It’s finally here. As teams prepare for the first week of the regular season, the same goes for fantasy football managers trying to come out of the gate with a win.
Even though it is the first week of the season, there are still plenty of managers implementing the streaming method at the tight end position—especially those who decided to forego an early-round pick for a late-round flier.
These options aren’t pretty, but streamers aren’t supposed to be. It’s about value. Streaming tight ends is risky, but it can pay off in a big way.
Here are three tight ends to stream in Week 1 for fantasy football:
Jack Doyle — Indianapolis Colts — 35.7% rostered (ESPN)
While your league-mates were busy adding Travis Kelce in the second and even Eric Ebron in the middle rounds, Doyle was likely left behind to the waiver wire following the draft. If he was, he’s the ideal streamer for Week 1 and potentially for many weeks after.
The Colts offense will be without Andrew Luck. That’s a concern. But the last time Doyle worked with Jacoby Brissett—the Colts new starter—he set a career-high with 80 receptions. That probably won’t happen again given the weapons that are now present in the offense.
But with Brissett still getting used to being the starter in life after Luck, Doyle will be there to be the perfect safety blanket. Five receptions per game is not outside the realm of possibilities in 2019.
Darren Waller — Oakland Raiders — 19% rostered (ESPN)
As the tight end landscape in fantast football continues to be a crapshoot, there will be a new face emerging every week as a top-12 option. Waller is considered more of a flier, but there are reasons to believe he will step into a role that could see a solid target share.
Oakland tight ends had a 22% target share of the offense in 2018—thanks mostly to Jared Cook. They also saw 371 vacated targets with the losses of Cook, Amari Cooper and Jordy Nelson among others. The athletically-gifted Waller is a mismatch at the tight end position and while Antonio Brown should see the massive target share, there isn’t a guaranteed No. 2 behind him.
In Week 1, this is the time to take a chance on Waller in case he blows up. It’s risky, but that’s the way of streaming tight ends. With so many vacated targets up for grabs, there is a chance Waller emerges.
Tyler Eifert — Cincinnati Bengals — 12.2% rostered (ESPN)
The Bengals offense is one to steer clear of for the most part. However, there is a chance to take advantage of Eifert’s early role in the offense before he inevitably gets hurt. He’s healthy now, and we’ve seen what he can do as a red-zone threat when he’s on the field.
Eifert has been plagued by injuries throughout his career. But he seems healthy for now entering the 2019 season. With A.J. Green out of the mix for at least the first few weeks, Eifert could see a solid target share in the offense.
When streaming tight ends, a touchdown reception is all that is needed to make the week. Eifert is as strong of an option as any for that as long as he’s on the field.
