3 Fantasy Football Tight End Streaming Options for Week 3

The tight end position in 2019 features distinct tiers. It's headlined by the elite trio of Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Zach Ertz. Behind them is a young trio of promising options who many gamers drafted expecting them to take a leap forward this year in the form of O.J. Howard. Evan Engram, and Hunter Henry.

The talent doesn't evaporate after these half-dozen players, so don't fret if you've opted to punt the position and stream. Furthermore, with the position featuring a handful of players on the rise, others coming off of career years, and some youngsters joining the mix, the streaming options look more appealing this year than in recent memory. Below, there are three widely available options for streamers for Week 3 of the 2019 NFL season.

Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys

Yahoo Ownership: 15%

Saying Jason Witten has sipped from the fountain of youth would be overstating his level of play to open the year, but he's been a solid contributor. Through two games for the Dallas Cowboys in his return from a season spent in the Monday Night Football booth, he's hauled in seven receptions for 40 receiving yards on eight targets, but it's his two touchdown grabs that are especially noteworthy in his statistical profile.

He's been the apple of Dak Prescott's eye in scoring territory. Prescott's thrown nine passes in the red zone this year, and Witten's been on the receiving end of four of those targets, reeling in all four for 10 receiving yards and a pair of scores. Digging a little deeper, only four of Prescott's nine passes in the red zone have been from 10 yards out or closer, and three of those passes have been to his veteran tight end. Even more promising, Prescott targeted Witten another time from Washington's five-yard line (as you can see at the 0:13-second mark in the second quarter in Pro-Football-Reference's play-by-play log), but the play was negated by a defensive holding penalty. Prescott immediately went back to the well and completed a two-yard touchdown pass to Witten on the next play.

The Cowboys are the next team to draw the lifeless Miami Dolphins, and they'll be hosting the tanking Phins. The Cowboys are massive 21-point favorites with a tantalizing implied team total of 34.25 points, according to FanDuel's sportsbook. The Dolphins have comically allowed 16 receptions on 17 targets for 208 receiving yards and a touchdown to tight ends through two games, per Pro-Football-Reference.

It's possible Witten could receive a few more looks in the wake of Michael Gallup suffering a knee injury that will sideline him for a few weeks, but his value remains primarily tied to him finding pay dirt. Given Dallas' huge team total, Miami's ineptitude, and Prescott's early-season propensity to target his tight end in scoring territory, the odds are decent enough for Witten to score again to roll the dice on him as a streamer.

Noah Fant, Denver Broncos

Yahoo Ownership: 11%

The case for steaming Noah Fant is, admittedly, not the strongest. The Green Bay Packers have been stingy against tight ends, and, really, have been tough defensively as a whole to start the year. So, Fant's not a strong matchup-based selection. He also doesn't have the most attention-grabbing stats through his first two regular season games as a pro, either, with only six receptions for 62 receiving yards and negative-five yards on one rush.

On the plus side, he has been targeted eight times. He also has one target in the red zone. Additionally, he's been on the field regularly as the top tight end for the Denver Broncos. In the season opener, he played 81 percent of Denver's offensive snaps, and in Week 2, he played 66 percent of the offensive snaps, according to Pro-Football-Reference.

In the opener, PlayerProfiler credited Fant with lining up in the slot 53.2 percent of the time and participating in route running 80.6 percent of the time. At the time of writing, they haven't updated their info to include his Week 2 work, but his Week 1 usage suggests the measurables freak -- look at his workout metrics that earn a player comp of George Kittle on his previously linked landing page at PlayerProfiler -- is being used as a pass-catching threat as opposed to an in-line blocker. Fant's my least favorite steaming choice of the three highlighted in this piece, but his usage and matchup-nightmare measurables make him a viable streaming option.

Will Dissly, Seattle Seahawks

Yahoo Ownership: 3%

Despite being the lowest-owned option touted in this space, Will Dissly is my favorite streamer at tight end this week. The Seattle Seahawks spent a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft on Dissly, and he teased his value in an injury-shortened rookie campaign. Dissly was limited to three full games and only eight snaps in the fourth game of his rookie season before suffering a torn patellar tendon.

He made a splash in the little time he played as a rookie, though, hauling in eight receptions for 156 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 14 targets. Furthermore, out of 66 tight ends targeted a minimum of 14 times (the exact number of targets Dissly had last year) in 2018, Dissly's 0.64 Target Net Expected Points (NEP) per Target ranked tied for eighth highest. Yes, a small sample caveat is in order, but he's doing his part to dismiss any notion he was a flash in the pan.

The sophomore tight end was held to just one reception for 12 receiving yards on a pair of targets in the first game of the year, but he just walloped the Pittsburgh Steelers for five receptions for 50 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns on five targets in Week 2. He's ripped off an outstanding 0.99 Target NEP per Target through two games that's even better than his excellent mark last season.

Also, it's a little early to make a definitive statement, but Dissly might be a red-zone favorite of Russell Wilson. He was targeted once in the red zone as a rookie, and he's received two of Wilson's four throws in the red zone this season. In all, that amounts to three targets in the red zone in five games and change in his young career. Dissly's done nothing to lose Wilson's trust, either, hauling in all three of those red-zone targets for scores.

The Seahawks are 5.5-point favorites at home with an implied team total of 25 points, according to FanDuel's sportsbook. Dissly's not attached to as robust of a team total as Witten, but 25 points is nothing to sneeze at. Although, the former probably has more yardage upside than the figuratively gray-bearded latter with three games of 40-plus receiving yards already in his career, enhancing his case as my favorite streaming option at tight end this week.