As fantasy football managers hope to punch their golden ticket and advance into the playoffs, recent news on Monday has potentially shaken up lineups. Tight end Tyler Higbee has been ruled out of Monday Night Football against the Arizona Cardinals. In his place, Kendall Blanton has now become a potential life preserver to keep fantasy seasons afloat. With that said, is he worth the risk for those needing to pivot given this last-second news? What can we expect from him or any of the Los Angeles Rams TEs for fantasy?
Tyler Higbee has been ruled out of Monday Night Football
On Monday afternoon, Lindsey Thiry of ESPN reported that the Rams were placing Higbee and CB Jalen Ramsey on the reserve/COVID-19 list. They have both been ruled out for Monday Night Football against the Cardinals.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Higbee had a positive test but followed it with two negative tests. If his PCR test comes back negative tonight, he would be able to come off the reserve/COVID-19 list on Tuesday and rejoin the team. Regardless of whether this was a false positive, it does not change the fact that Higbee will miss Week 14. He joins Ramsey, Darrell Henderson Jr., Rob Havenstein, and Donte Deayon on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Kendall Blanton joins the list of Rams TEs who could be fantasy dart throws
If you were relying on Higbee for your Monday Night Miracle to get into the playoffs, this is a complete red-alert scenario. Sure, he hasn’t been the home run we expected, but he has enough decent games to warrant weekly consideration. In Week 13, Higbee had a solid outing, catching 5 of 6 passes for 48 yards. But overall, he sits as the TE18. And it’s not as if he has been splitting reps with another TE as he did last year with Gerald Everett.
Blanton came into the week as the Rams’ No. 2 TE, but he hasn’t exactly seen much work. He has played on just 38 offensive snaps and has 3 targets on the season, 2 of which came in Week 13 when he caught 1 pass for 6 yards. Of his 38 snaps, 17 came on passing downs.
Blanton is an undrafted rookie out of Missouri (2019), and the Rams added him in Week 7. He has been primarily used as a blocker given his size (6’6″, 262 pounds) but should easily set a new career-high for utilization in a difficult matchup against Arizona.
Brycen Hopkins and practice squad call-up Jared Pinkney should see increased work in what will likely turn into a platoon role. But which TE brings more upside for fantasy managers who need a desperation play?
Is Blanton the Rams TE to play in fantasy?
Let’s be honest — none of these options are great. The first thing you need to do is look and see if Zach Ertz is still available. If he is, plug him into your lineup and say “thank you,” as Ertz is the only “safe” TE play tonight.
For the Rams, I look more towards Hopkins as the potential passing-down tight end. Blanton’s usage and skill set make me believe he will maintain a similar role while the passing utilization goes towards Hopkins and even Pinkney.
Pinkney was a solid producer at Vanderbilt and had a breakout season in 2018, going for 774 yards and 7 TDs on 50 receptions. But he did not test well at the combine and went undrafted in 2020. In mid-October, he joined the Rams’ practice squad and hasn’t made his regular-season debut in the NFL.
Hopkins has the talent and likely deserves more reps than he has seen as a second-year tight end. As a senior in 2019 at Purdue, he caught 61 passes for 830 yards and 7 touchdowns. A former basketball player, Hopkins has the measurables you like to see at 6’4″, 245 pounds. Furthermore, he ran a 4.66 40-yard dash at the combine.
Like all other rookies, Hopkins did not have a preseason last year and sat behind both Higbee and Everett, which stunted his development and transition into the NFL. He has played on just 11 snaps this year but could be a surprise contributor. If you need a desperation play, he might be the best option available in what is a difficult matchup against the No. 10 fantasy defense vs. TEs.