It’s been a while since I’ve covered fantasy football strategy, so today, I’m going to teach you a few tips on how to find a sleeper tight end in your fantasy football league.

Now let’s face it. Tight ends are really hit or miss, unless you end up with an elite one from your draft. This year’s crop of tight ends seemed to be a bit deeper, but many fantasy owners are usually in need of one off the waiver wire when their main guy goes on bye or gets injured.

So how do you go about finding that ultimate tight end plug in?

1. Sort by fantasy points to date.

Sure, this can’t get any more obvious. But when you get to your waiver wire page of available tight end choices, sort by total current season fantasy points when checking your options.

Tight ends are not likely to “come out of nowhere” after a few weeks into the season, so scan closely the names that have already posted good production to date. Pick out the top 10-15 names from the sorted list.

2. Now, pick out the starters (or the go-to tight end) for each team out of the list.

Unless the tight end is Bubba Franks from years-past, you don’t want a real life backup TE option as your starter in a fantasy league.

From the list of tight ends you’ve made, pick out the starters on each of the offenses. A great tool to reference is CBSSports.com’s Depth Charts.

Very rarely, the top TE option on a team will be the main blocking TE. If this is the case, identify the “receiving” TE and pick out the name. Most times, if a NFL team’s top TE option is a blocking TE, the offense won’t be focused on passing to the position.

3. With your updated list, go to NFL.com and sort NFL teams by total rushing carries. Eliminate any TEs from the top 5 teams that lead this category.

NFL teams that carry the football plenty tend to gravitate away from the TE acting as a receiver. More likely than not, the TE will be utilized for blocking for the running game.

There are some exceptions to this rule (Vernon Davis comes to mind), so utilize the top 5-7 teams in carries at your discretion. The important thing here is to know which TEs are on run-first offenses, which could ultimately limit targets.

4. Now, look up the “sacks allowed” statistic on NFL.com.

This statistic is more of a wildcard. If an offensive line gives up a high amount of sacks to their quarterback, the TE could potentially lose targets due to blocking frequency.

However, if the team sends the TE out to receive, it could greatly increase the TE’s value, as the TE often acts as a check-down option. Look at each TE’s receptions to date and try to access how the TE has been utilized to date.

5. If picking up a bye week fill-in, take a look at your final list and pick the most favorable matchup.

If you’re only looking for a one-week fix at the position, matchups are key. Scan down your list for the most favorable matchups.

Lists widely available around the internet include fantasy points given up to tight ends, receivers, and passing yards surrendered. Utilize all three of these lists to access a TE’s matchup.

As we go into Week 3 of the fantasy football season, you have probably already used your leagues’ waiver wire or free agent list to fill a need for your team. Personally, I’ve been scanning both lists frequently for a potential replacement for a struggling Greg Olsen (CHI, TE).

Is it possible to be too active in your fantasy football league? The scary answer is…YES, it is.

A fantasy owner needs to consider what approach to take with regard to the frequency of player add/drops early on in the season. If you add and drop for a Week 1 or Week 2 recommended pickup, you could end up cutting a player that could produce tremendous value for you later on in the year.

On the flip side, if you are completely inactive on the waiver and free agent wire over the first two weeks, you could miss out on big-time gems that could win a fantasy season.

Rashard Mendenhall (PIT, RB) was dropped by some fantasy owners after his terrible Week 1 performance. However, he responded nicely in Week 2, and now there’s even some talk he could take over in the starting role for the Steelers.

Fantasy owners can determine their aggressiveness with add/drops early on in the season. For me, I try to take a more conservative approach towards early season add/drops.

If there is an injury to one of my starters, or if I am about 75% sure that the player I’m adding will continue to produce at a high level, I’ll drop the player who is least likely to produce on the balance of season to complete the transaction.

Most players who put up great one-week stats but don’t have a defined role end up staying on my waiver wire (or end up claimed by someone else).

How often do you find yourself adding and dropping players before Week 3 of the fantasy season?