A lot of words were published in Week 1 and during the preseason about how deep the tight end position was now compared to the last several years. Well, the results from Week 1 suggest otherwise. Luckily, there is a lot more football to be played, so it's not time to panic for most of these players just yet.

But that doesn't provide consolation to managers who started and suffered through the performances of Dalton Kincaid, Mark Andrews, Evan Engram, Dallas Goedert and others. On top of players underperforming, we also had big names like Jake Ferguson and David Njoku go down with injuries. While early reports suggest Ferguson may be ok, Njoku is likely dealing with a high ankle sprain, which is typically a multi-week absence.

It wasn't all bad though, as Kyle Pitts found the end zone in the first week of the season after being stuck in Arthur Smith purgatory the last two years, and Isaiah Likely emerged as a second Baltimore tight end worth rostering and potentially starting.

We still expect the big names to rebound, so don't expect huge shifts for the bigger names after just one week. How will things shake out in Week 2?

We're sticking with Sam LaPorta and Travis Kelce as our top tight ends. While the Chiefs have more weapons this year, I also don't think Kelce receiving just four targets will be a weekly occurrence. Look for Mahomes to make sure his top target receives a bigger portion of the targets pie against the Bengals this week.

The Rams did a nice job of really limiting LaPorta and Amon-Ra St. Brown on Sunday Night Football, but again, expect this to course-correct against the Buccaneers in what should be a pretty high-scoring game.

Isaiah Likely isn't just the best tight end waiver wire pickup, he's the best overall waiver wire pickup. Reports of Mark Andrews' demise are very premature, but even as Andrews' production picks up, Likely isn't going away. With a lack of dangerous wide receiver options behind Zay Flowers, it only makes sense for the Ravens to deploy plenty of 2-TE sets. Don't expect 100+ yards every week, but Likely should see enough usage to be a weekly option, especially against weaker defenses.

Tucker Kraft is another interesting name to keep tabs on. His status was murky heading into Week 1 as he was dealing with a minor injury, but not only did he suit up against the Eagles in Brazil, but he out-snapped Luke Musgrave 68-14. That's a staggering difference that we can't ignore. Unfortunately, Jordan Love went down with an MCL sprain and will be out at least a few weeks, so Kraft won't be startable yet. But if he continues to see that much action, he could be viable once Love returns.

Taysom Hill didn't see a ton of usage in Week 1, but the Saints also beat the Panthers in a 47-10 blowout, and his skillset wasn't really needed. He rushed five times for 35 yards and caught one pass for one yard. Next up for the Saints are the Cowboys, and they'll likely need more offensive firepower. Hill's ability to throw, run, and catch, makes him as good a bet as any to add some extra punch to the offense in Week 2.

Cade Otten also has sleeper potential for the Buccaneers for similar reasons. Tampa blew out the Commanders, and Otten only hauled in one reception for five yards on just two targets. But the Bucs travel to Detroit next, and this one should be much more of a back and forth contest with Tampa potentially playing from behind. That game script should lend itself to expanded usage for Otten.

The biggest injury was to David Njoku who is believed to have suffered a high ankle sprain. While not every high ankle sprain is the same, it's often a multi-week absence. This injury doesn't directly correlate with a tight end pickup, though, as we don't expect Jordan Akins to be a major factor.

Jake Ferguson went down with a knee injury in the same game against the Browns. Dak Prescott commented that he thinks the Cowboys dodged a major bullet, but if he does miss time, Luke Schoonmaker is the next man up, but again, we don't see him being a major factor.