Streaming Tight Ends
We had another ehh week from our favorite position in fantasy football. Our top two performers, Dallas Goedert and Darren Waller, were both the product of finding the endzone twice; neither player hit the 40-yard mark. Colts’ rookie Tyler Warren continues to crush his draft ADP as he gets scores from the ground and amasses 70 yards receiving. Kyle Pitts continues to be involved enough to be relevant, but still leaves owners frustrated with what could have been. Jake Ferguson finds himself firmly planted in the starable category for me in fantasy coming off a seven-reception day. The remainder of the top 12 finishers on the week have you rolling your eyes with names like Tommy Tremble, Hunter Long, Mitchell Evans, and AJ Barner. This game we love can be head-scratching at times.
Players I like this week who are most likely to be taken are Sam LaPorta. He has been a huge disappointment, considering his draft cost, but he plays the Bengals this week, and they can’t stop a parked car. I threw out Oronde Gadsden II last week, not so much as a play nut as someone to keep on the radar. It would be hard to start him in a 10 or 8-team league, but he jumped from 28% to 50% route participation last week and has one of the juicier matchups with the Commanders this week. And if we get Jayden Daniels back for the Commanders, it could garner a lot more points. I’ve never been one to suggest Cade Otton, but in a game where Chris Godwin may need some time to get back to speed and the Seahawks could lock down Egbuka, Otton may find himself in for some decent work to a team that can give it up to the position. Mason Taylor, the rookie for the Jets, is being worked into the offense more, and they really need more pass catchers outside of Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall. Perhaps it won’t be this week, but stability is coming soon for him. Dalton Kincaid should be seeing regression soon, but with a solid matchup this week, who am I to say to avoid him. But really, his usage in relation to his output shouldn’t hold up, but then again, we said all offseason that it wouldn’t for James Cook either. Brenton Strange seems to be a crush of mine this year, but until Brian Thomas Jr. figures things out, I’m in! Zach Ertz gets the nod of approval if Jayden comes back this week, so keep your eyes peeled.
And now, here are a handful of my favorite deeper streaming options for you all to consider this week:
Darren Waller
Phins Up
Darren Waller scored twice in his debut in Week 4. It was his first time playing since returning from retirement and being traded to the Dolphins this summer, and his first score since 2023. He saw four targets, 2 of which were in the red zone, on only ten routes run with a 35% route participation. This obviously isn’t the ideal usage we would want, but a lot of that was it being his first game back. When we also add the vacated targets that will now be available due to Tyreek Hill‘s devastating injury on Monday Night Football. Does Waller truly possess the ability to hit the number we saw out of Jonnu Smith? Most likely not, but either way, if he has high usage near the red zone and he continues to grow his role in the offense, he’ll be as good as any streamer out there. I’ll go back to him in this matchup this week after losing Tyreek.
Theo Johnson
Dart throw on Dart’s throws
Theo Johnson will be another tight end who has an ownership of less than 10 percent going into Week 5. We are also using this player to attack the loss of a star wide receiver, and in the case of the Giants, it’s Malik Nabers going down with an ACL injury. Coming off a big win, we saw a different offense with Jaxson Dart at the helm, which didn’t provide us with many opportunities through the air. Better days are ahead. Darius Slayton has proved to plug in well for Nabers last year, but Johnson pulled in a 24% target share on Sunday. Johnson is a second-year player out of Penn State, and as a ridiculous athletic profile, which is where you want to place your bets when going after upside tight ends, and Johnson may be as good as any going forward. The Giants draw the Saints this week, and although they played hard against the Bills, I imagine the Giants’ defense should give the offense plenty of opportunities to move the ball.
Jake Tonges
Last Man Standing
Now we find ourselves at the bottom of the barrel, and we have one more deep play for this week. Jake Tonges of the 49ers has found himself at the top of the pecking order for San Fransico with everyone seemingly injured. George Kittle is still on IR, Ricky Pearsall is banged up, Jauan Jennings left the game more injured than he started, and Brock Purdy is back behind center, and he’s itching to throw to the tight end. Tonges finds himself in a divisional matchup against the Rams, who are in the bottom third against the position. It’s a divisional battle with a solid over/under, and Purdy is running out of people to target. Christian McCaffrey won’t sustain this usage pace.
Let me know what you think about these players! Any questions? Please find me on Twitter/X @TooMuch_Brian.
Feature image by Michael Packard (@CollectingPack on Twitter) / Photography by Rich Graessle / Icon Sportswire