Bengals tight end Hayden Hurst is one of the top guys at the position to target on the waiver wire for Week 6 — and for good reason. He’s scored in back-to-back games and he’s also seeing a fair amount of targets.
Our experts dish below on what they think of Hurst both this week and going forward.
Sean Koerner: I have been banging the table for Hurst all offseason and in-season. We are finally seeing him come into his own in this offense as he is essentially a more talented version of C.J. Uzomah.
With teams opting to go with two-high safeties against the Bengals to take away downfield throws, it will be critical for Joe Burrow to target Hurst underneath.
Hurst will be a TE1/2 option going forward. In weeks where either Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins or Tyler Boyd miss time, he might even enter the mid/low-end TE1 discussion.
Chris Raybon: Hurst will be on the TE1 borderline for the rest of the season. His route participation rate percentage tops out in the mid-80s, which is strong for the position.
He is also being targeted on 16% of his routes — not great, but more than No. 3 WR Boyd (11%).
Hurst is on the fringe in Week 6 due to a tough matchup against a Saints defense tied for both the fifth-fewest receptions (3.4) and receiving yards (31.2) per game to TEs.
Samantha Previte: Hurst had yet another nice fantasy day for during the Bengals’ 19-17 primetime loss to the Ravens on Sunday Night Football. Hurst, Baltimore’s first-round pick in 2018, caught 6-of-7 targets for a team-high 53 yards and a touchdown.
His role may have been expanded with Higgins clearly activated to be a decoy and nothing more. That said, it is his second game in a row finding the end zone and third game this year with at least seven targets.
I like Hurst as a Week 6 streamer for T.J. Hockenson or Darren Waller managers.
