| ||||||||||
2019 Fantasy Football Draft Prep: Mark Andrews, Jordan Reed headline draft-to-stream tight ends
Want to wait until late on Draft Day to find a tight end to help you get off to a good start? Dave Richard has a bunch of choices to help you feel better about missing out on the elite tier of the position.
By
Dave Richard
•
6 min read
If you find yourself without a tight end and six or seven have come off the board, congratulations! You're going to begin the 2019 season streaming tight ends!
Streaming tight ends doesn't have to be looked at as a chore. It should be looked at as a Draft Day opportunity. If you know you're going to have to walk the week-by-week path to find tight ends, you might as well targets those who have good early-season schedules and/or have top-10 upside. The feeling of drafting a tight end in the late rounds and have him turn into a Fantasy stud is amazing -- just ask anyone who drafted George Kittle (I did in a bunch of my leagues *pats self on back*).
Here's my list of tight end streamers who have potential to be more than disposable early-season starters.
Early August ADP: 133rd (Round 12)
Andrews was Lamar Jackson's most productive target down the stretch last season, earning a 64% catch rate and an unheard-of-for-a-tight-end 21.2-yard average. They've picked up where they left off in training camp as Andrews has drawn positive reviews for his route-running. At this rate, he'll never be off the field as the Ravens settle on him to be their usual tight end. And at 6-foot-5, he's among the tallest tight ends in the league. All of this sounds dreamy, but Andrews never had more than four catches in a game as a rookie, and he notched 70-plus yards twice. Drafting him means hoping his opportunity grows immediately -- and stays consistent through the season.
First four games: at Dolphins, vs. Cardinals, at Chiefs, vs. Browns This is a really sweet schedule, complete with a Week 1 matchup in Andrews' favor. He's worthy of being your starting tight end and a Round 9 or 10 pick.
| ||||||||||
Early August ADP: 123rd (Round 11)
A lot of people are scared to draft Reed because of his injury history, but if you're strictly viewing him as an early-season tight end starter with a late-round pick and no long-term commitment, then there's no reason to sweat the long view. There hasn't been a negative report about Reed's explosiveness, physicality or participation in Redskins camp yet. Washington's passing game is full of rookies and underachieving veterans, so there could be a glut of targets coming his way. Maybe that leads to an injury, but maybe he does something he has barely done since 2016 -- contribute to your Fantasy team right away.
First four games: at Eagles, vs. Cowboys, vs. Bears, at Giants OK, those first three games are hairless-cat ugly. Can't say he has an easy schedule. All we can hang our hats on is his potential production since he's healthy, he's moving and he's the best option in the Redskins passing game. Round 9 or 10 is good value.
| ||||||||||
Early August ADP: 124th (Round 11)
Don't lose sight over Walker's role with the Titans from 2014 through 2017: 63-plus catches and 800-plus yards per year with a pair of 6-7 score seasons. Most importantly, he was a top eight Fantasy tight end every year regardless of format. His quarterback for most of those four seasons? Marcus Mariota. Walker is back from a fractured ankle and is practicing without incident on a Titans team that is still in search of dynamic pass catchers. Walker's the only one to get it done with Mariota. Why balk at him now?!
First four games: vs. Browns, vs. Colts, at Jaguars, at Falcons Three-fourths of these games look awfully good for Walker, who has averaged 7.4 targets per game since 2014. He is definitely good enough to begin the season with -- and potentially solid enough to go the full year with. He should go in Round 9 or 10, not Round 11.
| ||||||||||
Early August ADP: 108th (Round 9)
The Steelers won't ask one guy to replace Antonio Brown's numbers -- they're asking three or four guys to make up for him. McDonald is in the mix as Ben Roethlisberger aims to find the next version of Heath Miller. Not that Miller put up good numbers very often, but McDonald has the power and size to be an easy short-range target to help move the chains. What he doesn't have is a track record: In 73 career games, he's caught five-plus passes four times, totaled 70 yards or more four times and has scored 12 times. He's also never played a 16-game season and has just one with more than 11 games in his last three. McDonald would be the rare seventh-year breakout if he were to buck the trends over his career.
First four games: at Patriots, vs. Seahawks, at 49ers, vs. Bengals At the very least, McDonald would be a matchup problem for New England, and the Steelers figure to throw a decent amount. So he's not a horrible tight end to begin the season with. The three games after aren't so bad, either. I wouldn't call his name until Round 10 at the earliest.
| ||||||||||
Early August ADP: 112th (Round 10)
Rookie tight ends aren't supposed to run with the first-team offense and make big plays down the middle of the field right away. Hockenson has. He's made plays daily for the Lions in practice including their joint practices with the Patriots this week. A report from MLive.com suggested Hockenson is nothing like Eric Ebron and has the makings of a Week 1 contributor. That's music to our ears since he can be had for a late-round pick. And because of his polished skill-set, Hockenson has a chance to be a starter beyond Week 1. He's got Gronk-like size and speed (yes really) and apparently has a big opportunity in the Lions offense right now. It's not so crazy to think he can fill some of the hole left behind by Golden Tate last year and Theo Riddick this year.
First four games: at Cardinals, vs. Chargers, at Eagles, vs. Chiefs So the bad news is that after Week 1, Hockenson has two difficult matchups. The good news is that the Lions are going to have to score some serious points in all four games. If you draft Hockenson, it should be more so for speculative reasons than for a starting option. I'd love to pair him with Andrews and have two breakout tight end candidates. Hockenson himself is a Round 11-plus pick for now.
| ||||||||||
Early August ADP: 128th
Hooper has stepped up his numbers every year of his career and has always had a high catch rate (77.2% for his career). He's just not involved enough, and it's kind of obvious why. So long as the Falcons lean on their receivers, Hooper's opportunities won't grow large enough. He also seems tied to their run game: of his five games with seven-plus non-PPR points last year, only twice did he get that many when a Falcons back hit 10-plus. I'm not sure what's worse -- the combo stat with running backs or that he only had five games with seven non-PPR points (he had six with 10-plus in PPR).
First four games: at Vikings, vs. Eagles, at Colts, vs. Titans The tough schedule combined with his limited output make him a dicey streamer to start the year. There are other names on this list who should help you in the early weeks and have potential to be season-long reliables.
Early August ADP: 130th
His first target in the Hall of Fame Game notwithstanding, Fant is a very intriguing talent. He ran his 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds, he's 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds and was an end-zone beast in his last two years at Iowa (18 touchdowns over 69 catches). New Broncos quarterback Joe Flacco has a fondness for tight ends, connecting with the position for at least 20 percent of his completions in each of his last six years. The preseason should show us just how involved he is with the Broncos starters.
First four games: at Raiders, vs. Bears, at Packers, vs. Jaguars OK, you should only draft him to start in Week 1 against the Raiders. Those next three weeks are not going to be pretty. But the real reason why you'll draft him is for his glorious upside. That makes him worthy of a bench stash for the first few weeks of the season. In time, like Hockenson, he should be a phenomenal Fantasy tight end.
