3 Fantasy Football Tight End Streaming Options for Week 11

The tight end position in 2019 features distinct tiers. It's headlined by the elite trio of Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Zach Ertz. Behind them is a young trio of promising options who many gamers drafted expecting them to take a leap forward this year in the form of O.J. Howard. Evan Engram, and Hunter Henry.

Things haven't gone according to plan with some breakout candidates, but Darren Waller and Mark Andrews have helped add some talent to the position. Still, tight end continues to leave something to be desired. Whether you entered the year planning to stream or have been disappointed by the option you drafted, I've got you covered.

Below are three widely available options for streamers for Week 10.

O.J. Howard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Yahoo Ownership: 40%

In the premium matchup for a tight end, O.J. Howard did what he was supposed to do and turned in his best line of the year. He was targeted 7 times, and he hauled in 4 receptions for 47 receiving yards and 1 touchdown. The surface stats are solid, but there's more to like.

All four of his receptions were considered successful, resulting in a 100 percent Receiving Success Rate. Furthermore, Jameis Winston attempted six passes in the red zone against the Arizona Cardinals, directed two of them Chris Godwin's way and three to Howard. Looking at the play-by-play data at Pro-Football-Reference reveals the sixth pass that was unaccounted for drew an intentional grounding call, and Winston also threw a pass in the red zone to Mike Evans that resulted in a defensive pass interference call.

Howard's usage in the red zone could have simply been the product of the club being aware of Arizona's shortcomings defending tight ends, but it's not unreasonable to speculate it could bode well for Howard's rest-of-season outlook in the tight end wasteland.

But wait, there's more! John Daigle of Rotoworld tweeted out some promising nuggets regarding Howard's playing time and route running percentage.

Howard's talent level is significantly higher than the standard streamer, and his exceptional efficiency in his first two seasons helped fuel optimism of the breakout entering 2019. The biggest hindrance to his production this season has been his usage, and while his uptick in volume last week certainly could have been matchup driven, he's worth holding (or streaming against the New Orleans Saints) to see if his stellar play in Week 10 helps him carve out a more defined and prominent role behind the uber-talented duo of Evans and Godwin.

He's on a higher percentage of rosters than the tight ends I've pointed out in this space to date. However, tight end stinks, he's available in more than half of leagues, and he at least has streamer appeal in what could be a shootout -- with the potential for longterm staying power and every-week starter upside. The Saints at Buccaneers has an over/under total of 50 points, per FanDuel Sportsbook, and Tampa Bay's implied total is a decent 22.50 points.

Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles

Yahoo Ownership: 17%

The Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots are both coming off of a Week 10 bye to square off in Philadelphia this week. Prior to the bye for each of them, the Patriots suffered a blowout 17-point loss in Baltimore.

Entering Week 10, the Ravens used the 12-personnel grouping (one running back, two tight ends, and two receivers) at the fourth-highest frequency, according to Sharp Football Stats. The Ravens use some other multi-tight end personnel groupings, too, but I note their 12-personnel usage specifically because the Eagles use that personnel grouping the most at 35 percent.

In Baltimore's Week 9 squash job of the Patriots, tight ends Hayden Hurst, Nick Boyle, and Mark Andrews combined to haul in 9 of 10 targets for 63 receiving yards and 1 touchdown. Could the Eagles be equipped to give New England's elite defense some trouble with their supremely talented duo of tight ends, Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert? Perhaps.

Speculation aside, Goedert's talented and playing well -- relatively speaking for his position, anyway. He's caught three or more passes in four straight games, and he's been targeted 22 times over that four-game stretch. His per-game averages in his last four games are 5.5 targets, 4.0 receptions, and 44.5 receiving yards, and he's reeled in a pair of touchdowns.

While Goedert's the second tight end on his team, his playing time is that of a starter. The second-year tight end has played 69 percent or more of the Eagles' offensive snaps in five of his last six games. For full disclosure, his 38.7 percent route participation, per PlayerProfiler, leaves something to be desired. Still, gamers in need of tight end help should scoop Goedert up. Like Howard, he has potential staying power on rosters beyond this week.

Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati Bengals

Yahoo Ownership: 8%

The first two tight ends touted in this piece might be better than mere streamers, but Tyler Eifert rounds things out as a true, plug-and-play, matchup-based streamer. Eifert's no longer putting up the numbers he did when he was at the top of his game in 2015 and 2016. His sub-mediocre level of play is likely a combination of injuries taking their toll on him and the Cincinnati Bengals being nothing short of horrendous. Regardless, there have been flashes, and his matchup with the Oakland Raiders is a plus.

Eifert's caught a couple of touchdowns this year, including one from rookie quarterback Ryan Finley in his first NFL start last week. Finley threw 30 passes, and the 4 he tossed Eifert's way were tied for the third-most on the team. Four of the rookie signal-caller's passes were in the red zone, and he directed them to four different pass-catching options. Only one of those passes resulted in a touchdown, and that was a six-yard score by Eifert.

Oakland's yielded the second-most touchdown receptions (seven) to tight ends this year, according to Pro-Football-Reference. Also, generally speaking, they're awful defending the pass. Entering last week, we ranked them as the fourth-worst pass defense.

Cincinnati's implied total of 19.0 points this week does little to get the juices flowing, but it's not horrendous. When they are in scoring territory, expect Eifert to get some looks in an advantageous matchup. He also might be a bit more than a touchdown-or-bust option having shown some signs of life in Week 8 with 6 receptions for 74 receiving yards on 9 targets. A probable negative game script (the Bengals are 10.5-point underdogs) also works in his favor.