Fantasy Football Playoffs Tight End Preview: Week 15 Streamers, Week 16 stashes, numbers to know, and more

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The tight end preview will look a little bit different this week. The vast majority of Fantasy Football leagues are heading into the Fantasy playoffs, so I will try to give you an overview of the position for the next three weeks. There will still be Week 15 waiver wire ads below, but there will also be Week 16 stashes. Let’s start with those.

When we go looking for streamers, one of the first things we look for is matchups. Unfortunately, the best matchups in Week 16 aren’t going to help us much. David Njoku plays the Bengals, and Trey McBride plays the Panthers. The Raiders face Evan Engram, and the Buccaneers play Jake Ferguson. If you are in one of the 42% of leagues where Ferguson is still available, congratulations. You’ve hit the jackpot. 

That’s because Ferguson is the top streamer of Week 15 (Panthers) and Week 16 (Buccaneers). He’s had a disappointing season because of injury, bad quarterback play, and terrible touchdown luck, but I will happily start him the next two weeks.

If you aren’t lucky enough to find Ferguson or Hunter Henry (I guess he was dropped on his bye), you’re going to have to get creative. The Chargers’ terrible injury luck may give us an opportunity to do just that. With Hayden Hurst on Injured Reserve and Will Dissly set to miss multiple weeks, it’s time to consider Stone Smartt.

While I’m not ready to proclaim with Bob Dylan that everybody must get Stone, I do think desperate teams should at least consider it. Justin Herbert has targeted his tight ends on 22.5% of his passes this season, and Smartt should see the lion’s share of those targets in the Fantasy playoffs. After Dissly went down in Week 14, Smartt turned three targets into 8.4 PPR Fantasy points.

Here’s everything else you need to know about tight end in the Fantasy playoffs:

Playoff TE Preview

TE Preview
Who’s Out

The following players are not being projected to play in Week 15 at this time. Here’s what it means:

https://topupdatetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/player20headshot-3.html

Will Dissly


TE


LAC

L.A. Chargers

• #81

Age: 28

• Experience: 7 yrs.

Stone Smartt is a low-end streamer if Dissly is out.

TE Preview
Numbers to Know

  • 0 — Trey McBride still has zero receiving touchdowns on the season. I’m not sure anyone has ever been more due.
  • 12 — Tucker Kraft has seen 12 targets in his last two games without Romeo Doubs. 
  • 8 — Cade Otton has eight catches in three games since Mike Evans returned.
  • 16.69 — The Bills and Lions have surrendered a combined 16.69 PPR FPPG to tight ends this season. Noah Gray and Tucker Kraft are the only tight ends to score touchdowns against them since Week 4.
  • 2.4 — Kyle Pitts has scored 2.4 PPR Fantasy or fewer in four of his last five games.

TE Preview
Matchups that matter

https://topupdatetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/player20headshot-3.html

Sam LaPorta


TE


DET

Detroit

• #87

Age: 23

• Experience: 2 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP


vs

BUF


DET -2
O/U 54.5

OPP VS TE

8th

PROJ PTS

11

TE RNK

12th

YTD Stats
REC

36

TAR

51

REYDS

445

TD

5

FPTS/G

9.2

https://topupdatetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/player20headshot-3.html

Dawson Knox


TE


BUF

Buffalo

• #88

Age: 28

• Experience: 6 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP


@

DET


DET -2
O/U 54.5

OPP VS TE

1st

PROJ PTS

4.5

TE RNK

NR

YTD Stats
REC

17

TAR

25

REYDS

243

TD

1

FPTS/G

3.6

https://topupdatetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/player20headshot-3.html

Jake Ferguson


TE


DAL

Dallas

• #87

Age: 25

• Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP


@

CAR


CAR -2.5
O/U 43

OPP VS TE

32nd

PROJ PTS

8.5

TE RNK

8th

YTD Stats
REC

46

TAR

64

REYDS

401

TD

0

FPTS/G

8.4

https://topupdatetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/player20headshot-3.html

