We couldn’t have asked for much more in Week 12, as we spotted a tight end in the midst of an opportunity spike playing a team that has been unfailingly generous to opposing tight ends since September.
Perhaps it wasn’t even a shock to see Coby Fleener, our main Week 12 streaming option, post a top-8 fantasy performance thanks to four receptions for 55 yards and a score against the Cardinals.
Playing the matchups doesn’t always pay such glorious dividends — see Case Keenum as a case study — but I hope you were able to pluck Fleener from the wire. He’s still somehow, some way available in about six in 10 fantasy leagues.
And once again, I have Fleener pegged as a top-10 play.
Week 13 streamers
Coby Fleener (IND) vs. Tennessee Titans
It was two short weeks ago that Fleener had what was, in the end, his coming out party, posting 107 scoreless yards on eight grabs. That was all against the Titans, in case you missed it. Tennessee has quickly become a prime target for tight end streamers everywhere.
It might seem strange that Tennessee struggles against tight ends and shuts down opposing wide receivers, but it’s most certainly the case. The Titans allow the seventh most schedule-adjusted fantasy points to tight ends, according to 4for4.com, while giving up the least amount of fantasy production to enemy receivers.
The Titans have allowed less than eight fantasy points to tight ends just once over the past month. Fleener is fast becoming a streamer transforming into an every-week starter, just like Julius Thomas and Jordan Reed.
Charles Clay (MIA) at New York Jets
Gang Green is sneaky bad against tight ends. They’ve allowed six or more catches to tight ends in four of their past six games. A mere three teams are worse against the position.
Clay isn’t, and never will be, a guy who posts big yardage numbers. Just watch his pass routes: they’re almost all short jaunts meant to create a safety valve for the oft-pressured Ryan Tannehill.
That means Clay is touchdown dependent. It’s less than appealing, to be sure, but against the Jets — a team that has given up six scores to opposing tight ends — he’s a fine and dandy matchup play. Clay is the fifth most targeted tight end over the past five weeks.
John Carlson (MIN) vs. Chicago Bears
Christian Ponder likes his tight ends, and with the starting gig all to himself, Carlson has produced decent fantasy numbers for the most desperate of owners.
Carlson is averaging 8.8 fantasy points over his three games in Kyle Rudolph’s stead, and like Clay, he’s going to remain touchdown reliant. The best news for anyone rolling with Carlson is his route running numbers over the past few weeks. Carlson ran 17 routes in his first game as starter against Washington, 33 routes against the Seahakws, and 29 pass routes against the Packers.
I think Carlson can be a viable top-15 play as long as he’s running somewhere around 30 pass routes. The rotoViz GLSP projection app has Carlson’s Week 13 ceiling at 10.1 points. You couldn’t ask for a whole lot more.
