Fantasy football TE waiver pickups, Week 5
Jonnu Smith (1 percent rostered)
Currently the PPR TE11, Jonnu Smith is outpacing his teammate and fellow tight end Kyle Pitts. Smith has one less target than Kyle Pitts, who was labeled as a generational prospect when the Falcons selected him with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft but has failed to live up to the hype.
Smith has earned six or more targets in three straight games after receiving zero in Week 1 and recorded season highs in receptions (6), targets (8), and yards (95) in Week 4 against the Jaguars in London. While many have questioned for years why Pitts hasn’t been funneled targets on a team lacking receiving options, head coach Arthur Smith traded for a tight end this offseason in [Jonnu] Smith who is familiar with the offensive system and tendencies dating back to their days together in Tennessee with the Titans, where [Jonnu] Smith enjoyed the best seasons of his career to date.
While it will continue to drive fantasy managers who roster Pitts crazy, said managers could benefit from adding Smith to their roster and seeing how the situation plays out. If Smith can continue to command targets at this rate, he should have no issues hitting back-end TE1 value.
Logan Thomas (6 percent rostered)
Despite barely being drafted in fantasy football circles this summer, Logan Thomas has only three and five fantasy points less than high-profile fantasy tight ends such as New York Giants Darren Waller and San Francisco 49ers George Kittle. He has scored 7.3 or more PPR points in every game he’s played in thus far, a feat only four other tight ends can say they’ve reached thus far (Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, Sam LaPorta, and Evan Engram) while providing managers with a reasonable floor to work with for a tight end position that doesn’t have many reliable options.
Second-year signal-caller Sam Howell and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy have shown a propensity to favor the tight end position through four weeks thus far. The Commanders are currently tied for seventh in the NFL with the Colts in tight end targets (33), with Thomas leading the way for the team’s position group (14) despite missing a game.
You could do much worse than starting Logan Thomas at your tight end position and he makes for a worthwhile addition to any fantasy manager who didn’t end up with one of Kelce, Andrews, LaPorta, Engram, or T.J. Hockenson.