Daily Fantasy Football Tight End Primer: Week 5

The great thing about daily fantasy football is that so much changes every week, with matchups, salaries and projected ownership all varying -- sometimes significantly -- from main slate to main slate.

At numberFire, we have a plethora of tools to help you as you build your lineups, and something we've added this season is an in-depth look at the four core positions. In this piece, we'll break down the tight end slot on FanDuel's main slate.

Let's take a look at some of the top tight end options this week. We'll reference our FanDuel projections, and betting lines come from our heat map.

Here we go.

High-Priced Stud

Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles ($6,600 on FanDuel)

It's nice to be able to put someone other than Travis Kelce here. Kelce isn't on the main slate, and George Kittle isn't, either. As a result, we have no tight ends priced above $6,700.

Ertz is the top tight end on the Week 5 main slate, per our models, as we project him for 12.1 FanDuel points, 1.2 more than anyone else at the position. He's at home against the New York Jets, a game in which the Philadelphia Eagles are 13.5-point favorites with a co-slate-best 28.50-point implied total.

Even though the Jets are allowing the fewest FanDuel points per game to the position (3.5), they've faced the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, and New England Patriots, none of whom feature a noteworthy tight end. The implied total gives Ertz -- who paces Philly in target share (25%) -- good touchdown equity this week, and his 0.51 projected scores are miles ahead of the next-best clip at the position (0.34).

Mid-Range Options

Evan Engram, New York Giants ($6,300)

Engram is at home versus the Minnesota Vikings, one of the league's best defenses. It's going to be a tough task for Daniel Jones in his second career start, and the G-Men carry a lowly 19.00-point implied total as 5.5-point home 'dogs.

None of that is ideal. But the Giants aren't likely to find much success on the ground against the league's second-best run D, per our schedule-adjusted metrics, especially if Saquon Barkley remains out, so they should have to go to the air.

We have Engram projected for a slate-best 8.33 targets, and the volume alone puts him in play at a watered down tight end position this week. He's our second-ranked tight end at a projection of 10.9 FanDuel points, and he and Ertz are the only tight ends we have projected for double-digit fantasy points.

Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens ($6,100)

Andrews continues to hold big-time usage numbers as he owns 23% clips in air yards share and target share, both of which rank in the top five at the position. He's seen at least seven targets in all four games, and he's registered a team-high five red zone targets, including three looks inside the 10.

Until Andrews' usage changes, he's a weekly consideration regardless of the matchup.

In Week 5, the Baltimore Ravens are on the road versus the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens have a solid 23.75-point implied total as 3.5-point road favorites, and Andrews is one of two possible stacking options with Lamar Jackson as no Ravens other than him and Marquise Brown have a target share above 9%.

Value Dart Throw

Noah Fant, Denver Broncos ($4,900)

Fant had a big-play touchdown last week, scoring on a screen pass from 25 yards out and showing off the elite athleticism that was the big reason he was a first-round pick last spring.

While the weekly floor is always going to be bottomless for a guy who has just 11 total receptions in four games, Fant has played at least 65% of the snaps in every game, logging a 72.3% snap share for the season, the 13th-best rate at the position.

There's some upside here, and he could tap into it once again this week as he faces the Los Angeles Chargers. The absence of Derwin James has weakened the Bolts' D, and they are giving up 11.5 FanDuel points per game to tight ends, the eighth-most in the league. Using Fant is risky, but he can help you pay up for the likes of DeAndre Hopkins, Julio Jones, and Dalvin Cook.

Tournament Play

Austin Hooper, Atlanta Falcons ($6,700)

Hooper is actually the highest-priced tight end this week. It's a pretty big jump for a guy who was $5,500 in Week 1. It's warranted, though, as Hooper has garnered at least six targets in every game while going for at least 66 yards three times, including a nine-catch, 130-yard day in Week 4.

The Atlanta Falcons-Houston Texans game has all the makings of a shootout, with the 49.0-point over/under 1.5 points clear of every other game. It's sure to be one of the more popular game stacks of the week, but with the likes of Hopkins, Julio, Matt Ryan, Deshaun Watson, Devonta Freeman, and Will Fuller, there's a lot of ways to go here, which could cap Hooper's ownership.

He could also go a bit under-owned because of his price, and if people are down to spend at tight end, they may opt for Ertz instead. Oh, and it's a bad on-paper matchup as the Texans have limited tight ends to just 4.0 FanDuel points per game.

But Houston hasn't faced a tough slate of tight ends, playing the Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, and Chargers. Greg Olsen is likely the best tight end they've faced, and they held him to two catches for five yards on four targets. But Olsen is 75 years old and playing with a backup quarterback.

While it's debatable if Hooper deserves to be the most expensive player at the position -- he's not a top-five point-per-dollar play, per our models -- that could cause him to go somewhat overlooked. He's seeing steady volume and is a unique way to get exposure to what might end up being the most fantasy-friendly game on the slate.