The story of the tight end position is a tale similar to every sports offseason. There's annual optimism in advance of the season. Yet, optimism turns into reality without fail, and every team isn't playing for a championship. Or, in the case of tight ends, the many mid- and late-round breakout candidates fail to materialize into weekly contributors.
Some gamers understand this reality and pounce on an early-round stud. Others recognize it and intend on streaming out of the chute. Still, others arrive in the streaming group unwittingly after their middle-tier or late-round dart throw flops.
Regardless of how you got here, this is your weekly home for streaming options. Below you'll find three widely available options for Week 10.
Tyler Conklin, Minnesota Vikings
Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 38%
Tyler Conklin is the first of two staple inclusions in this space. In Week 9, he did his standard thing for the Minnesota Vikings, snaring five receptions for 45 scoreless yards on seven targets. According to Pro Football Reference, Conklin is averaging 4.0 receptions and 42.8 receiving yards per game with one receiving touchdown.
Unfortunately, the fourth-year pro has 25 yards or fewer in three of eight games. Nevertheless, he's caught multiple passes in every game. Further, he's caught three or more passes six of eight games. He's on a modest roll as well, reaching at least 45 yards with three or more receptions in three straight games.
Finally, Conklin's season-long ranks among his peers at tight end are directly in the fringe fantasy football starter range. According to Stat Head, he cracks the top-15 at tight end in receiving yards per game, targets, and receptions. Additionally, according to Pro Football Focus, he also ranks inside the top 15 in routes (219) and yards per route run (1.56 Y/RR). So, gamers in need of tight end help should keep treating Conklin as a low-end starter in leagues as shallow as 12-team formats.
Dan Arnold, Jacksonville Jaguars
Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 27%
Dan Arnold is the other player I teased in Conklin's write-up, and he's my favorite sleeper at the position. Arnold's an ascending player since becoming the full-time starter for the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 5. He's reached at least 60 receiving yards and four receptions in three of his previous four games.
In addition, he shines compared to other tight ends in their team's fifth through their eighth game in 2021. I'm using season game number instead of the standard NFL week number to level the playing field for raw counting stats. From game five through game eight for each tight end's respective team, Arnold ranks inside the top-10 in receiving yards (219), receptions (20), and receiving yards (30). Additionally, he owns a stellar mark of 1.80 yards per route run in Week 5 through Week 8.
It's also worth noting where Arnold resides in Jacksonville's passing-game hierarchy in Week 5 through Week 9. And, he's the top dog in their passing game during that stretch. He's tied for the team lead in targets and receptions, leading the way in receiving yards and yards per route run. The Jaguars' offense isn't anything to write home about, but still, being the top dog in an offense makes Arnold an intriguing tight end in fantasy football. He's comfortably in the low-end fantasy starter mix.
Gerald Everett, Seattle Seahawks
Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 21%
There's a big gap between Arnold and Conklin and all of the other streamer options at tight end. My decision to tout Gerald Everett requires a belief in the athletic young tight end taking a step forward from his to-date production in 2021. My belief in Everett making gains in the passing game chiefly comes from the likely return of Russell Wilson in Week 10 against the Green Bay Packers.
Unfortunately, Wilson and Everett only played three games together this year. So, they had a limited opportunity to build rapport together in the regular season. Still, the last time the two played together in Week 3, Everett set season-highs across the board with five targets, five receptions, and 54 receiving yards.
Further, when the Seattle Seahawks last played in Week 8, Everett's 21 routes tied for the second-most on the team, only three off Tyler Lockett's team-leading pace of 24. In addition, Everett's 21 routes trounced Will Dissly's eight routes in Week 8, and the former's 57.89 percent snap share bested the latter's 47.37 percent snap share, according to our snap counts.
Is Everett a safe sleeper at tight end? No. However, I think he has untapped upside, and Wilson's return should raise the tide for all the ships in Seattle's passing attack. Finally, according to NFL odds, the Seahawks have an acceptable implied total of 23.0 points. So, you can consider Everett as a dice roll if you need help at tight end in Week 10 with the potential to stick on rosters if he flashes any upside this week in Wilson's return from injury.
Joshua Shepardson is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Joshua Shepardson also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username bchad50. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.