Fantasy Football: 3 Tight Ends to Stream for Week 3

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 3

Hunter Henry, New England Patriots

Matchup: at NYJ

So Hunter Henry saw 12 targets on Sunday. That happened.

He finished with 8 receptions, 109 yards, and 14.9 half-PPR fantasy points, making him the TE2 on the week (through Sunday night).

Henry's 50% target share ranked second among all pass-catchers last week, and it bumped his season target share to 31.9%, the highest mark among tight ends. He's top 10 at the position in snap rate (83.8%) and route participation (78.7%), so the utilization has been rock-solid early on.

Given the state of the position right now, that makes Henry one of the best waiver wire targets heading into Week 3. He's easily my favorite tight end streamer this week, even in a tough matchup against the New York Jets.

The Jets haven't surrendered a ton of fantasy points to tight ends this season, but they are middle-of-the-pack in target rate allowed to the position. They allowed the ninth highest target rate to tight ends last season, which makes sense considering how well they defend wide receivers.

We could see that play out again on Thursday Night, especially if the Jets can live up to their status as 6.5-point favorites and force the New England Patriots into a negative game script early. That would only funnel more work toward Henry, aiding his case as the top tight end streamer for Week 3.

Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals

Matchup: vs. WAS

Us Mike Gesicki enthusiasts nearly got a Gesicki coming out party in his season debut, but Gesicki's would-be touchdown grab was overturned upon review. He finished Week 1 with 3 receptions for 18 yards and 3.3 fantasy points.

But Week 2 marked the arrival of Cincy Gesicki. Though he still only saw a 51.2% snap share, Gesicki turned 9 targets (26.5% share) into 7 receptions, 91 yards, and 12.6 fantasy points. Entering Monday Night Football, that ranked fourth at the position.

We've seen Gesicki be a reliable fantasy tight end in the past, so I wouldn't put it past the 28-year-old to have a mini-resurgence playing with the best quarterback of his career.

His Week 3 matchup with Washington Commanders is juicy, too. Washington has conceded the third highest passing success rate (49.6% per numberFire) through two weeks, and they've allowed six passing touchdowns thus far.

Granted, they have allowed the lowest target rate to tight ends -- just as they did last season. But that speaks more to how bad they've been at defending receivers than their status as tight end stoppers, and Gesicki has lined up in the slot or out wide on 82% of his snaps, according to PFF.

Gesicki's role could take a hit if Tee Higgins were able to return, but there's no guarantee he'd see a full workload after sitting out with a hamstring injury the first two weeks. Even if he suits up, I like Gesicki's chances of producing in a game where Cincy is favored by 7.5 point -- and the total is all the way up at 48.5 points.

Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars

Matchup: at BUF

After Evan Engram injured his hamstring in warmups, second-year tight end Brenton Strange earned the start and saw encouraging utilization. He finished with the Jacksonville Jaguars' second-highest target share (22.2%) while racking up 3 receptions, 65 yards, and 8.0 fantasy points.

Strange -- a 2023 second-round pick -- played 69.1% of snaps for the Jags, but he actually underperformed relative to expectation. According to PFF's expected fantasy points model, Strange finished with 4.6 fewer fantasy points than expected in Week 2.

Engram is week-to-week, according to Doug Pederson, so we could see Strange draw another start against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football.

Buffalo's defense has played well through two weeks, but they've surrendered the fourth highest target rate (23.9%) to opposing tight ends. They've given up the 10th highest average depth of target (7.0), too, which lines up well with all four of Strange's targets being of 10-plus yards on Sunday.

It doesn't hurt that this game figures to be relatively high scoring, either. As of Monday morning, Jaguars-Bills is tied for the week's fifth highest total (46.5). With Buffalo favored by 5.5 points, we could see Jacksonville go to the air early as they chase a deficit.

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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.