T.J. Hockenson’s NFL debut in Week 1 couldn’t have gone much better. The rookie Lions tight end hauled in six catches for 131 yards and a touchdown. His 25.1 fantasy points was the second-highest fantasy total among tight ends.
Ravens tight end Mark Andrews, coming off a solid season opener against the lowly Dolphins, showed that was no fluke in Week 2. He hauled in eight catches for 112 yards and a score. His 25.2 fantasy points were the most of any tight end that week.
Geriatric Panthers tight end Greg Olsen followed up a strong Week 2 with an even better Week 3. He raked in six receptions for 75 yards and two touchdowns. At 25.5 fantasy points, he ranked as the second-best tight end option last week.
Do you know what all of these examples have in common? No silly, not that they’re all tight ends. That they all came against the Cardinals.
Those top tights averaged 25.3 a game in this matchup. Arizona is allowing a total of 28.6 fantasy points a week to opposing tight ends, according to Pro Football Focus. To put that number in perspective, the second-worst team defending the tight end is the Buccaneers. And they allow an average of 18.3 per game.
A team that is more than 10 points worse defending a position than any other team is an astounding gap. They are giving up an average of 116 yards and two touchdowns to tight ends. On average. They give up 17.7 points more than the league average.
Hopefully you get the point at this point. Go to the schedule, find which team is playing the Cardinals this week, then use that tight end if possible.
This week, that opportunity goes to Seattle’s Will Dissly. Based on his strong start to the season, and this covert Cardinals trend, Dissly was picked up at furious rates this week. But it is possible, though not likely, he is still available. If you grabbed him as a stash, you probably want to unstash him for a week. And not just based on the Cardinals’ futility.
Dissly is playing a much bigger role in the Seahawks’ offense. His targets have increased each week this season — from two to five to seven. And he has a highly active role near the goal line. He already has three touchdowns this season. If you’re worried about TD regression, it looks more schematic than chance — he had two TDs on just 14 targets in his rookie season last year.
Also playing in his favor is a Seattle defense that is a shred of its former self. The Seahawks gave up 418 yards passing at home to Andy Dalton in a narrow Week 1 win over the Bengals. Last week, they surrendered 33 points to the Saints with Teddy Bridgewater at QB.
In other words, it looks like they’re going to have to outscore teams to win. More scoring means more fantasy points.