3 Fantasy Football Tight End Streaming Options for Week 8

This week marks the halfway point of the fantasy football season. I'm not crying. You're crying.

But I will put on a brave face. It's time to give the people what they want, nay, crave -- tight end streamers. The good ones.

Throughout the season, this column should/will/must be your go-to resource for identifying tight ends to stream when you're in a pinch. Based on monitoring 12-team Yahoo! roster percentages, everyone listed will be rostered in fewer than 60% of Yahoo! leagues.

It was thankfully a clean week for tight end injuries. While that's obviously good for the players on the field, it doesn't open up a unique avenue to streamers. That said, it will be important to monitor the status of weekly article staple Austin Hooper, who was sidelined with an appendectomy.

It was another great week for this column! Comfortable or not, going back to the well with Logan Thomas resulted in Week 7's TE5 result (pending Monday Night Football).

Richard Rodgers? He was the TE6. Eric Ebron didn't win any leagues, but 11 PPR points are more than suitable for any tight end, let alone a streamer.

We will act like Darren Fells wasn't a recommended play and move on.

As bye weeks ramp up, identifying usable streamers will become even more valuable. The Washington Football Team, Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans, and Jacksonville Jaguars are all on bye, which doesn't hurt the tight end pool much. Of course, we'll need to monitor any potential COVID-induced byes for other teams.

It usually takes a good six weeks before positional points allowed data is somewhat reliable. Now that we're there, I'll lean a bit heavier on points allowed to the position in this process where applicable. In the end, though, we're chasing opportunity.

We're not exactly shooting fish in the barrel with tight end streamers, but we'll aim for more successful plays in Week 8.

Richard Rodgers, TE, Philadelphia Eagles

Roster Percentage: 9%

This is the third time this season I've recommended a tight end who was rostered in 1% of leagues or less, and he's come through with a top-5 tight end week. Humble brags aside, Richard Rodgers is in another great spot this week.

With the Philadelphia Eagles bye looming in Week 9, it's possible we won't see Dallas Goedert activated until after the bye. While he remains an excellent bench/IR stash, that positions Richard Rogers for monster usage yet again.

It feels like forever ago, but Rodgers was excellent Thursday Night against the New York Giants, racking up 6 catches for 85 yards. Notably, that's more yards than Zach Ertz has recorded in a game all season. Just as important was Rodgers' 18.6% target share in the game.

While rookie Jalen Reagor is expected back, DeSean Jackson is out with an ankle sprain, so it shouldn't affect Rodgers' target share much.

While we care a lot more about tight end usage than the matchup, and Rodgers has it in spades, the opponent is also a sieve. He gets the Dallas Cowboys this week. You know what to do here.

Harrison Bryant, TE, Cleveland Browns

Roster Percentage: 1%

As mentioned above, this comes down to Austin Hooper's status. If he's out again -- certainly possible with Cleveland's bye looming in Week 9 -- Cleveland Browns rookie Harrison Bryant steps into a massive opportunity.

Not only have I been touting Hooper's ascending role for weeks, but Odell Beckham's target share is sadly pulled from the offense after he suffered a likely season-ending knee injury on Sunday.

In Bryant's first career start, he put up a smooth line of 4 catches, 56 yards, and 2 touchdowns on 5 targets. The end zone usage is tantalizing, and while 5 targets doesn't sound like much, it still represents a solid 17.8% target share. Per Adam Levitan, Bryant ran a route on more Baker Mayfield drop backs than David Njoku did. Bryant was targeted on 27.78% of his routes run.

The matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders is good, too. Rob Gronkowski just had 5 catches, 62 yards, and a touchdown against this same defense last week. If Hooper is out, play Bryant with confidence.

Trey Burton, TE, Indianapolis Colts

Roster Percentage: 21%

As you can see, we're really scraping the barrel this week. I can't in good faith recommend you play Albert Okwuegbunam and Irv Smith Jr., though they are definitely guys to monitor.

We know Trey Burton has a solid role, with at least five targets in three straight games. While it's probably irrational to assume he gets another rushing touchdown this week, it's great to see the offense is scheming him touches near the goal line. That's huge at tight end.

The concern here is how Burton's role will stick if Mo Alie-Cox is active this week. Burton played a ton with Alie-Cox out, but Indy only plays two tight end sets at a roughly league-average rate, per SharpFootballStats.

Since the offseason, this coaching staff has praised Burton's ability. And since he's been on the field, he's been a big part of the offense. So this is assuming that continues this week if you're desperate. The matchup isn't enticing on paper, but the Detroit Lions also have played a fairly easy tight end schedule. So I wouldn't shy away based on the matchup.