Perhaps the position that divides opinions the most in fantasy football is tight end. Many see it as the ultimate differentiator, where you can give yourself the ultimate leg up on your opposition, while others view it as a lottery. If you missed out on the top-tier options at tight end in your drafts, then streaming the position may be your best bet.
Let’s take a look at the top TE streaming options for Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season.
Week 1 Streamers: QB | K | DEF
Top TE Streaming Options for Week 1
Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints (vs. Carolina Panthers)
Any time I see Taysom Hill rostered in fewer than 60% of leagues, I will recommend him as a streamer. It won’t always work out, but Hill’s role in the New Orleans Saints offense means that he has numerous ways to create fantasy points.
Recently, we’ve seen Hill with QB eligibility, but not always TE, but that has now changed.
Last year, Hill scored 143.5 fantasy points, which saw him rank outside the top 25 among quarterbacks. Meanwhile, that same score would have seen him finish as the TE12, above Kyle Pitts. Hill scored double-digit points on seven occasions, including four weeks in a row between Weeks 6 and 9.
Zach Ertz, Washington Commanders (at Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Streaming at the tight end position isn’t always going to provide sexy options, but if you simply need to survive for a couple of weeks while waiting for T.J. Hockenson to enter your starting lineup, you can afford to take this on a week-to-week basis for a bit.
I’ll start by asking a simple question: Who is the No. 2 receiver in Washington?
Luke McCaffrey? Dyami Brown? Noah Brown? If you feel strongly about the fantasy outlook of any of these players, then I commend you for having a finger on the pulse of this unsettled receiver room behind Terry McLaurin. However, this is the part where I make the boring recommendation for Zach Ertz in Week 1.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers secondary struggled mightily against opposing tight ends last year — giving up the second-highest amount of fantasy points per game to the position at 12.4.
For those unfamiliar with Todd Bowles’ defensive scheme, he loves to heat up opposing QBs by bringing extra defenders with the third-highest blitz rate (40.1%) in the league last year.
This aggressive style led to teams gobbling up yards after the catch (YAC) against this unit with 2,373 last year — dead last in the NFL.
Ertz should have the snap-count advantage over rookie Ben Sinnott early in the year, which means he’ll have the best opportunity to produce a solid stat line as a safety blanket for Jayden Daniels against a favorable secondary matchup.
Meanwhile, the WR pecking order will get ironed out through the first month of the season with a rookie QB under center.
– Derek Tate, Fantasy Football Analyst
Tight End Rankings for Week 1
The following rankings are from our consensus and, therefore, may not reflect the advice above.
1) Sam LaPorta | Detroit Lions (vs. LAR)
2) Travis Kelce | Kansas City Chiefs (vs. BAL)
3) Mark Andrews | Baltimore Ravens (at KC)
4) Dalton Kincaid | Buffalo Bills (vs. ARI)
5) Trey McBride | Arizona Cardinals (at BUF)
6) Evan Engram | Jacksonville Jaguars (at MIA)
7) George Kittle | San Francisco 49ers (vs. NYJ)
8) Kyle Pitts | Atlanta Falcons (vs. PIT)
9) David Njoku | Cleveland Browns (vs. DAL)
10) Jake Ferguson | Dallas Cowboys (at CLE)
11) Dallas Goedert | Philadelphia Eagles (vs. GB)
12) Brock Bowers | Las Vegas Raiders (at LAC)
13) Dalton Schultz | Houston Texans (at IND)
14) Taysom Hill | New Orleans Saints (vs. CAR)
15) Pat Freiermuth | Pittsburgh Steelers (at ATL)
16) Hunter Henry | New England Patriots (at CIN)
17) Cade Otton | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. WAS)
18) Luke Musgrave | Green Bay Packers (at PHI)
19) Tyler Conklin | New York Jets (at SF)
20) Noah Fant | Seattle Seahawks (vs. DEN)
21) Zach Ertz | Washington Commanders (at TB)
22) Cole Kmet | Chicago Bears (vs. TEN)
23) Colby Parkinson | Los Angeles Rams (at DET)
24) Greg Dulcich | Denver Broncos (at SEA)
25) Juwan Johnson | New Orleans Saints (vs. CAR)
26) Jonnu Smith | Miami Dolphins (vs. JAX)
27) Chigoziem Okonkwo | Tennessee Titans (at CHI)
28) Isaiah Likely | Baltimore Ravens (at KC)
29) Ben Sinnott | Washington Commanders (at TB)
30) Tucker Kraft | Green Bay Packers (at PHI)
31) Gerald Everett | Chicago Bears (vs. TEN)
32) Michael Mayer | Las Vegas Raiders (at LAC)