Fantasy Football Tight End Streaming: Week 11 Edition
At as a position as volatile as tight end, it’s a great feeling when your weekly selection process works out. Hopefully the picks from last week helped you, whether in your season-long leagues or in your daily fantasy contests.
Both Crockett Gillmore and Richard Rodgers finished the week as top-10 fantasy options at the position, with Charles Clay positing 10.2 PPR points, good enough for 16th best on the week.
Week 11 is going to be extremely interesting as far as the tight end position is concerned with three defenses (Saints, Giants and Steelers) ranking in the bottom-five in fantasy points allowed to opposing tight ends reaching their respective bye weeks. Taking these obvious targets out of the equation makes streaming the position more difficult and more volatile.
Despite the lack of any low-hanging fruit, we still have some decent lower-owned options for those fantasy owners looking for Week 11 plug-ins at the tight end position.
Eric Ebron
Owned – ESPN: 35.1%, Yahoo: 31%
numberFire Positional Rank: 8th
As I touched on above, there are a handful of defenses that have hemorrhaged fantasy points to tight ends on bye this week, but there’s still one team on the slate that we can confidently target: Oakland.
Through nine games the Raiders have allowed 10 touchdowns to opposing tight ends and are allowing the second-most fantasy points per game to the position (12.9). Despite a few duds along the way (thanks, Owen Daniels), using streaming options against Oakland has been profitable all season long.
Despite modest fantasy production in the two games since Brandon Pettigrew returned from injury, Eric Ebron has seen 13 targets and still ranks 10th in Reception Net Expected Points (NEP) per target among 33 tight ends with at least 20 or more targets.
Vegas projects this game to be a high-scoring, close affair with Oakland favored by 1.5 points and an over/under of 48. Pettigrew’s presence limits Ebron’s ceiling, but against the Raiders, there should be enough opportunity for fantasy production to go around.
Jacob Tamme
Owned – ESPN: 22%, Yahoo: 19%
numberFire Positional Rank: 12th
Going back to the Indianapolis/Atlanta matchup once again, Jacob Tamme emerges as a potential tight end streamer this week.
Over the last five games, Tamme has 30 receptions on 42 targets. While only scoring one touchdown during that span, he has managed 60 or more receiving yards three times. He has now played 80 percent or more of the Falcons’ offensive snaps in each of the last four games, and ranks 12th in Reception NEP per target among 27 tight ends with 30 or more targets.
The worry here is that if Leonard Hankerson does indeed return this week, Tamme could see a drop in targets, which is entirely possible. However, coming off a hamstring injury that has forced him to miss the last three games, Hankerson probably won't see a massive snap count, making Tamme’s floor a bit safer.
The Colts have allowed the 10th most fantasy points per game allowed to opposing tight ends and have given up a touchdown to a tight end in each of their last four games.
Tamme’s ceiling is not extremely high, but if you’re looking for a streaming option with a fairly safe floor, he could be exactly what you need this week.
Coby Fleener
Owned – ESPN: 14.9%, Yahoo: 14%
numberFire Positional Rank: 18th
It’s never particularly fun touting Coby Fleener. It’s the kind of play that for whatever reason, I generally tend to avoid, but the combination of his depressed ownership levels and this week’s matchup makes him a necessary part of the streaming discussion.
Over the last two weeks since Rob Chudzinski took over as offensive coordinator, the Colts have played a ton of two-tight end sets with both Fleener and Dwayne Allen playing over 70 percent of the team’s offensive snaps.
While Matt Hasselbeck starting for the injured Andrew Luck is a likely downgrade overall, it could be an improvement for Fleener. In Week 4 with Hasselback under center, Fleener had his best game of the season posting a 9-catch, 83-yard, 1-touchdown stat line.
The matchup this week against Atlanta is a juicy one, as the Falcons have allowed the sixth most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends this season. As six-point underdogs on the road, the Colts will likely be trailing in this game, upping the opportunity for volume for Fleener.
