{"id":1006,"date":"2026-10-11T11:29:43","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T11:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mastersfantasyfootballleagues.com\/blog\/?p=1006"},"modified":"2026-10-11T11:33:32","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T11:33:32","slug":"tank-dell-waiver-wire-the-forgotten-dart-throw-for-your-bench","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mastersfantasyfootballleagues.com\/blog\/redraft-strategy\/tank-dell-waiver-wire-the-forgotten-dart-throw-for-your-bench\/","title":{"rendered":"Tank Dell Waiver Wire: The Forgotten Dart Throw for Your Bench"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Last week I wrote about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mastersfantasyfootballleagues.com\/blog\/redraft-strategy\/tyreek-hill-waiver-wire-should-you-stash-the-cheetah\/\">Tyreek Hill as the ultimate dart throw for the end of your bench<\/a>. This week I&#8217;ve got another one, and he&#8217;s a player a lot of fantasy managers have simply forgotten about.<\/p>\n<p>His name is <strong>Tank Dell<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>Tank Dell Fantasy Outlook: The Short Version<\/h2>\n<p>Dell is a roll of the dice. I&#8217;m not saying he will amount to anything this season. But like Hill, he costs you nothing. I just checked, and Dell is available for free in <strong>47% of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mastersfantasyfootballleagues.com\/\">Masters leagues<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>If you have a spot at the end of your bench, he&#8217;s a worthwhile add. And if he doesn&#8217;t work out, you just drop him. No harm done.<\/p>\n<h2>Remember Tank Dell&#8217;s Rookie Run?<\/h2>\n<p>If you&#8217;ve forgotten how good Dell was, here&#8217;s a reminder. As a rookie in 2023, with C.J. Stroud at quarterback and Nico Collins lining up opposite him, Dell went on an epic hot stretch from Week 9 to Week 12:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Week 9 vs. Tampa Bay:<\/strong> 6 catches, 114 yards, 2 TDs, including the game-winner from Stroud with 10 seconds left<\/li>\n<li><strong>Week 10 at Cincinnati:<\/strong> 6 catches, 56 yards, 1 TD on 14 targets<\/li>\n<li><strong>Week 11 vs. Arizona:<\/strong> 8 catches, 149 yards, 1 TD<\/li>\n<li><strong>Week 12 vs. Jacksonville:<\/strong> 5 catches, 50 yards, 1 TD<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That&#8217;s <strong>25 catches, 369 yards and 5 touchdowns in four games<\/strong>, or about 92 yards per game with a score in every one of them. He was a weekly fantasy starter, and as a rookie that season he set Texans rookie records for touchdown catches and receiving yards in a game.<\/p>\n<h2>Tank Dell&#8217;s Injury History<\/h2>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the hard part. Dell&#8217;s rookie season ended early too. In Week 13 against Denver, right after that hot stretch, he broke his leg (a fractured fibula) and his season was over.<\/p>\n<p>Then came the one nobody who saw it will forget. On December 21, 2024, in Kansas City, Dell made a great 30-yard touchdown catch from Stroud in the back of the end zone and collided with his own teammate. The result was horrific: a dislocated left knee, a torn ACL, torn MCL and LCL, and meniscus damage. He was carted off and spent the night in the hospital. He needed multiple surgeries and missed the entire 2025 season.<\/p>\n<p>An injury like that has been called career threatening. Honestly, he may never come back as the same player, and he may never come back at all.<\/p>\n<h2>Tank Dell Injury Update: Where Things Stand<\/h2>\n<p>Here&#8217;s why I&#8217;m writing this now. Dell is on injured reserve, but the Texans opened his 21-day practice window this week. He was limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday, then did not practice Friday and was ruled out for Sunday&#8217;s game against the Titans. His next chance to play is <strong>Week 6 against the Jaguars on October 18<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>So he&#8217;s close, but not there yet. A missed practice after a couple of limited days is a reminder that his body still has to prove it can handle the work.<\/p>\n<h2>Why Tank Dell Is Worth the Risk<\/h2>\n<p>If Dell is even close to his rookie self, he&#8217;s playing in an offense with Stroud and Collins, the same setup that made him a weekly fantasy starter in 2023. There&#8217;s room for another receiver in Houston, and a player who is free on your waiver wire could turn into a starter by November. That&#8217;s the kind of profile that wins fantasy playoffs.<\/p>\n<h2>The Case Against Adding Tank Dell<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The knee:<\/strong> This was not a normal ACL tear. Nobody knows how much speed and burst he&#8217;ll have.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Two seasons cut short, then a lost year:<\/strong> His rookie year and 2024 both ended early, then he missed all of 2025.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ramp-up time:<\/strong> Even when he&#8217;s activated, expect a limited role at first.