Steaming Pile of Streaming Tight Ends
Finding a fill-in at the tight-end position is never fun, but here in this article, we’ll dive into a few options if you have Travis Kelce on bye, have just lost Dallas Goedert to an arm fracture, or maybe you can’t find that great streaming option.
We’re coming off a week where we saw 14 total touchdowns go to the tight-end position, including Cade Otton and Cole Kmet, who scored twice. We had another couple of head-scratching players in the top this week; Jake Ferguson continues to see work with Dak Prescott wielding the ball in Dallas, and Jonnu Smith remains relevant; both players finished with 91 yards and a score. Taysom Hill and the Saints continue to come marching in with his top-six finishes in four straight weeks. Despite the workload being all over the place in the passing, receiving, and rushing game, he has to be considered a must-start each week until the status quo changes.
Cole Kmet has been a favorite for the Bears fill-in quarterback Tyson Bagent. Kmet is rosterd in most leagues at this point but is set for another great game this week. Trey McBride is set for his best situation now that Kyler Murray is stepping back into the starting role. The Cardinals have been a top targeter of the tightened position all season, and Kyler has no problem pushing the ball downfield. Both the Falcons’ tight ends have a good chance at seeing the endzone this week, the trouble is, do you pick the correct one? Kyle Pitts continues to lead all tight ends in air yards, and we are finally seeing the Falcons push the ball downfield now that Taylor Heinicke is behind center. Logan Thomas also sits in a good matchup against the Seahawks and has a quarterback throwing more than anyone else in the league. Dalton Kincaid has been a force in the Bills offense since Dawson Knox was injured. He’s become an immediate beneficiary of Knox leaving, as he’s seen seven or more targets in each of the last three games.
Dalton Schultz
As we approached the season, Dalton Schultz seemed to be all but dead for fantasy purposes. After the Cowboys passed on re-signing him, Shultz found himself signing a one-year deal to look after the young calves down in Houston. Fast forward to Week 10, and Schultz is coming off a TE1 performance and has caught a touchdown in four of his last five games. This week, the Texans find themselves matched up against the Bengals in one of the higher point totals for this week’s game at 47 points. Rookie quarterback CJ Stroud is coming off a game in which he threw five touchdowns, so asking him to go into a shootout with Joe Burrow should put Schultz in a solid position to walk away with a score, leading the charge as the best matchup for tight ends in the league. Over the last five weeks, we’ve seen the Texans hold a top-six target share to the position, leaving plenty of opportunities for the rookie Stroud and Schultz to link up.
Hunter Henry
It’s been a long time since Hunter Henry‘s opening two weeks, where he finished as the TE1 and 2. Now he’s coming off his best week since Week 2, and he’s in a position to make another splash in an early morning matchup across the way in the land of mustard and pretzels. This game is believed to be around 43 total points, but the Colts are the only team to score 20 points or more in every game this year, and they’ve hit the over in six of nine games, leaving a good chance that the Colts can push the Patriots closer to a shoot out style game. The Colts have quietly been holding wide receivers to a modest performance, which could leave Henry in a solid position to see production, especially near the red zone. Wide receiver Devante Parker logged a limited practice this Wednesday, which would take away one more target for quarterback Mac Jones. Henry has also seen his snap count kick back over the 80% threshold, which he was not over in the prior four weeks.
Gerald Everett
Folks, I think I have a problem. I cannot stop playing Gerald Everett! He’s coming off a week where he finished with two catches and only 18 yards. As disappointing as an outing as it was, especially on a week where 14 touchdowns went to the tight end position, Everett had a rough matchup against the Jets, and quarterback Justin Herbert struggled to get the ball to anyone not named Keenan Allen. This week’s battle between the Lions and Chargers has the highest point total and should prove to be an offensive battle. The Lions have a tough run defense but struggle with containing receivers and quarterbacks. They are at the bottom of the league when defending the tight-end position. Herbert continues to look for reliable pass catchers, having lost Mike Williams and now Joshua Palmer. Everett offers a huge target in the endzone and has been another security blanket on third downs. The Chargers have already seen six touchdowns to the position this season, and Everett is a good bet to cash in another this week.
Let me know what you think about these players! Any questions? Please find me on Twitter/X @TooMuch_Brian.
Photos by Rene Böhmer/Unsplash and Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire | Featured Image by Ethan Kaplan (@DJFreddie10 on Twitter and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)