Week 3 at Atlanta Falcons
Ben Watson caught three of his five targets for 19 yards in the Saints’ Week 2 win over the Browns. Watson should have scored a touchdown in the first half but Drew Brees shockingly overthrew him on a goal-line pass that sailed over the tight end’s outstretched hand. Ranked as our No. 18 TE for Week 3, Watson isn’t the best streaming option for Sunday’s matchup with the Falcons.
Week 2 vs. Cleveland Browns
Ben Watson caught all four of his targets for 44 yards in the Saints’ Week 1 loss to the Buccaneers. Three of Watson’s four catches came in the second half as the Saints found themselves in a shocking shootout with Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Bucs. Ranked as our No. 13 TE for Week 2, Watson is a nice streaming option against the Browns, who ranked dead last versus fantasy tight ends a year ago.
Week 1 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Saints moved on this offseason from Coby Fleener and brought back familiar face Ben Watson, who signed a one-year deal in March. Watson will benefit from playing with Drew Brees and Sean Payton and is the TE1 in New Orleans. He will have some streaming appeal throughout the season but he’s our No. 13 ranked TE for Week 1. There should be better options.
Fantasy Upside
One year after tearing his ACL and missing all of the 2016 season, Ben Watson was targeted 79 times last year in Baltimore, catching 61 passes for 522 yards and 4 touchdowns. He's heading back to New Orleans, where he spent the 2013-2015 seasons, posting a career-best 74-825-6 line in 2015 before signing with the Ravens. (He finished as fantasy's TE8 that year, which was the highest ranking of his career.) Now that Coby Fleener is gone, Watson is atop the depth chart in New Orleans and clearly still has some juice in his 37-year-old legs. He has some appeal playing in Sean Payton's offense with future Hall of Famer Drew Brees at quarterback. Watson is in a great spot.
Fantasy Downside
Watson did wind up in a great spot in New Orleans and he's likely to start for the Saints. That said, Michael Thomas remains the team's No. 1 option in a passing game that also features dynamic running back Alvin Kamara, deep threat Ted Ginn, and newcomer Cameron Meredith. There might not be enough targets to go around to make Watson a weekly fantasy contributor.
2018 Bottom Line
Watson checks in as our No. 25 ranked TE for 2018. He will have some streaming appeal but there are better options if you're looking for a starting tight end. There are too many mouths to feed in the Saints' offense and Watson will likely go undrafted in 10- and 12-team leagues. There's no need to draft Watson, who should be available on the waiver wire if you do want to stream him at certain points during the season.
Week 17 vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Ben Watson had a modest 40 yards on 5 catches last week against the Colts. Despite being 37 years old, Watson has still managed to catch 54 passes and 4 touchdowns this year, including 2 touchdowns in his last four games.
This week, Watson faces a Bengals defense that has suffered devastating injuries over the second half of the season, and has allowed a touchdown to the tight end position in each of the last three weeks. Watson should be a solid streaming option for fantasy owners needing help at the position.
Week 16 vs. Indianapolis Colts
Ben Watson caught 4 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown last week against the Browns. Cleveland has struggled against the tight end all season, and the Ravens took advantage. Watson leads the Ravens in receptions and he has a touchdown in two of his last three games.
This week, Watson has upside against a Colts defense that has been below average against the tight end position this year, allowing 7 touchdowns to the position. Watson isn’t a high-upside option for fantasy owners, but his volume of targets (third on the team) should make him a reasonable streaming option in most leagues.
Week 15 at Cleveland Browns
Ben Watson was only targeted once last week against the Steelers and failed to catch a pass. Watson has been hard to trust in recent weeks, with only 7 receptions, 86 yards, and a touchdown combined over his last four games.
That being said, Watson faces the Browns this week. Only the Giants have allowed more fantasy points to the tight end position this season, so Watson has a great chance to be a solid streaming option in deep fantasy leagues.
Week 14 at Pittsburgh Steelers
Ben Watson had a touchdown last week, but he’s been woefully inconsistent this season and he faces a Steelers team giving up the third-fewest points to the tight end position this year. This matchup is likely to be a hard-fought game between two teams that hate each other, and it’s hard to trust Watson to put up reliable enough numbers to consider starting him.
Week 13 vs. Detroit Lions
Ben Watson struggled for the second straight week, gaining only 29 yards on 3 receptions. However, he remains the most reliable outlet for Joe Flacco and has upside in any given week due to his volume of targets in most weeks.
The Lions have been below-average against the tight end this season, allowing 5 touchdowns to the position. They allowed 2 touchdowns to Kyle Rudolph a week ago, and Watson should be able to find room to maneuver against this defense. He’s still a streaming option, at best, but he’s not a terrible option, particularly in PPR formats, if you need a tight end this week
Week 12 vs. Houston Texans
Ben Watson only caught 1 pass for 33 yards last week against the Packers, but he remains second on the team with 50 targets so far this season, and he should remain an active part of the passing game moving forward.
Baltimore has struggled to produce consistent fantasy points this season, but they face a Texans defense allowing the sixth-most fantasy points per game to the tight end position, and they allowed a pair of touchdowns to the tight end position against Arizona last week. Watson isn’t a must-start by any means, but if you’re in need of a quality streaming option, the matchup makes Watson interesting.
