Fantasy Football: 3 Tight Ends to Stream for Week 7

Tight end has long been the most volatile position in fantasy football. While 2024 offers an exciting crop of tight end options at the top, not every fantasy team has the luxury of rostering an elite option.

Unless you were one of the lucky few to nab a top guy, 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 all hope is lost.

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 2024 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.

All NFL projections via our numbers at FanDuel Research, and NFL odds references are to FanDuel Sportsbook. Statistics via NFL Next Gen Stats and Pro Football Focus unless otherwise stated.

Fantasy Football: TEs to Stream in Week 7

Cade Otton, Buccaneers

Matchup: vs. Ravens

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Cade Otton has been making noise as a potential waiver wire target for a couple of weeks now. After logging 8.5 points in half-PPR (13th-best for Week 6), Otton is one of the top streaming options this week.

The Bucs will face the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football. Tampa Bay currently has the 4th-best schedule-adjusted offense while ranking 10th in adjusted pass offense. Led by Baker Mayfield's 0.07 expected points added per dropback (EPA/db) -- per NFL's Next Gen Stats -- the Buccaneers are logging 29.7 points per game (second-most) and 7.9 yards per passing attempt (seventh-most).

Meanwhile, Baltimore holds the league's sixth-worst adjusted pass defense while giving up 8.1 yards per passing attempt (fifth-most). It continued in Week 6 with the Washington Commanders racking up 269 passing yards and 7.7 yards per attempt. Mayfield and the passing attack is gearing up for another successful week, and it could be a high volume week with the Ravens giving up a stingy 3.0 yards per rushing attempt (the fewest). Being a 3.5-point underdog for this game also bakes in the potential for a negative game script.

Now, let's get to some focused numbers for Otton. Baltimore allows the eighth-most fantasy points per game against tight ends, via The Football Database.

Otton certainly has the workload to make something happen. He's third on the team with a 16.5% target share and second with a 77.9% route share. Since Week 3, Otton is logging 6.8 targets per game and a 19.4% target share. According to PlayerProfiler, he ranks sixth with 31 targets, second in route participation, first in snap share, and seventh in red zone targets among tight ends.

Otton is even tied for a team-high 25.0% red zone target share since Week 3. He just took 50.0% of the red zone targets in Week 6, as well.

We haven't seen a splash week from Otton yet, but his workload carries spike potential. Plus, he's provided three top-15 weekly finishes over his last four games.

Taysom Hill, Saints

Matchup: vs. Broncos

Taysom Hill is always an intriguing tight end thanks to his ability to line up all over the field. What tight end gets snaps as a slot receiver, running back, and quarterback? This is small company, but Hill hasn't done much of anything outside of 14.4 fantasy points and a TE1 finish in Week 4.

His slow start has been due to injuries. The latest has been a rib injury that held Hill out of the New Orleans Saints' last two games. However, there was encouraging news on Monday with Hill being a limited participant in practice. He didn't practice once last week, so this is certainly good news for Thursday night's game.

Thursday's opponent -- the Denver Broncos -- are a tough matchup with the league's fourth-best adjusted defense and second-best adjusted pass defense. Plus, Derek Carr's status isn't looking good after not practicing on Monday (oblique).

While Denver is far from the best fantasy matchup for most players, the unit is giving up the 15th-most fantasy points per game to tight ends. Hill has only played in three games and has two touchdowns over the span. With Hill's versatility and frequent touchdowns, he's worth a play if you're in a tight spot.

Zach Ertz, Commanders

Matchup: vs. Panthers

The Carolina Panthers are another team that consistently gives up points to tight ends. In fact, they allow the fourth-most fantasy points per game against the position. As the league's third-worst adjusted defense and adjusted pass defense paired with the sixth-worst adjusted run defense, Carolina is pretty much giving up points to everyone.

Paired with the rookie sensation Jayden Daniels, who boasts 0.29 EPA/db this season, Zach Ertz has enjoyed a career resurgence. Ertz currently holds the 12th-most targets, 4th-highest route participation, 3rd-highest air yards share, and 2nd-highest average depth of target (aDOT) among his position. This has led to fantasy production as TE13 in half-PPR leagues.

Ertz comes off 8.8 fantasy points in Week 6 (10th-most) thanks to 68 receiving yards and 4 catches from 5 targets and has now produced two top-10 weekly finishes since Week 2. He's been at least in the top 17 in four of the last five games.

The veteran tight end also ranks second on the team with a 17.6% target share. Despite leading the squad with a 25.0% red zone target share, Ertz has yet to find the end zone. This certainly feels like positive regression is imminent, especially on an offense that's racking up 29.7 PPG (second-most) and 8.3 yards per passing attempt (fourth-most).

What's not to love about about the Commanders offense this week? Carolina is one of the worst defenses in the NFL, and Washington holds the highest implied team total of the week (29.5). Any exposure to this offense could bode success in fantasy, and getting Ertz with the second-highest target share and highest red zone target share on the team holds great spike potential.

Outside of our top three streaming options, the New England Patriots' Hunter Henry is another quality option. He faces the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are giving up the third-most fantasy points per game to the position. Plus, Henry just logged 11.6 fantasy points last week (eighth-most) in Drake Maye's first start.

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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.