Streaming Tight Ends
We had a wild National Tight End Day this year. Not the biggest showing we’ve ever seen, but the options ran deep, so hopefully the position didn’t tank your week. The two island games showed off two typical studs in Travis Kelce and Tucker Kraft. Dallas Goedert walked away with multiple scores to save his 28-yard outing. Harold Fannin continues to show intriguing signs of greatness as he moves forward in his career. Of course, the holidays founder made an appearance in the end zone, while his backup, Tonges, did as well. We saw Orande Gadsden II continue to break out last week, which, unfortunately, may be his last appearance here, as his ownership skyrocketed. Cade Otton came up short for us last week. About 6 inches short as he was downed on the half-yard line, leaving us upset having streamed him.
This week, I see a big bounce-back game for Tyler Warren. He draws the second-best matchup in the Steelers this week, leaving him plenty of shots at bringing us points. At Zach Ertz‘s age, the ups and downs will be there, but Jayden Daniels should be back behind center, and Terry McLaurin may miss time, putting Ertz in an ideal game with the Seahawks. The Falcons have been so inconsistent over the last month, but one piece that has continued to see work is Kyle Pitts. Continue to play him with confidence. Brock Bowers is back, and fantasy owners are excited to start him up this week with a promising matchup as well.
And now, here are a handful of my favorite deeper streaming options for you all to consider this week:
Coleston Loveland
Play him if you can bear it
This top 10 rookie has not panned out as his fellow first-round counterpart, Tyler Warren. Being buried in a team with very different talent, the biggest obstacle has been fellow tight end Cole Kmet, the thorn in his side. Coleston Loveland plugged in well last week, but the offense as a whole was lackluster. Enter the tune-up game with the Bengals this week. There is no team worse than Cincinnati at guarding the tight end. Ben Johnson has talked about getting his rookie more involved, and this week’s point total gives him a great shot at finding the end zone.
AJ Barner
You’ll need a 12th man for this one
Here we go, into the depths of the waiver wire and bringing out players no one was drafting in August. AJ Barner finds himself third in team targets and is quietly having himself a decent streaming season. He is still matchup-dependent, but his high touchdown upside keeps him relevant. The Seahawks have an implied team total over 25 points and are playing the Commanders, who are bottom 5 in defense. AJ finds the end zone and gets you through to another week.
Jonnu Smith
Arthur Smith, don’t hurt us
If choosing the right team’s tight end to play isn’t hard enough, when it comes to the Steelers, we have three to choose from. Jonnu Smith draws the play this week, and he plays the league points leader in the Colts. This team is going to have to pull out all the stops to keep up with Indianapolis’s explosive offense. To make matters even better, the Colts are in the bottom three when defending the position, allowing an extra 3 points above expectation to the tight end. Jonnu is seeing the second-highest target share over the last 5 weeks. It’s not the most impressive line, but we know OC Arthur Smith loves to go to Jonnu in key situations and near the goal line.
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 John Byrum / Icon Sportswire