What tight end strength of schedule means for rest of fantasy football season

Hello fantasy footballers! Today we will look at running back strength of schedule. Hopefully these numbers will help us make some trades or pickups that might help us navigate the second half of the season. And with some fantasy playoffs starting as early as Week 13, we are now into the second half of the fantasy season.

We’ll be using ESPN’s strength of schedule numbers, which stat guru Mike Clay posted on Tuesday and you can see here. I’ve chosen the adjusted to schedule fantasy points allowed column for this endeavor. The numbers are fairly straight forward, as the higher the number, the harder the schedule for our signal callers. I’ve also compiled SOS using Football Outsider’s DVOA against the pass to give us another perspective. For this post we’ll look at tight ends.

I’m going to look at the average between the adjusted fantasy points allowed and the overall pass defense DVOA as a way to show the teams whose schedules are considered easy or tough based on both metrics. Not the most scientific way of looking at it probably, but I like to see correlation where I can.

Easy TE schedules

Austin Hooper, Browns

Schedule: @CIN, LV, BYE, HOU, PHI, @JAX, @TEN, BAL, @NYG, @NYJ

Hooper isn’t going to blow the doors off of defenses, no matter how bad they are, but he has been getting enough work to feel good about his PPR upside. And when you factor in a better than average strength of schedule, he should be able to keep a fairly consistent floor and not be too expensive in a trade.

George Kittle, 49ers

Schedule: @NE, @SEA, GB, @NO, BYE, @LAR, BUF, WSH, @DAL, @ARI

You won’t be getting Kittle for cheap in any trades, but their strength of schedule gives more reason to pay up for the stud if the team he’s rostered isn’t doing well. A solid tight end this season is going to help a lot of teams get into the playoffs and if you can find a way to land Kittle, I say go for it.

Dallas Goedert, Eagles

Schedule: NYG, DAL, BYE, @NYG, @CLE, SEA, @GB, NO, @ARI ,@DAL

Zach Ertz is out 4-6 weeks and Goedert looks like he will return in Week 10. Neither of those things are good. Maybe Richard Rodgers does something while filling in, but he’s unlikely to be consistent. Zach Ertz has looked washed up to start the season and is now going to be out longer than anticipated. It would be nice to have Goedert back sooner, but he should be fully healed after the bye and a big part of the offense out of the gate.

Tough TE schedules

Jonnu Smith, Titans

Schedule: PIT, @CIN, CHI, IND, @BAL, @IND, CLE, @JAX, DET, @GB

Smith has been really good and like both of these players, you don’t want to give either of these guys up for peanuts. But, Smith does have a tough schedule and is in an offense where he will need to keep finding the end zone to keep up his good overall numbers, as he’s averaging 43 receiving yards per game, but has had two games with two touchdowns each.

Darren Waller, Raiders

Schedule: TB, @CLE, @LAC, DEN, KC, @ATL, @NYJ, IND, LAC, MIA

Waller is one of the few tight ends who sees enough targets to always have a good PPR floor. He’s a player you should covet, but just think of sending Waller and another piece a team needs for George Kittle. Waller’s tough schedule combined with Kittle’s easy schedule makes for a swap I want to make.