Fantasy Football: 3 Tight Ends to Stream for Week 4

Ahead of Monday Night Football, Dallas Goedert is the highest-scoring tight end in fantasy through three weeks. He failed to reach 5.5 half-PPR fantasy points in both of his first two games.

Cole Kmet is the TE3. He scored 0.9 fantasy points in Week 1.

Travis Kelce? Mark Andrews? They're each outside the top 20 at the position. If you added their scores together, they still wouldn't be a top-five tight end.

Safe to say, tight end is as big of a wasteland as ever.

Considering the lack of reliable options, streaming tight end is a legitimate, viable strategy in 2024 -- 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 4

Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears

Matchup: vs. LA

There's a good chance Cole Kmet was dropped after he scored 0.9 fantasy points and posted a 36.4% route participation in Week 1.

He didn't generate much buzz after a 4.7-point Week 2 but quietly upped his route participation to 54.2%.

However, Kmet enjoyed a full-blown breakout in Week 3, slotting in as the TE2 (ahead of Monday Night Football) thanks to 20.7 fantasy points. He caught 10 of 11 targets (22.9% target share) for 97 yards and a touchdown, out-snapping Gerald Everett 68 to 31 while running nearly twice as many routes as the Chicago Bears' Week 1 starter.

Safe to say, that's the kind of utilization you want from a fantasy tight end.

Now, Kmet won't record double-digit receptions every week, and Chicago likely won't run 85 plays again this season. But they're up to seventh in pass rate over expectation (+1%, per nfelo) following Caleb Williams' 52-attempt outing, and their run game hasn't shown any signs of life early on.

Consequently, I'm bullish that the Bears continue to air it out at an above-average rate. And with Keenan Allen still banged up, that could allow Kmet to provide more productive fantasy outings going forward.

In Week 4, Kmet gets a lovely matchup against a Los Angeles Rams defense that's surrendered the second-most Passing Net Expected Points (NEP; numberFire's EPA metric) per play and third-highest passing success rate through three games.

They've struggled to defend opposing tight ends, as well. Though they've ceded a league-average target rate to the position, they're bottom-five in yards per route run (1.98) and have allowed the most fantasy points per target (2.02) to tight ends.

That hints at another nice day for Kmet, and it makes him the top tight end streamer to target for Week 4.

Tyler Conklin, New York Jets

Matchup: vs. DEN

After a pair of duds to start the season, Tyler Conklin showed signs of life in Week 3. Conklin reaped the rewards of Aaron Rodgers' best New York Jets performance to date, notching 11.8 fantasy points (fifth among tight ends ahead of Monday Night Football) thanks to 5 receptions and 93 yards.

He finished Week 3 second among Jets pass catchers in target share (17.6%) and third in route rate (77.5%).

The target share was especially encouraging after he saw just 6.9% of looks the first two weeks, but it's worth noting that he's now cleared a 70% route rate each of New York's first three games. If Rodgers continues to look as good as he did on Thursday night, that's going to lead to more productive days for Conklin if his route participation remains strong.

Looking ahead, Conklin and the Jets host the Denver Broncos in Week 4. Denver is coming off arguably their best defensive performance of the season, but they've still allowed the sixth-highest passing success rate on the year.

While they held Baker Mayfield to 163 passing yards last week, Denver funneled 22% of Tampa's pass attempts toward tight ends. That led to a seven-catch performance from Cade Otton, so we could see Conklin busy yet again.

Colby Parkinson, Las Angeles Rams

Matchup: at CHI

Colby Parkinson has yet to score more than 6.7 fantasy points this season, but he continues to sport rock-solid utilization.

Parkinson tied for the most targets (5) on the Rams in Week 3, and he posted the second-highest route rate (89.7%) among LA pass catchers. For the season, Parkinson ranks third among all tight ends in route participation (81.3%) and snap rate (89.4%).

His season-long target share (12.2%) leaves a lot to be desired, but his 21.7% share in LA's first full game without both Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp suggests he could be a primary target for Matthew Stafford moving forward.

That's a nice role for a tight end rostered in just 30% of Yahoo! leagues.

With Puka on IR and Kupp slated to miss an extended period of time, Parkinson should again be a focal point in this passing attack in Week 4.

Now, hitting the road against a Chicago secondary that's permitted the third-lowest passing success rate through three games isn't ideal, especially since they've allowed the fifth-lowest target rate to tight ends.

But the Bears haven't exactly faced an onslaught of elite tight ends, and they have allowed the second-most fantasy points per target (1.95) to the position -- albeit on just 11 targets.

Still, Parkinson's Week 3 utilization suggests better days are ahead, and his primary role in LA's passing game makes him a viable tight end streamer for Week 4.

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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.