Fantasy Football Tight End Streaming: Week 11 Edition

Peyton Manning did what we all thought he would do on Sunday, dismantling a Raiders’ defense that is clearly under-manned from a personnel perspective.

But instead of focusing on what Manning did, I want to call attention to Mychal Rivera.

Now with 21 catches and 3 touchdowns in the last 3 weeks, Rivera is slowly creeping into low-end TE1 territory in fantasy football. While the Raiders won’t be threatening in the AFC West anytime soon, Rivera is building a solid rapport with rookie Derek Carr.

Charles Clay was solid in the most unspectacular of ways, hauling in 7 catches for 45 yards on 9 targets. In point-per-reception (PPR) leagues, we’ll take that from a streaming option, but Clay’s ceiling is clearly limited.

And while Jace Amaro did catch a touchdown, he caught just one other pass for one yard. Registering another dropped pass, it’s tough to trust Amaro without hoping for a weekly trip to paydirt.

With four teams on bye this week, we’ll once again look for streaming options that match up against defenses who struggle against tight ends.

Mychal Rivera, Oakland Raiders

Owned - ESPN: 39.7%, Yahoo: 37%
Week 11 numberFire Rank: 19th

I touted Rivera pretty thoroughly in the intro, and it’s hard for me to go away from him this week after seeing a combined 28 targets in the past 3 weeks.

While Rivera ranks 17th in Reception Net Expected Points (NEP) among tight ends with at least 30 catches, he played a season high 86% of the Raiders’ offensive snaps last week, and has become the main target in Oakland’s passing game.

His Week 11 matchup against San Diego appears to be the toughest test of his red-hot streak, as the Chargers rank third in PPR points allowed to opposing tight ends at just 5.5 per game. That being said, San Diego has slid lately from a defensive efficiency standpoint and currently rank 30th in Adjusted Defensive Pass NEP.

Rivera is one of the hottest players in fantasy right now – roll with it.

Jared Cook, St. Louis Rams

Owned - ESPN: 57.2%, Yahoo: 32%
Week 11 numberFire Rank: 16th

A good Jared Cook fantasy performance is not that unlike Haley’s comet – it won't appear often, but when it does, it’s a sight to behold.

We should have known that a matchup against Arizona was as good a time as any for Cook to reappear from his fantasy hiatus, as 10.8% of Cook’s career receiving yardage has come in just 4 games against Arizona.

Cook ranks just 11th in Reception NEP among 18 tight ends with at least 30 catches but has played over 70% of his teams’ snaps in each of the Rams’ last four games, so he's in pretty good position to see usage and produce from it.

Cook’s splits against Denver aren't nearly as impressive, but the Broncos have allowed 10.6 PPR points per game to opposing tight ends, fifth worst in the league.

As we all know, there’s a good chance Denver jumps out to a big lead early, forcing St. Louis to abandon the run game, which means more target opportunities for Cook.

Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings

Owned - ESPN: 9.5%, Yahoo: 39%
Week 11 numberFire Rank: 15th

This recommend comes with an important caveat – Kyle Rudolph is not guaranteed to be active on Sunday. But if we hear positive reports through the week regarding his availability, he would be my top streaming option.

Rudolph hasn’t played since Week 3 and has been dropped in the majority of fantasy leagues. When healthy though, Rudolph can be a real difference-maker, especially in the red zone. Scoring on 12 of his 25 career red zone targets (48%), Rudolph ranks among the league’s elite at the tight end position.

While he hasn’t been awe-inspiring over the past two weeks, Vikings' quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has been decent, ranking 25th in Passing NEP among passers with at least 200 drop-backs. The return of Rudolph does nothing but bolster his prospects.

The Vikings get the pleasure of facing the Bears this week, fresh off of their embarrassing collapse against Green Bay last Sunday. The Bears have been gouged on defense, especially against the pass.

If Rudolph gets the green light on Sunday, the feast should continue.

Deeper Streamers

Jordan Reed (vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Coby Fleener (vs. New England Patriots)