted more in the intermediate area of the field. He also ranked first in average depth of target out of all tight ends in the league in Week 1.
Andrews was a monster last year no matter who was at quarterback for Baltimore, and his Week 2 DraftKings price sits $1,000 less than where he was at his peak in 2021. Miami is a middling defense against opposing tight ends, ranking 17th in DraftKings points per game allowed to opposing tight ends in 2021. They were touched up a few times last season, with Andrews himself going for 18.3 DraftKings points. Mo Alie-Cox posted a 19.2-point score against Miami, and Kyle Pitts racked up 26.3 DraftKings points as well.
Andrews has a tremendous ceiling, as was seen last year. Early in the season against Baltimore, Andrews put up 44.7 DraftKings points on primetime. He had another monster stretch in the middle of the season, with three straight weeks above 29.5 DraftKings points against the Browns, Packers, and Bengals.
The tight end position is so weak as a whole, that getting a solid performance out of your tight end can be game-changing. There aren’t that many other tight ends that could match a 25+ point performance by Andrews, whereas a bevy of wide receivers could put up 25+ DraftKings points.
Andrews leads our Cash Game Model, as well as one of our Pro Models on DraftKings.
Darren Waller ($5,600 DraftKings, $6,800 FanDuel): Las Vegas Raiders (-5.5) vs. Arizona Cardinals (51.5 total)
Darren Waller took a back seat to Davante Adams last week, as Adams saw 17 targets from Derek Carr, and Waller was left with only six. Still, Waller was efficient with his targets, hauling in four catches for 79 yards. Waller only saw less than six targets in two games all of last year, so even though Adams is now in town and will command a high target share, we should see a bump in targets for Waller this week.
Arizona just got absolutely demolished by Travis Kelce last week. Kelce turned nine targets into eight catches for 121 yards and a touchdown. If Arizona’s offense was able to put up any sort of fight, it’s likely Kelce would’ve stayed in the game longer and been leaned on more.
The Arizona defense is beaten up with injuries, as three players in the secondary are banged up, and J.J. Watt is nursing a calf injury as well. With the very few resources that Arizona has on defense likely being deployed to stop Adams, Waller may be able to run rampant on this defense.
Adams is also going to be fairly high-owned this week, so Waller provides nice leverage on Adams in tournaments.
Waller leads our Tournament Model this week on DraftKings.
Brevin Jordan ($2,600 DraftKings, $4,700 FanDuel): Houston Texans (+10) at Denver Broncos (45.5 total)
If you’re not interested in the ceiling that guys like Andrews and Waller provide you with, maybe you’d prefer the savings you could get by going with Brevin Jordan. Jordan isn’t the flashiest option in DFS, but he’s a solid price with a solid role.
Jordan ran a route on 24-of-41 Davis Mills dropbacks last week and saw two targets, hauling in one catch for 5 yards. O.J. Howard stole the spotlight for Texans’ tight ends last week, hauling in 2 catches for 38 yards and 2 touchdowns. However, Howard only ran 16 routes last week, proving that Jordan is the lead man in this tight-end room.
If one of these touchdowns went in Jordan’s direction, he’d likely be $1,000 more expensive considering his underlying metrics. As big underdogs, it’s likely that Houston is forced to throw the ball a lot. At such a cheap price on a team that is going to be chucking it, he is solid salary relief.
It’s notable that Jordan missed practice on Thursday with an ankle injury.
He currently leads one of our Pro Models on DraftKings.
Other Notable NFL DFS Tight End Picks
Albert Okwuegbunam ($3,700 DraftKings, $5,100 FanDuel): Denver Broncos (-10) vs. Houston Texans (45.5 total)
Despite a bland 8.3 DraftKings points in the season opener, Albert Okwuegbunam’s Week 1 performance was promising.
He saw six targets and played on 67% of the snaps. Albert O saw a lot of his snaps in the slot and was consistently looked at by Russell Wilson. For $3,700, we’re getting a pretty solid price on an involved tight end in a high-octane offense.
Okwuegbunam’s matchup isn’t anything special this week, but it isn’t necessarily difficult by any means. Albert O makes a lot of sense in all formats this week.
Juwan Johnson ($2,500 DraftKings, $4,500 FanDuel): New Orleans Saints (+2.5) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (44.5 total)
Juwan Johnson is definitely a guy to keep an eye on this week. He ran 32 pass routes for the Saints in Week 1, right up there with Michael Thomas, Jarvis Landry, and Chris Olave. Johnson also made a couple of big plays, with catches of 26 and 17 yards. He had five targets overall and played on a comfortable 74% of the snaps.
There isn’t much to love with this matchup against the Buccaneers, but at such a cheap price, he doesn’t need much work to pay off.
Johnson is a great, low-owned target this week.
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