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Not ready yet:<\/strong> He was just ruled out for Week 5.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That&#8217;s why this is a <strong>bench stash only<\/strong>. Don&#8217;t drop a starter or a useful bench piece for him.<\/p>\n<h2>How to Play Tank Dell in Fantasy Football<\/h2>\n<p>Add him if you have a truly open spot at the end of your bench. Then watch for him to be activated off injured reserve. If he gets activated and starts seeing targets, you&#8217;ve got a real asset. If his practice window closes without a return, drop him without guilt.<\/p>\n<h2>Tyreek Hill or Tank Dell?<\/h2>\n<p>If I had to choose between the two, I would take Hill. But I wouldn&#8217;t be shocked if Dell turned out to be the better pick. Hill still doesn&#8217;t have a team. Dell already has a team, an offense he knows, and a quarterback he&#8217;s had big games with. If you have room, there&#8217;s nothing wrong with holding both.<\/p>\n<h2>The Bottom Line on Tank Dell<\/h2>\n<p>Dell might be nothing. After an injury like his, that&#8217;s a real possibility. But he&#8217;s free, he&#8217;s back at practice, and four games in his rookie year showed what he can do. Dart throws are fun for exactly that reason.<\/p>\n<h2>Tank Dell Fantasy FAQ<\/h2>\n<h3>Should I pick up Tank Dell in fantasy football?<\/h3>\n<p>Only if you have an open spot at the end of your bench. Dell is a free dart throw who is back at practice, but he is coming off a career-threatening knee injury, so don&#8217;t drop a starter or useful bench player for him.<\/p>\n<h3>When will Tank Dell return from injury?<\/h3>\n<p>The Texans opened Dell&#8217;s 21-day practice window, but he was ruled out for Week 5 against the Titans. His next chance to play is Week 6 against the Jaguars on October 18.<\/p>\n<h3>What was Tank Dell&#8217;s injury?<\/h3>\n<p>On December 21, 2024, Dell suffered a dislocated left knee, a torn ACL, torn MCL and LCL, and meniscus damage after colliding with a teammate on a touchdown catch in Kansas City. He needed multiple surgeries and missed the entire 2025 season.<\/p>\n<h3>Is Tank Dell or Tyreek Hill the better stash?<\/h3>\n<p>Hill gets the slight edge, but Dell has an advantage Hill doesn&#8217;t: he already has a team, an offense he knows, and a quarterback in C.J. Stroud he&#8217;s had big games with. If you have the roster room, holding both is fine.<\/p>\n<h2>Play High-Stakes Redraft Fantasy Football at Masters<\/h2>\n<p>If you want a league where roster calls like this one really matter, check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mastersfantasyfootballleagues.com\/high_stakes.php\">high-stakes redraft fantasy football leagues<\/a>. Masters Fantasy Football Leagues has been running paid money leagues since 2008.<\/p>\n<p>For more waiver wire pickups and strategy articles, visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mastersfantasyfootballleagues.com\/REDRAFT-STRATEGY-URL\/\">Redraft Strategy section<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@graph\": [\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Article\",\n      \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.mastersfantasyfootballleagues.com\/tank-dell-fantasy-waiver-wire-stash\/#article\",\n      \"headline\": \"Tank Dell Fantasy Outlook: The Waiver Wire Dart Throw Everyone Forgot\",\n      \"description\": \"Tank Dell is free in 47% of Masters leagues and back at practice. 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Tank Dell Fantasy Outlook: The Short Version Dell is a roll of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1007,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","slim_seo":{"title":"Tank Dell Waiver Wire: Is He Worth a Stash?","description":"Tank Dell is close to returning from a brutal knee injury and is free in 47% of Masters leagues. Here's why he's worth a last-bench-spot dart throw."},"_slim_seo_primary_term_category":10,"_slim_seo_primary_term_post_tag":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-redraft-strategy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mastersfantasyfootballleagues.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mastersfantasyfootballleagues.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mastersfantasyfootballleagues.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mastersfantasyfootballleagues.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mastersfantasyfootballleagues.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1006"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.mastersfantasyfootballleagues.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1010,"href":"https:\/\/www.mastersfantasyfootballleagues.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006\/revisions\/1010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mastersfantasyfootballleagues.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mastersfantasyfootballleagues.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mastersfantasyfootballleagues.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mastersfantasyfootballleagues.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}