Streaming Tight Ends
With Week 12 in the books, we’ll take a look at some players who helped us and hurt us before diving into Week 13. Hunter Henry led the way as the top tight end. With 115 yards, 7 catches, and a touchdown, he led the way, scoring eight more points than the number two guy. Colston Loveland remains involved in the offense. He may not have enough to be looked at as consistent, but in the right matchups, he’ll garner points. Colby Parkinson finishes in the top 5 this week after finding the end zone for the third week in a row. Brenton Strange looks to be back to speed after the stint on IR. Trevor Lawrence might cap his upside when it comes to touchdowns, but 5 catches and nearly a hundred yards make him a great pivot option. Theo Johnson continues to be a threat on offense and hauled in 77 yards this week. Brock Bowers has not been the weekly stud that we drafted in August. The firing of Chip Kelly could open up more production for this offense, but maybe not. Geno Smith has been the crux of their problems. Juwan Johnson continues to be involved in a capped offense, but is involved nonetheless. Dallas Goedert has been outside of the top 18 every week since the Eagles’ bye week. They haven’t fully fixed their offense, but Goedert has been eliminated as the first read.
Let’s look at some of the non-streaming matchups we have this week. Juwan Johnson falls into my top 12 again this week. I love his matchup with the Dolphins coming off their bye week. The Colts are a bottom matchup for tight ends, so Dalton Shultz should find himself as a top performer no matter who is behind center. I’ll continue to chase Theo Johnson points, as we should have Jaxson Dart back, and they also have a favorable matchup. Can Colby Parkinson keep up this pace and make it four weeks in a row with a score? Harold Fannin has been a pivotal piece for the Browns this season. Shedeur Sanders earned the starting job and should only become more comfortable tossing the rock. Fannin remains an intriguing piece. Darren Waller has been given a practice window this week. It’s a long shot, but if he plays, I’m willing to toss him back onto my starting roster. The four best quarterback matchups this week are Patrick Mahomes vs. Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen vs. Jalen Hurts, and Jalen Hurts. When they are set up, the points trickle down, so despite some of the tight end matchups, I like their guys to have big days.
And now, here are a handful of my favorite deeper streaming options for you all to consider this week:
Colby Parkinson
13 personnel, don’t fail me now
My favorite play, hands down, is Mark Andrews this week, but we can’t use him in this article. We have to dive deeper, look at trends, and as much as you may not like hearing it, we’re taking a guess. Colby Parkinson has seen 11 targets over his last three games. Now, granted, it isn’t what we’d hope for, but he also hasn’t been below 56% of snaps since their bye week. We’ve talked in earlier weeks about the increase in 13 personnel for the Rams, which is what leads us to have four different tight ends on the team popping up on the box score. Parkinson has been an added threat in the end zone for Devante Adams to compete with. The Rams have an implied team total of four touchdowns, giving him plenty of opportunity to pull one in. I’ll have Parkinson as a fringe TE1 this week.
Dawson Knox
Do we really want to try this?
We’re attacking the Bills on this one. They are looking for some solid offense after dropping two of their last three games. Josh Allen cannot do it all himself. Maybe every now and then he can, but he needs his skill players to make a big splash for the offense. Enter Dawson Knox. With Dalton Kincaid most likely missing another game, we are going to look at Allen’s big man for a score. The Bills play the Steelers, who rank among the top three defenses for tight end matchups. This game already has a 25-point Vegas total, giving him opportunities for a score. Over the last 5 games, the Bills have been throwing over 23% of the targets to the tight end position. Knox has an incredibly low floor; he hasn’t had more than 37 yards in a game, but this week I think he finds the end zone, and I’m taking my shot.
Gunnar Helm
Rookie says, What?
We scraped the bottom of the barrel, and this is what popped up. Rookie Gunnar Helm! In a class that is shaping up pretty well with the likes of Tyler Warren, Colston Loveland, and Orande Gadsden, Gunnar Helm has flown under the radar. He comes in with decent draft capital, and Chig Okonkwo seems to be leaving in free agency, hence the growing involvement in Helm. Now, the glaring issue is that Cam Ward is tossing the rock, and this offense has shown little to inspire fantasy plays, but I think we may find success this week. The Titans play the Jaguars this week in a divisional battle. Looking at the schedule-adjusted points given up, the Jaguars are giving up the third-most points to the position. Vegas has this game as decently close, and the Titans will need to keep getting creative to move the ball. The fact that Ward can also toss a 50-yard bomb at any moment also gives an easy one-play out when putting in Helm. He is by far a deep shot, but it’s the direction I am looking this week.
Let me know what you think about these players! Any questions? Please find me on Twitter/X @TooMuch_Brian.
Photo by John Byrum | Adapted by Parker McDonald (@CarbonFoxGFX on Twitter/X)