Fantasy Football: 3 Tight End Streamer Options for Week 15

Tight end, as the kids say, is a wasteland.

Of all the positions in fantasy football, tight end has consistently been the most volatile. It's gotten to the point where we're lucky to have even a handful of tight ends we can rely on week to week.

This year is no different. Unless you were one of the lucky few to nab a top option at the position, you'll likely be scouring the waiver wire in search of a diamond in the rough.

However, just because you punted on the tight end position doesn't mean you've punted on your team as a whole.

Streaming tight end is a real, and effective, strategy -- you just have to know where to look.

That's where I come in, giving you three tight end streamers to target each and every week of the 2023 NFL season. All of these guys should be available in the majority of 12-team leagues and at the very least possess value for the upcoming week.

Projections and rankings via numberFire.

Week 15 Tight End Streamers

Hunter Henry, New England Patriots

It's typically not good practice to chase prior production, especially when that production came on just three receptions.

But this is tight end we're talking about. Chasing production is the name of the game.

That leads us to Hunter Henry. Heading into Monday Night Football (MNF), Henry is the TE3 on the week with 17.5 fantasy points. In the New England Patriots' Thursday night win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Henry caught all three of his passes for 40 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Henry's shown a real rapport with Bailey Zappe under center dating back to last season. In the four games Zappe played at over 50% of the snaps, Henry posted target shares of 20.0%, 23.8%, 23.3%, and 7.1%. He caught only one touchdown over that span but saw a 33.3% red zone target share and 50.0% end zone target share.

New England is desperate for offensive playmakers, so Henry could be a real difference-maker down the stretch given his chemistry with their new quarterback.

Looking ahead, Henry faces a stout Kansas City Chiefs defense in Week 15, but it is at home. Per numberFire's scheduled-adjusted metrics, the Chiefs sport the sixth-best pass defense in the NFL.

While the matchup is unforgiving, Henry's touchdown upside is clear. He's already proven to have TE1 upside, which is more than you can say about most tight end streamers.

Tanner Hudson, Cincinnati Bengals

Tanner Hudson caught his first career touchdown last week en route to 9.1 fantasy points.

Heading into MNF, Hudson is the TE12 on the week.

This was just the second time Hudson has finished as a TE1 in the last six weeks, but he's had a solid role over that span.

Since Week 9, Hudson has run a route on 34% of dropbacks. That's not great, but he's commanded a 14% target share during that stretch -- good for a 34% target per route run (TPRR) rate.

For comparison's sake, Travis Kelce's TPRR is 25% this season (though his route rate is 73%).

Although the Cincinnati Bengals' tight end room is crowded, it's clear that Hudson has carved out a nice role for himself. There's not a ton of passing volume with Jake Browning under center, but Hudson's finished with at least four receptions in five of his last six games -- enough to make him a quality streamer ahead of Week 15.

Next week's matchup with the Minnesota Vikings is no cakewalk. According to numberFire's scheduled-adjusted metrics, Minnesota has the league's 10th-best defense -- although they're down at 19th against the pass.

However, Hudson's 5.6-yard average depth of target (aDOT) could result in a ton of dump downs against the NFL's most blitz-happy team. You won't find many tight ends with this consistent of a workload this late into the season, so Hudson is a formidable streamer going forward.

Davis Allen, Los Angeles Rams

With Tyler Higbee out with a neck injury last week, rookie fifth-round pick Davis Allen stepped up with four receptions, 50 yards, and a touchdown.

His 13 half-PPR points were good enough to be the TE7 before MNF.

To say Allen came out of nowhere would be an understatement. Prior to Sunday's breakout, the rookie had been targeted just once in the first 13 weeks of the season. In fact, he'd only eclipsed a 10% route participation once the entire rest of the season, and that was back in Week 7.

Yet Week 14 saw him run a route on 60% of the Los Angeles Rams' dropbacks. That was easily the most among LA tight ends as Allen has seemingly surpassed Hunter Long and Brycen Hopkins on the depth chart.

It remains to be seen how much time Higbee misses, but Davis' numbers were strong enough that he's certainly worth a flyer on waivers if you're tight end-needy. After all, you won't find many tight ends this late into the season that:

A) Play on a good offense.

B) Have a good quarterback.

C) Command a 14% target share.

Consequently, Allen would be a top tight end streamer if Higbee were to miss more time.

Next week, the Rams face the Washington Commanders, a dream matchup for pass-catchers. On the season, Washington ranks 32nd in points (30.4), passing yards (266), and passing touchdowns (2.3) allowed per game.

With an uber-soft matchup and coming off a breakout game, Allen is a quality tight end streamer option for Week 15.

Interested in playing NFL DFS? Head over to FanDuel’s daily fantasy football lobby to see all the offerings for this week's slates.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.