3 Fantasy Football Tight End Streaming Options for Week 16

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 16.

Tyler Conklin, Minnesota Vikings

Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 47%

Tyler Conklin isn't the most exciting player to start in fantasy lineups. Nevertheless, he has emerged as a rock-solid, low-end starter at tight end.

According to Pro Football Focus, Conklin is 14th in all of routes run (361), targets (64), and receiving yards (489) among tight ends. He's tied for 15th in receiving touchdowns (three) and tied for 11th in receptions (49). Thus, he is hovering around the top-12 at the position in every meaningful category.

In addition, what Conklin lacks in upside, he makes up for with consistency. The 26-year-old tight end has caught multiple passes every week and has reached at least 20 receiving yards or scored a touchdown in 11 of 13 games. Unfortunately, he lacks a high ceiling, reaching the 70-yard plateau only twice. However, the streaming pool is bereft of high-upside tight ends anyway.

In Week 16, he might get a lift from an increase in volume. NFL odds lists the Minnesota Vikings as 3.0-point underdogs at home against the high-powered Los Angeles Rams. As well as being an underdog, the Vikings might be forced to play faster and run more offensive plays. According to Football Outsiders, the Rams play at the fastest situation-neutral pace. As a result, Conklin's fantasy scoring might push closer to his ceiling.

C.J. Uzomah, Cincinnati Bengals

Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 16%

Touting C.J. Uzomah might look like a point-chasing maneuver at first blush. In Week 7, when the Cincinnati Bengals boat raced the Baltimore Ravens, Uzomah lit them up for three receptions for 91 yards and two touchdowns.

Uzomah's electrifying game against the Ravens has been one of his two explosive outbursts this year, also torching the Jacksonville Jaguars for five receptions, 95 yards, and two touchdowns in Week 4. Unfortunately, he's recorded more than 40 receiving yards only one other time with 56 scoreless yards in Week 14.

Nevertheless, this isn't just a point-chasing pick. Uzomah has run the 11th-most routes (389) among tight ends this year. Further, since Week 12, he's run the seventh-most routes (119). Therefore, he's on the field and giving himself a chance to score fantasy points, even if he's not earning a large target share.

Finally, it's not completely surprising he blew up against the Ravens. Baltimore has struggled mightily defending tight ends this year. According to Pro Football Reference, the Ravens allow the fifth-most FanDuel points per game to the position.

Uzomah offers a desirable blend of route participation and an excellent matchup, thrusting him to top of the heap for streamers at tight end.

Cameron Brate, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Yahoo! Roster Percentage: 3%

Meaningful offensive players were dropping like flies for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 15. Namely, Chris Godwin will miss the rest of the regular season, and Mike Evans and Leonard Fournette might miss some time with hamstring injuries. The injuries were the cherry on top of being shut out by the New Orleans Saints.

Antonio Brown is likely to be a reinforcement since he's returning to the team after serving his three-game suspension for producing a fake vaccination card. However, Breshad Perriman is on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Scotty Miller isn't doing much this season, and Jaelon Darden has been used primarily on special teams so far. Yes, Tyler Johnson has flashed potential and will likely be asked to do more. Still, the team might use more two-tight-end packages on offense if Evans joins Godwin on the sideline this coming week.

Cameron Brate is a viable speculative add with the rash of injuries on the Bucs. He ran 13 routes versus only three for fellow tight end O.J. Howard in Week 15. Additionally, Tom Brady peppered him with four targets on his modest route total, resulting in two receptions for 22 yards. Moreover, even if Brate's role between the 20s doesn't expand, he could be called upon more often in the red zone.

In Tampa Bay's loaded offense thus far, Brate has commanded 17 red-zone targets this year, third-most on the team. Brate is a touchdown-or-bust option as a streamer at worst with the upside to ascend to a more meaningful role in the offense depending on the status of Evans.

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.