3 Fantasy Football Tight End Streaming Options for Week 9

The story of the tight end position is a tale similar to every sports offseason. There's annual optimism in advance of the season. Yet, optimism turns into reality without fail, and every team isn't playing for a championship. Or, in the case of tight ends, the many mid- and late-round breakout candidates fail to materialize into weekly contributors.

Some gamers understand this reality and pounce on an early-round stud. Others recognize it and intend on streaming out of the chute. Still, others arrive in the streaming group unwittingly after their middle-tier or late-round dart throw flops.

Regardless of how you got here, this is your weekly home for streaming options. Below you'll find three widely available options for Week 9.

Tyler Conklin, Minnesota Vikings

Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 25%

First, don't put too much stock in the Baltimore Ravens coughing up receptions and receiving yards in bunches to tight ends this year. Unfortunately, they've faced a staggering gauntlet of the game's best at the position, including Travis Kelce, Darren Waller, T.J. Hockenson, and Noah Fant. So, of course, they've surrendered gaudy numbers to the position.

Nevertheless, Tyler Conklin remains a staple in this space as arguably the third option in the passing attack for the Minnesota Vikings. According to Pro Football Focus, Conklin ranks fourth on the Vikings with 202 routes. However, he's played more passing snaps (260) than the player directly ahead of him, K.J. Osborn (236 passing snaps). The team's third receiver narrowly edges out Conklin in receptions per game (4.0 to 3.9) and receiving yards per game (45.9 versus 42.4), per Pro Football Reference. Still, the gap is small enough that it's debatable who the third option is behind the studly duo of Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson.

In addition, the Vikings are passing at a slightly above-average rate in neutral game scripts relative to the league average. So, there's a path to fantasy value behind Thielen and Jefferson. Also, last week, Conklin ranked third on the team in air yards (34), and he ranked second in targets (seven), receptions (five), and receiving yards (57). Therefore, the most recent data point is favorable for Conklin's offensive usage. Conklin's not the sexiest option, but he's a rock-steady contributor with multiple receptions in every game and more than 40 receiving yards in four of seven contests.

Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers

Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 10%

Last week, Eric Ebron opened the week passive-aggressively criticizing his lackluster role in the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense. He ended the week inactive against the Cleveland Browns after reportedly suffering a hamstring injury in Thursday's practice. Instead, rookie second-round pick Pat Freiermuth made the most of the opportunity, securing four receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown on seven targets. The seven targets matched a season-high set before Pittsburgh's Week 7 bye. So, he's reeled in 11 receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown on 14 targets over the last two games.

In addition, he set season-highs for offensive snap percentage (78 percent, per Pro Football Reference). routes (24), and slot snaps (11). The rookie tight end finished second on the team in targets, tied for second in receptions, and third in receiving yards. Freiermuth's stellar play in the previous two games, coupled with uncertainty around Ebron's injury and JuJu Smith-Schuster's absence the remainder of the year, clears the way for Freiermuth to have a fringe fantasy starter value.

Further, he looks like one of the best bets to garner attention in scoring territory for the Steelers, enhancing his touchdown scoring outlook. Freiermuth's three targets inside the 10-yard line are tied for the second-most on the team, and his two touchdowns in that area of the field are the most on the team. According to NFL odds, the Steelers are 6.5-point favorites in a game with a total of 40 points, leaving them with a solid-if-unexciting implied total of 23.25 points.

So, sure, that's not an implied total that will get the juices flowing for fantasy gamers. Still, it suggests the Steelers should score a few touchdowns, providing Freiermuth some touchdown equity in addition to his growing general role in the offense. He's in the same fringe starter bucket as Conklin this week.

Dan Arnold, Jacksonville Jaguars

Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 5%

I'm becoming the president of the Dan Arnold fan club. Yet, he remains on too few fantasy football rosters.

Excluding the first game he played for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday Night Football in Week 4 after being acquired via trade that Monday, he's zoomed up the passing-game hierarchy in his three other games on the team.

Over the course of Week 5 through Week 8, he ranks third on the team in routes (99), tied for second in targets (20), and second in receptions (16) and receiving yards (159). Further, he cracked the top-five at tight end in routes in Week 8 with 42 after ranking inside the top-15 at the position in Week 5 and Week 6. In addition, I love his varied formation utility, aligning wide 14 times, inline 30 times, and in the slot 68 times in this three-game sample.

Yes, the Jaguars are an unmitigated disaster. Nevertheless, they're creating a low-end fantasy starter at tight end in the form of Arnold. The Buffalo Bills are a challenging matchup for him this week, however volume always wins out when compared to a tough matchup. So, if you need help at tight end this week, turn Arnold's way.

He's not only my favorite sleeper at the position this week. He's a player whose usage suggests he'll have staying power on rosters.

Joshua Shepardson is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Joshua Shepardson also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username bchad50. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.