NFL

3 Fantasy Football Tight End Streamer Options for Week 7

Josh Shepardson  —  @BChad50 Oct 18th, 2022

The tight end position isn't overflowing with depth. Instead, it's still top-heavy. So, those of you who kicked the can down the road at the position instead of investing in an elite tight end might dabble in the streamer waters. Some of you came out of drafts with the intention of streaming.

No matter the path to this point, those who need help identifying widely available tight ends to help their fantasy squad each week have found the correct spot. This is your weekly home for streaming options. Here are three choices for this week.

Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packers

Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 42%

The Green Bay Packers' offense is broken. Still, the back-to-back NFL MVP is their quarterback, so they may turn things around at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately, their underwhelming receiving corps was dealt a blow on Sunday. Randall Cobb was injured, hurting his ankle and needing the cart to get him off the field.

The lone bright spot for Green Bay was Robert Tonyan. The 28-year-old tight end exploded for 10 receptions and 90 yards on 12 targets. Tonyan has had at least 4 receptions, 37 receiving yards, or scored a touchdown in three of his last four games.

He's also emerged as an integral part of the team's offense. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), since Week 4, he's third on the Packers in routes (81), targets (18), and receiving yards (135), and he's first in receptions (16). Tonyan also reeled in a touchdown during that stretch, one of only four players on the Packers to reach paydirt in the passing attack.

Finally, the betting info is decent. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Packers are 5.5-point favorites, and the game's total is 41.5 points. As a result, the Packers have a rock-solid implied total of 23.5 points. Therefore, Tonyan is firmly in the low-end TE1 mix.

Mike Gesicki, Miami Dolphins

Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 24%

It's been a frustrating season for Mike Gesicki in fantasy football. Fortunately, he demonstrated his ceiling in Week 6, hauling in 6 receptions for 69 yards and 2 touchdowns on 7 targets. But it's unwise to overreact to one game after he failed to eclipse 50 receiving yards prior to last week's outburst and had 2 receptions or fewer four times this year.

A negative game script likely helped Gesicki, so there's a reason for pause because the Miami Dolphins are favored by seven points at home against the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers. However, the flip side is that Gesicki's blow-up game might earn him more playing time and reps.

Gesicki's underlying stats lately have been encouraging. Since Week 4, he's fourth on the Dolphins in routes (89), third in targets (12), receptions (nine), and receiving yards (122), and first in touchdown receptions (2). Further, Gesicki has led the Dolphins in slot snaps (58) the last three weeks, usage he's thrived with in the past.

Sadly, Gesicki's floor is still terrifyingly low. However, that's the case for all streaming options, and Gesicki's ceiling is higher than most options widely available. If last week's showing earned him more opportunities, he could be a top-10 TE from now on.

Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints

Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 1%

First, let's start with the bad news. Juwan Johnson hasn't scored a touchdown this year, and he's had under 35 yards three times and been under 3 receptions three times.

But the former wideout has had at least 40 receiving yards in three contests and hauled in 3 receptions for 33 yards in one other. So, Johnson has had an ancillary role for the New Orleans Saints.

The good news is he should maintain a meaningful role in the offense with New Orleans banged up at tight end and wide receiver.

The underlying data and matchup are acceptable and good for Johnson, too. In the last three weeks, Johnson is second on the Saints in routes (63) and has been targeted on an adequate 14.3 percent of his routes. Per PFF, he's also had an intriguing 9.3-yard average depth of target (aDOT), deep enough to do damage without being a low-percentage target. He's also 35th in yards per route run (1.38 Y/RR) out of 91 tight ends targeted at least five times since Week 4.

Johnson's usage is good enough to do damage in a mouthwatering matchup, and tight ends have torched the Arizona Cardinals. According to Pro Football Reference, the Cardinals have allowed the most targets (57), receptions (45), and receiving yards (504) to tight ends while also allowing 3 touchdowns.

The Saints play on Thursday, so make sure you scoop Johnson up and insert him in your lineup before lineups lock that night.

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.