Fantasy Football Tight End Streaming: Week 7 Edition
So in a game where Joe Flacco throws for 306 yards and 5 touchdowns (all of which coming in the first 16 minutes of play), Owen Daniels finishes with 2-catch, 34-yard line?
Of course he does.
This is a great chance to practice the idea of process over results. Tampa Bay has been shredded through the air all season, and Daniels had a cake matchup. But even though it didn’t work out, the process was solid. While this may sound like rationalization, and partly it is, it’s important to remember going forward.
Tim Wright, who found his way into my Deeper Streamers section last week, caught a touchdown for the second-straight week, although it was his only catch of the game for just one yard. Wright only played 23% of New England’s snaps last week, and remains a volatile option week-to-week.
Week 7’s tight end streaming options feature some familiar faces that have favorable matchups. Let’s get it.
Jared Cook, St. Louis Rams
Owned - ESPN: 11%, Yahoo: 29% Week 6 numberFire Rank: 16th
Reading Jared Cook's name could send shivers down fantasy owners’ spines everywhere, and for that, I apologize. But the truth is, Cook really hasn’t been as bad as everyone would like to think so far this season.
What Cook has lacked in efficiency this season – ranking 17th out of 20 higher-volume tight ends in Reception Net Expected Points (NEP) – he has made up for by turning in decent fantasy performances.
Cook’s weekly PPR finishes are as follows: 17th, 16th, 5th, BYE, 13th, and 12th. And if not for a bogus offensive pass interference call last week, he probably would have done even better. While those finishes aren’t necessarily week winners, they are at least, respectable.
Although the Rams’ Week 7 matchup looks frightful on paper, Seattle only ranks 13th defensively according to our metrics, and has been surprising soft against opposing tight ends this season.
As scary as it may sound, Cook is a decent option this week.
Jace Amaro, New York Jets
Owned - ESPN: 1.3%, Yahoo: 2% Week 6 numberFire Rank: 20th
The Jets are going nowhere fast. They have no true starting quarterback, no run game, and a general sense of turmoil surrounding the organization. But if you could point out one bright spot for Gang Green this season, it would be rookie Jace Amaro.
Amaro has converted 24 of his 29 targets into catches on the season, and is seeing his snaps-played increase each week – 34%, 47%, and 57% the last three weeks. He is literally turning lemons into lemonade.
Our metrics don’t really like Amaro so far this season – he ranks 18th in Reception NEP among 20 tight ends with at least 15 catches – so he clearly has room to improve from an efficiency standpoint.
The Jets get New England on Thursday night, which could be missing a large portion of their starting linebacking corps.
Even if Eric Decker does play as expected, there’s no guarantee he’ll be close to 100%, meaning Amaro could continue to be Geno Smith/Michael Vick’s best option in the passing game against the Patriots who are likely to jump out to an early lead.
Garrett Graham, Houston Texans
Owned - ESPN: 3.3%, Yahoo: 18% Week 6 numberFire Rank: 27th
Garrett Graham has been a disappointment so far this season, not aided by the fact that the Texans seem content to feed Arian Foster carries until he pukes – R.I.P. C.J. Spiller and Doug Marrone.
Houston is the third-most run-heavy team so far, meaning opportunities for Texans’ pass-catchers are limited. It also doesn’t help that Graham has been sharing snaps with rookie C.J. Fiedorowicz (68% to 67%). But the Week 7 matchup with Pittsburgh is simply too good to ignore. If we can see weaknesses, it’s fair to assume Bill O’Brien can do the same.
The Steelers welcome Houston on Monday night, fresh off of giving up 102 yards and a score to Browns’ tight end Jordan Cameron.
Pittsburgh ranks 27th against the pass according to our numbers, and show no signs of pulling it together. Graham could easily find the end zone this week, justifying him as a streaming option.
Deeper Streamers
Tim Wright (vs. N.Y. Jets), Josh Hill (vs. Detroit)
