Steaming Pile of Streaming Tight Ends
Congratulations to those who find themselves in Week 1 of the fantasy playoffs! If you’re reading this article because you’re in a rough spot despite making the cut, we’ll do our best to get you the tight-end edge to help you advance.
Last week, second-tier tight ends like David Njoku and Evan Engram came away with multi-touchdown days in Week 14. This week, they continue to be solid plays along with new household names like Sam LaPorta, Trey McBride, and Isaiah Likely, who has plugged in wonderfully for the injured Mark Andrews. Okay, so they’re household names in homes in which fantasy football plays a prominent role in daily conversations, but I digress.
Cole Kmet has seen at least seven targets in every game but one since Week 8, and even in a poor matchup against the Cleveland Browns, he should see optimal work. Jake Ferguson has been yet another magical tight end that Dak Prescott has helped support as a bona fide weekly starter. The biggest fear is with rookie standout Dalton Kincaid, who is currently dealing with a shoulder injury that needs to be monitored. More concerning is that teammate Dawson Knox has returned from IR and has already begun to cut into his work. Tyler Conklin is a deep dart throw that could be in for a solid game script with the Dolphins team contemplating life without Tyreek Hill in Week 15; he’s also the beneficiary of a Zach Wilson who is suddenly playing, as he says, “fearless” football.
Most of these guys are already owned, so here are some of my favorite deeper plays this week that are more widely available.
Logan Thomas
Commander-in-Chief
Last week, we saw Isaiah Likely have a solid day against the Los Angeles Rams, so we’re headed back to the City of Angels for more tight end production. The Washington Commanders are coming off their bye week, so preparation shouldn’t be an issue. Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy has shown his love for the tight end position in his scheme, so despite the lack of production over Logan Thomas‘s last couple of games, he should be in store for a solid week. So far this season, the Rams are the third-best matchup for the tight end position in adjusted points allowed. The Commanders are number one in passing plays per game this season, so in a game in which Vegas has the Rams to win by nearly a touchdown, Sam Howell will find himself throwing more than ever to keep up.
Tucker Kraft
Krafty business in Green Bay
A promising start appears when digging deeper into a thin free agent pool: Green Bay Packers rookie Tucker Kraft is filling in for fellow rookie Luke Musgrave, who hit IR a few weeks back. Before Musgrave’s injury, he saw a decent target share, but the most impressive part was how deep those targets were. Kraft is coming off the best game of his career with four catches for 64 yards. He also gets a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that has allowed the fourth most passes to the tight end position this season. In a game that’s projected to be close, the Packers are looking at an implied team total of around 22 points. We’ve seen Kraft get some red zone work in the limited snaps he’s played as the starter; he’ll have a better-than-average chance of crossing the stripe in Week 15.
Chigoziem Okonkwo
The Triumphant Titan
We didn’t quite strike lightning last week with Chigoziem Okonkwo, but the signs continue to be there, and the matchup is hard to ignore. Over the last two weeks, he’s been targeted on 21 percent of his routes run, resulting in six targets over that time. He also has 45 or more yards in his last three games. Any hopes that second-year receiver Treylon Burks would increase his target share in the coming weeks appear to be vanishing. The Titans and Okonkwo are favored in a matchup against the Texans, who are a Bottom 3 opponent when it comes to stopping the tight end position.
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)