A few weeks ago on the Yahoo Fantasy Football Forecast, I joked with Matt Harmon that if Andy Behrens could brand himself as the “kickers analyst,” I would rebrand to a tight end specialist.
After this article, the joke might manifest itself in reality, because we’re talking about unheralded tight ends!
Yes, the young guys like Brock Bowers and Trey McBride are flourishing this year, but who can we turn to outside of the top plays? When it comes to streaming options, older veterans are on the rise.
Let’s discuss who we can trust as we move forward terribly interesting performances from week 11.
Taysom Hill, Saints of New Orleans
Let’s start by talking about everyone’s favorite tight end, who isn’t Real a tight end. As I mentioned in my embarrassing promotion of Marquez Valdes-Scantling in recent weeks, the Saints are essentially without reliable big pass catchers in the absence of Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. This creates opportunities for non-traditional receivers to become targets in the Saints offense.
When we think about receiving options, Hill usually doesn’t come to mind. Despite being labeled as a tight end, his value comes from his rushing production. Make no mistake, his production on the floor this week was phenomenal. Hill had seven carries for 138 yards and three rushing touchdowns. Moreover, he saw no fewer than ten targets, eight of which he caught over a distance of fifty meters.
Pulse check: Is Hill a must-start in all formats?
The Saints took advantage of a struggling Browns defense, but even prior to this game, despite the lack of pass catchers, they remained committed to maintaining a balanced attack. With Olave and Shaheed out, someone has to step up and Hill is taking on that role. With the Saints entering a bye week, Hill won’t be useful for Week 12. But if he returns, he remains a solid TE1 for the remainder of the season.
We have to get comfortable with the fact that no matter how many players are absent from the Saints offense, Hill will continue to be a boom-bust game. Last week, in what should have been a favorable game against Atlanta, Hill scored just six fantasy points. When you look at the tight end landscape, those six points are still worth the risk.
Heading into this week, only four tight ends were averaging 10 or more fantasy points per game and the only player above that 10 fantasy point average was George Kittle. The difference between a bust game for Hill and a typical game for a borderline TE1 is literally just one point. Hill’s flowering weeks are worth the risk.
Jonnu Smith, Miami Dolphins
Heading into the season, there was some optimism about Smith’s potential at tight end for the Dolphins. Since Mike McDaniel took over as head coach of the Dolphins, it has been difficult to find consistent fantasy points from a tight spot in Miami. The system simply requires a certain type of tight end to thrive. We hoped Smith was the exact one type of the tight end, McDaniel wanted to use in creative ways.
It took some time to get there, and it’s still not incredibly reliable, but Smith does provide overall TE1 upside each week. However, there is a big difference between Smith and a player like Taysom Hill. While the difference between a down week for Hill and a low-end TE1 is minimal, Smith’s down weeks could hit rock bottom.
The reason is pretty clear: Smith plays in an offense so full of talent that even Jaylen Waddle has trouble standing out.
Pulse check: Is Smith’s volatile production worth the risk?
While Smith’s targets have been a bit more reliable over the past month, touchdowns remain his main path to fantasy relevance. Looking at the Dolphins’ upcoming schedule, it’s not particularly favorable. Smith’s two strong performances — his only double-digit performances of the year — came in layup games against Indianapolis and Las Vegas. With the upcoming schedule being average at best, Smith remains a streaming option, but not a tight end we can push into must-start territory. He’s a great bye week filler and Hail Mary option.
Zach Ertz, Washington commanders
I may be uniquely qualified to talk about Ertz, having streamed him all season at the Scott Fish Bowl, where the rosters are extremely deep and the tight ends have premium scores. While streaming Ertz was much easier in a tight, end-friendly format, the same logic applies to all competitions.
Ertz has been a solid streaming option because, unlike players like Cole Kmet, where you try to get through the week with a few touchdowns, Ertz is not touchdown dependent and can deliver a TE1 performance based on volume.
You have to analyze through games a bit to really appreciate Ertz as a streaming option. Ertz was TE15 in average points per game, averaging 7.3 fantasy points per game on the week. However, that average includes some odd weeks: Week 5, where he finished TE38, and Week 9, where he finished TE47.
Barring extreme outliers, the majority of his fantasy weeks ranged from TE8 to TE17. In other words, you won’t get a top spot, but you will at least get a mid-range option, and sometimes that’s all you can ask for.
Pulse check: How comfortable should we be with Ertz as a streaming option?
Streaming Ertz requires you to put aside any preconceptions you may have about starting a 34-year-old tight end. In our eyes, Ertz walks “on one leg” and his glory days are behind him. It’s hard to understand why Washington relies on him and refuses to move on from flashy young Ben Sinnott. The reality is that Cliff Kingsbury loves Ertz, so he’s not going anywhere.
The great thing about Ertz is that it doesn’t take a good matchup to get usable production from him. He has succeeded against teams like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Chicago. It’s immediately available on waivers (33% rostered) and a solid weekly streaming option.
Hunter Henry, New England
I know it doesn’t seem like it, but the New England tight end position is actually one of the more intriguing streaming options available. Henry is the clear TE1 for the Patriots, but is affected by the presence of Austin Hooper. Hooper’s contributions are not fantasy relevant, but his production exceeds the potential ceiling for Henry.
Henry’s overall numbers are a bit lopsided as he only had one strong performance earlier in the season with Jacoby Brissett on a generally atrocious floor, rarely reaching even three fantasy points. Since the offense turned to Drake Maye in Week 6, Henry has averaged 8.7 fantasy points per game in half PPR, enough to make him TE12 and a very realistic streaming option.
Pulse check: Are we overlooking Henry’s true benefits?
Henry doesn’t have the ceiling of a Jonnu Smith — a player who can get the touchdowns and volume to put up a total TE1 week — but there is less volatility in Henry’s production. Barring a random dud here and there, you can plug Henry into your lineup and be assured of getting usable production. It offers safety in an often frighteningly cramped landscape.
Juwan Johnson, Saints of New Orleans
Hill isn’t the only Saints tight end worth discussing this week. Let’s talk about one of them factual tight ends, Juwan Johnson. Johnson caught all three of his targets for 30 yards and a touchdown this week – his first touchdown since Week 1.
The problem with the Saints’ tight end position is that, even with the exception of Hill, they don’t rely on just one tight end position. Johnson will have to deal with Foster Moreau. Statistically, if there was just one in the mix, they would probably be a stream-worthy option. However, with both in the rotation, each typically sees between two and four targets per game.
Pulse check: Is there a scenario where I would actually recommend you start Johnson?
Due to the lack of volume, Johnson requires a touchdown to be fantasy relevant. The touchdowns are indeed happening – between them, Johnson and Moreau have five this season. However, these touchdowns are too sporadic to rely on and again spread between two different players. There will be a few friendlies following the bye week, but despite our hopes that Johnson could one day become fantasy relevant, the reality is that even if the number of opportunities increases due to injuries, the volume simply doesn’t exist to force him into a reliable fantasy option.