Which tight ends have the most favorable fantasy matchups? Who is the best streaming option? And who has a poor matchup?
Here's a breakdown of five notable tight ends featured in Sean Koerner, Chris Raybon and Matthew Freedman's Week 9 fantasy football rankings.
TheNo. 1 TE
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Kelce is one of two tight ends in the league who is seeing more than 25% of his team's market share of targets, so it's not surprising that his median and ceiling projections in the FantasyLabs Player Models leads all tight ends by nearly four points.
The Most Favorable Matchups
David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
Njoku's zero-target performance last week was puzzling, but maybe he'll turn things around this week now that the Browns cleansed themselves of Hue Jackson and Todd Haley.
Njoku was averaging 9.0 targets per game with Baker Mayfield at the helm prior to last week's outlier. He's is in a prime bounce-back spot against a Chiefs defense that's giving up 8.3 targets and 76.0 receiving yards per game to opposing tight ends.
He possesses an average rank of 5.3 among our rankers.
Jared Cook, Oakland Raiders
Cook leads the Raiders with 6.9 targets per game and that should continue with the departure of Amari Cooper. Next on tap is a mediocre 49ers defense that's surrendering 7.3 targets and 52.0 receiving yards per game to opposing tight ends. Additionally, starting safety Jaquiski Tartt (shoulder) is doubtful to play.
Koerner, Freedman and Raybon all have Cook ranked inside the top four this week.
Matchup Downgrade
Trey Burton, Chicago Bears
Burton's 5.4 targets per game leave much to be desired, and he'll be in an awful game environment on the road in Buffalo with a game total of just 37-38 points.
This doesn't look like a game where Mitchell Trubisky is going to have to throw a ton, which could make Burton's targets suffer even more. Moreover, the Bills rank fifth in pass DVOA against tight ends this season.
The Best Streamers
Chris Herndon, New York Jets
With six teams on bye, the tight end streaming options aren't for the faint of heart.
Herndon saw just two targets last week in a windy Chicago game, but he set a season high in snaps (54.14%) and he ran a pass route on 51.51% of Sam Darnold's dropbacks, per Pro Football Focus. He's also scored a touchdown in three straight games.
Herndon is a scary dart throw on a tight end-deprived week. He's sporting an average rank of 16.0 among our rankers.
Want another edge? Be sure to keep up with the week's news on FantasyLabs.