Stone Smartt


TE


LAC

L.A. Chargers

• #84

Age: 26

• Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP


vs

TB


LAC -3
O/U 45.5

OPP VS TE

27th

PROJ PTS

4.2

TE RNK

NR

YTD Stats
REC

6

TAR

8

REYDS

98

TD

0

FPTS/G

1.4

https://topupdatetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/player20headshot-3.html

Pat Freiermuth


TE


PIT

Pittsburgh

• #88

Age: 26

• Experience: 4 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP


@

PHI


PHI -5
O/U 42.5

OPP VS TE

7th

PROJ PTS

8.2

TE RNK

15th

YTD Stats
REC

44

TAR

50

REYDS

470

TD

5

FPTS/G

9.2

TE Preview
Waiver Wire Targets

Week 15 Streamers (TE Preview)
https://topupdatetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/player20headshot-3.html

Hunter Henry


TE


NE

New England

• #85

Age: 30

• Experience: 9 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP


@

ARI


ARI -4.5
O/U 46

OPP VS TE

6th

TE RNK

7th

ROSTERED

61%

YTD Stats
REC

58

TAR

83

REYDS

610

TD

1

FPTS/G

9.6

Hunter Henry ranks top 12 in Fantasy points per game amongst tight ends who will be active this week. That’s even more impressive because he’s only scored one touchdown all season. If I could get Henry, I think I would just set it and forget it rest of season. He only has one game with fewer than 9.4 PPR Fantasy points since Week 5.
https://topupdatetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/player20headshot-3.html

Jake Ferguson


TE


DAL

Dallas

• #87

Age: 25

• Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP


@

CAR


CAR -2.5
O/U 43

OPP VS TE

32nd

TE RNK

8th

ROSTERED

58%

YTD Stats
REC

46

TAR

64

REYDS

401

TD

0

FPTS/G

8.4

The Panthers have given up the most Fantasy points and most touchdowns to opposing tight ends this season. Four different times this season, they’ve given up 29 PPR Fantasy points to the position in a given week. Jake Ferguson wasn’t good in his first game back, but he did earn a 19% target share, which is plenty against this defense.
https://topupdatetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/player20headshot-3.html

Stone Smartt


TE


LAC

L.A. Chargers

• #84

Age: 26

• Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP


vs

TB


LAC -3
O/U 45.5

OPP VS TE

27th

TE RNK

NR

ROSTERED
YTD Stats
REC

6

TAR

8

REYDS

98

TD

0

FPTS/G

1.4

The Buccaneers have allowed a tight end to score at least 12 PPR Fantasy points in six of their last seven games. The two most recent were Tommy Tremble and Michael Mayer. Even Kyle Pitts had two good games against this defense. There’s even more upside for Smartt if Ladd McConkey misses another game.

TE Preview
DFS Plays

Top DFS Play
Projections powered by

Sportsline

https://topupdatetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/player20headshot-3.html

Trey McBride


TE


ARI

Arizona

• #85

Age: 25

• Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP


vs

NE


ARI -5.5
O/U 46

OPP VS TE

16th

PROJ PTS

16.3

TE RNK

2nd

YTD Stats
REC

80

TAR

106

REYDS

851

TD

1

FPTS/G

14.3

There is no George Kittle or Brock Bowers on the main slate, which leaves Trey McBride as the clear top option in the projections. He has 41 targets in his last three games and is a good cash game play, even if he doesn’t score. If he does break that seal, he could post a number that is almost impossible for your opponent to overcome.
Contrarian DFS Play
Projections powered by

Sportsline

https://topupdatetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/player20headshot-3.html

Stone Smartt


TE


LAC

L.A. Chargers

• #84

Age: 26

• Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP


vs

TB


LAC -3
O/U 45.5

OPP VS TE

27th

PROJ PTS

4.2

TE RNK

NR

YTD Stats
REC

6

TAR

8

REYDS

98

TD

0

FPTS/G

1.4

He’s priced like a backup tight end, he has one of the best matchups on the slate, and he’s catching passes from Justin Herbert. What more do you need from a contrarian DFS play?

TE Preview
Heath’s Projections

My full set of Week 15 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. You can find them here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don’t live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 15. Projected stats for all starting tight ends are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.

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