Greg Olsen has arguably been the most consistent tight end in the league. He has scored 6 TDs in 11 games, and has over 50 receiving yards in 9 games. Olsen posted a line of 8-134-2 in week 3 against the Saints. It’s no secret that the Saints have struggled in all facets of the defensive end, including covering the tight end. The following are stat lines from tight ends in the Saints last 3 contests.
• Ryan Griffin: 4-72-1
• Jordan Reed: 3-29-2
• Delanie Walker: 7-95-2
In all, the Saints have allowed a league worst 30 passing TDs, including 9 to tight ends. The panthers have scored 62.5% of their TDs through the air. Olsen is 5th in the league, and leads tight ends in red zone targets with 18. This matchup was flexed to a 4:25 start time and will be nationally televised as FOX games of the week. In 4 nationally televised games this season, Olsen is averaging 17.6 DK points per game. I’m looking for the Cam to Greg connection to stay strong and for the Panthers to roll on to 12-0
Cam’s greatest asset is his consistency. That consistency comes from his ability to produce points in the run and pass game. As noted in his previous write up he’s toting the rock on average 9 times a game for around 40 yards. Newton has 7 rushing scores this season, and gets a large share of all red zone carries. That makes him a very safe bet to score in some capacity anytime the Panthers enter the red zone. With the second highest implied point total on the slate, and Cam getting a large share of red zone opportunity, he’s a safe bet to reach value this week.
The Vikings have quietly led themselves to the top of the NFC north with a record of 8-3. In the last 3 weeks, we’ve seen Stefon Diggs’ production take a hit, as Kyle Rudolph’s has risen. I figured his 6-106-1 line 2 weeks ago was a fluke, but he followed that with a 7-53-0 line last week. Over that span he has been Teddy Bridgewater’s top target with 19. You could call this a must win for Seattle, who is battling for a wild card spot. A big way teams have exposed this ‘hawks this season is with the tight end. With Richard Sherman on the outside, and a strong pass rush, quick hitting routes over the middle have been successful in the last 3 weeks.
This one was much too easy. With Gronk out this week Scott Chandler becomes a plug and play at the tight end. Since the Pats played in the night game after salaries were released, DK was unable to adjust his price for injury. After Gronk went down, Chandler hauled in 5 catches for 58 yards and a score on an impressive 11 targets. Danny Amendola is set to return from a knee injury, but outside Amendola and Brandon LaFell, Scott Chandler should be a top option for Tom Brady. Chandler is priced below tight ends Vernon Davis, Brent Celek, Jared Cook, and Lance Kendricks. If you’re punting at tight end, and not rostering Scott Chandler, you’re doing in wrong.
The loss of Tony Romo for the season sealed the fate for an underwhelming season for the Cowboys. Witten started strong in week 1 with a 2 score game, but he has failed to get in the end zone since. In fact, he only has 8 red zone targets on the season. As a team, the Cowboys are 24th in the league with only 2.7 red zone scoring attempts per game. Washington is 7th best in the league in covering the tight end, only allowing 46 catches and 2 TDs. Witten is averaging 10.6 DK points on the year, but this is skewed by his 26 point performance week 1. Since week 3, Witten has only exceeded 10 DK points 3 times. The price is much too high for the recent production from Jason Witten.
