Despite a disappointing season, the loss of tight end Jimmy Graham is a big blow to fantasy football owners. I know he failed to live up to lowered expectations on the run-first Seattle Seahawks (not all his fault), but he likely cost you a pick in the first four rounds which means you probably don't have a better option. As you look to replace your starting tight end on the waiver wire, perhaps you should first focus on Seattle's depth chart.
Luke Wilson will step into the starting tight end role for the Seahawks and he could prove to be a usable option in a pinch, according to ESPN Fantasy Football Insider Mike Clay.
"Jimmy Graham is done for the season, which means Seattle will need to turn back to Luke Wilson at tight end," Clay wrote. "Wilson ran a pass route on at least 65 percent of Seattle's pass plays in nine games last season. In those games, he enjoyed a 15 percent target share (or 3.8 targets per game). Wilson was fantasy's No. 7 tight end during six of those nine games that occurred during the regular season, but he achieved that with a handful of big plays. Three of his 12 receptions were touchdowns during the regular-season stretch. Assuming he enjoys a similar workload the rest of the way, Wilson will be a boom/bust TE2..."
No, Wilson isn't going to make a dramatic impact like other waiver wire pickups this year (Gary Barnidge, Chris Johnson, Stefon Diggs, etc.). But, realistically, there aren't a ton of attractive alternatives. Kyle Rudolph has been a disappointment this year outside of his last two games, Owen Daniels is as streaky as they come and Richard Rodgers hasn't topped 45 receiving yards in a game all season. If there are better options than those three guys available in your league than congratulations. Otherwise, all these guys belong in that same boom or bust TE2 category.
