There will be waiver wire activity at tight end this week, with an unusual number of injuries at the position. David Njoku, Trey McBride, T.J. Hockenson and Evan Engram aren’t playing, while Sam LaPorta and George Kittle are trying to work their way through injuries.
I think this makes Brenton Strange a possibility. It should be pointed out that he plays for Jacksonville, which is never a good sign (typically best to make waiver claims on players you’ve heard of). But Doug Pederson historically has been a tight end friendly coach. Only two tight ends in NFL history have caught more than 110 passes in a season, and he’s coached both of them (Zach Ertz, Evan Engram).
Strange has done just a bit the last two weeks, with 3 catches for 65 yards against Cleveland and 2 catches for 12 yards, with a touchdown, in the blowout loss at Buffalo. Not great, but I think that makes him a possibility at a lean position.
Let’s also take a look at Elijah Higgins. Again, we need to point out that he plays for Arizona, which isn’t a great indicator. He was a late-round pick in 2023 who was released by the Dolphins (also not a great indicator).
But Higgins seems to have some pass-catching ability. He caught 104 passes in his last two seasons at Stanford. Higgins caught a touchdown late in the Rams game, and he’s caught all 4 passes thrown his way this year.
Looking at the end of the 2023 season, Higgins also caught 6 of the last 7 passes thrown to him. Over the last seven weeks, 41 tight ends have seen more than 10 targets, and two have higher catch rates than Higgins.
I’m not suggesting Higgins will step in and be a poor man’s Trey McBride. But with the tight end looking pretty lean right now, I think Higgins can be considered as a Week 4 plug-in possibility. The Cardinals have a favorable matchup at home (against a leaky Washington defense).
| TIGHT END CATCH PERCENTAGES (last 7 weeks) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tgt | No | Yds | TD | Pct |
| Durham Smythe, Mia. | 15 | 15 | 172 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Zach Ertz, Was. | 13 | 12 | 128 | 0 | 92.3% |
| Elijah Higgins, Ari. | 11 | 10 | 114 | 1 | 90.9% |
| Daniel Bellinger, NYG | 11 | 10 | 95 | 0 | 90.9% |
| T.J. Hockenson, Min. | 11 | 10 | 121 | 0 | 90.9% |
| Tyler Higbee, LAR | 15 | 13 | 128 | 0 | 86.7% |
| Brock Bowers, L.V. | 21 | 18 | 197 | 0 | 85.7% |
| Chigoziem Okonkwo, Ten. | 17 | 14 | 169 | 1 | 82.4% |
| Tucker Kraft, G.B. | 21 | 17 | 196 | 1 | 81.0% |
| Isaiah Likely, Balt. | 15 | 12 | 199 | 4 | 80.0% |
| Trey McBride, Ari. | 32 | 25 | 215 | 1 | 78.1% |
| Evan Engram, Jac. | 40 | 30 | 262 | 1 | 75.0% |
| Cole Kmet, Chi. | 16 | 12 | 171 | 1 | 75.0% |
| Austin Hooper, L.V.-N.E. | 12 | 9 | 80 | 0 | 75.0% |
| Colby Parkinson, Sea.-LAR | 12 | 9 | 69 | 1 | 75.0% |
| Noah Fant, Sea. | 11 | 8 | 75 | 0 | 72.7% |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | 18 | 13 | 88 | 0 | 72.2% |
| Jake Ferguson, Dall. | 28 | 20 | 191 | 0 | 71.4% |
| Sam LaPorta, Det. | 28 | 20 | 187 | 4 | 71.4% |
| David Njoku, Cle. | 31 | 22 | 282 | 2 | 71.0% |
| Juwan Johnson, N.O. | 24 | 17 | 216 | 3 | 70.8% |
| Dalton Schultz, Hou. | 27 | 19 | 180 | 0 | 70.4% |
| Darren Waller, NYG | 23 | 16 | 168 | 0 | 69.6% |
| Tommy Tremble, Car. | 13 | 9 | 108 | 0 | 69.2% |
| Tanner Hudson, Cin. | 16 | 11 | 103 | 0 | 68.8% |
| Tyler Conklin, NYJ | 22 | 15 | 115 | 0 | 68.2% |
| George Kittle, S.F. | 18 | 12 | 209 | 0 | 66.7% |
| Logan Thomas, Was. | 15 | 10 | 72 | 1 | 66.7% |
| Kylen Granson, Ind. | 12 | 8 | 104 | 0 | 66.7% |
| Gerald Everett, LAC-Chi. | 26 | 17 | 118 | 0 | 65.4% |
| Johnny Mundt, Min. | 17 | 11 | 123 | 1 | 64.7% |
| Lucas Krull, Den. | 11 | 7 | 60 | 1 | 63.6% |
| Dalton Kincaid, Buff. | 19 | 12 | 178 | 0 | 63.2% |
| Dallas Goedert, Phil. | 27 | 17 | 152 | 1 | 63.0% |
| Mike Gesicki, N.E.-Cin. | 13 | 8 | 62 | 1 | 61.5% |
| Jonnu Smith, Atl.-Mia. | 15 | 9 | 122 | 1 | 60.0% |
| Cade Otton, T.B. | 12 | 7 | 91 | 0 | 58.3% |
| Kyle Pitts, Atl. | 16 | 9 | 118 | 1 | 56.3% |
| Mo Alie-Cox, Ind. | 11 | 6 | 57 | 1 | 54.5% |
| Noah Gray, K.C. | 12 | 6 | 59 | 0 | 50.0% |
| Greg Dulcich, Den. | 11 | 5 | 28 | 0 | 45.5% |
—Ian Allan