Fantasy Football: 3 Players You Can Drop After Week 12

Cameron Brate, TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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It's actually kind of surprising that Cameron Brate has been a roster-worthy player this far into the season. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers clearly wanted to address the tight end position when they drafted O.J. Howard in the first round of the 2017 draft.

But Brate's actually been the 10th-highest scoring tight end this season in PPR leagues, whereas Howard ranks 20th. However, in recent weeks, Brate's usage has shrunk considerably, and that reduced usage may be telling as to the direction the playoff-eliminated Bucs want to go over the rest of the season.

Despite putting together a string of games from Week 2 through Week 8 in which he saw at least 4 targets in each game and had five outings of at least 60 yards, Brate hasn't received more than 3 targets in a game since Week 10. He's actually had four straight one-reception games.

Part of his woes may be a function of Jameis Winston being sidelined with a shoulder injury. But Brate's been out-snapped by Howard in three straight games. It wouldn't be at all surprising if the Bucs want to increase the target load for their first-round investment.

Unless you've got a top-caliber player at the position, it's a much more sane practice to stream tight ends. As such, drop Brate for Charles Clay or Ricky Seals-Jones -- who are more involved and have nice playoff matchups.