High-Cost Option: Travis Kelce $5,200
As mentioned earlier with Alex Smith as a potential GPP play this week, Our projections have him with a 39% chance to score a touchdown this week, fourth-highest among all tight ends.
Gates will likely be more of a tournament option at the tight end position given the uncertainties surrounding his return to the offense, but could pay off handsomely for those willing to pay $4,200 for the potential touchdown reward.
Low-Cost Option: Delanie Walker $3,800
Coming out of their bye week, Delanie Walker and Kendall Wright are two Tennessee players worth targeting this week. Marcus Mariota has targeted his tight ends 23.7% of the time so far this season and will likely continue to do so in Week 5 against a Buffalo defense yielding the sixth-most fantasy points to tight ends.
Walker picked up an extra week of recovery from his wrist injury last week, and will look to build off Week 3's 10-target performance. The Bills have shown they are vulnerable against the pass, and Walker has provided Mariota a routine safety blanket so far this season. Walker will likely provide more volume potential than touchdown potential, as we chase that volume upside for a Titans squad that may have to rely on the pass as three-point home underdogs.
GPP Wildcard: Owen Daniels $2,700
We keep saying it over and over because it's such a weekly mismatch, but you need to keep targeting tight ends against the Raiders. They've allowed top-two fantasy performances every single week so far this season, and Owen Daniels has everything going for him to keep the trend alive.
Daniels has had back to back weeks now scoring a touchdown, as he's leading the Denver Broncos in red zone targets. The Broncos offense is seeing the red zone a woeful 2.5 trips per game (fifth-worst) but will likely have a good shot to improve that number against an Oakland defense that's allowing an NFL-most 4.5 red zone scoring attempts per game to their opponents.
Daniels has successfully kept Virgil Green at bay -- Daniels is seeing 88.2% of the team's offensive snaps compared to Green's 37.3% -- despite his limited production outside of the red zone. It may cause you to wince relying on Daniels this week, but his price is so low. Given the Raiders' recent performance, I'll roll the dice in a few lineups.