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Fantasy football impact: Recent trends and stories to know

By Matthew Catalano

FOXBOROUGH, MA - DECEMBER 2: Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins against the New England Patriots during third quarter action at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Dec. 02, 2018. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MA - DECEMBER 2: Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins against the New England Patriots during third quarter action at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Dec. 02, 2018. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
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Darren Waller
OAKLAND, CA – SEPTEMBER 09: Tight end Darren Waller #83 of the Oakland Raiders tries to avoid the tackle of cornerback Isaac Yiadom #26 of the Denver Broncos in the first quarter of the game at RingCentral Coliseum on September 9, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Darren Waller Can Blossom in the Blackhole

Coming into the 2019 regular season, not many considered that Oakland’s tight end Darren Waller would be a fantasy-relevant option for managers.

In Week 1 against the Denver Broncos, Waller gained recognition from football critics by gathering seven catches on eight targets for 70 yards. He backed it up with another six grabs on seven attempts thrown his way for 63 yards in Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Waller wound up finishing as TE7 and TE8 respectively during those two games against some of Oakland’s most bitter rivals.

He’s definitely making a name for himself as he is currently third for receptions (6.5/gm), sixth in receiving yards (66.5/gm), and first in yards after the catch (5.8/tgt) among all active tight ends.

That’s not bad considering that he’s competing against the likes of Travis Kelce and George Kittle within that department throughout the league. The tight end pool is very shallow as we all know, and it can be tricky finding a dependable go-to option on your fantasy team.

Waller is looking more and more like a tight end we can trust to have a solid day for the most part in fantasy. Much like the Redskins in our Nation’s Capital, the Raiders will be playing from behind in a lot of games this year. It will force Derek Carr to throw the ball and as we all know, a tight end can be a quarterback’s best friend.

Even though Waller has yet to find the end zone this year, he’s still putting up respectable numbers for fantasy managers right now. At this very moment, Waller is TE8 while averaging around 13.2 fantasy points per game in the process in full PPR formats.

For now, Waller is rostered on almost 84% of fantasy teams. This may be the last chance you will have at acquiring Waller before his demand goes up too much. If he is available in your league, and you are in need of some consistency at tight end, then Waller is a great option to go to.

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