3 Fantasy Football Tight End Streaming Options for Week 12
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 12.
Dan Arnold, Jacksonville Jaguars
Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 41%
Week 11 could not have gone worse for gamers counting on Dan Arnold. Unfortunately, the Jacksonville Jaguars were blown out, and Arnold still didn't garner a single target. Nevertheless, his usage since Week 5 is starter caliber in leagues as shallow as 12-team leagues.
According to Stat Head, since Week 5, Arnold has been in the top 10 for targets (38), receptions (25), and receiving yards (286) despite the Jaguars having their bye in Week 7. Further, according to Pro Football Focus, Arnold has been in the top-10 in routes (180) during that timeframe. So even in last week's dud, Arnold ran a rock-solid 24 routes. In addition, Arnold has been moved all over the formation, laying 14.6 percent of his passing snaps aligned wide, 25.5 percent inline, and 59.4 percent in the slot for the Jaguars.
Arnold has 60 receiving yards and four receptions or more in four of his last six games with the Jaguars. Therefore, I'm chalking last week's disappearing act as a blip on the radar. I suggest going back to the well this week and treating him as a low-end starter at tight end.
Tyler Conklin, Minnesota Vikings
Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 36%
Is anyone excited to use Tyler Conklin? Unfortunately, no. Still, he's a steady presence behind the studs on the Minnesota Vikings, creating fantasy utility in the process. Further, he has performed admirably relative to his peers. This year, he's in the top-15 in routes (277), receiving yards per game (38.8), targets (52), receptions (38), and receiving touchdowns (3).
Obviously, his numbers aren't eye-catching. However, he's a consistent source of some scoring for fantasy players. Conklin has caught three passes or more in five straight games. Additionally, he has 35 receiving yards or more or a touchdown in seven of 10 games.
Thus, Conkin's not a player with a week-winning ceiling. However, no one you can stream has that type of upside. Further, he'll add to your fantasy bottom line. Using a baseball analogy, sometimes it pays off to take a double instead of chasing a homer.
Gerald Everett, Seattle Seahawks
Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 20%
Sadly, Russell Wilson has been struggling in two games since returning from surgery on his finger. Fortunately, he has utilized Gerald Everett in the last three games the two have played together from start to finish. In those contests, Everett has been third in receiving yards (154), tied for second in targets (17), and first in receptions (16) for the Seattle Seahawks.
In addition, Everett is distancing himself from Will Dissly in the route-running department. In Week 3, Week 10, and Week 11, Everett has run 87 routes, and Dissly has run only 37. Seattle has been moving him around the formation, using him for nine passing snaps wide, 39 in the slot, and 45 inline. Everett's also shining, recording a stellar 1.77 yards per route run in those games.
Everett is functioning as a shallow target that's counted on to do damage after the catch, evidenced by his average depth of target of 4.2 yards downfield and 100 yards after contact in the three-game sample. He also has done a masterful job of evading would-be tacklers, forcing 6 missed tackles on his 16 receptions.
This week, Everett is a viable dart throw at tight end in a mid-pack matchup with the Washington Football Team.
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.
