Fantasy Football Week 1 TE Preview: Rob Gronkowski, O.J. Howard and Blake Jarwin are all possible streamers

The best thing about how bad the tight end position is in Fantasy is that you can make a case for just about anyone as a streaming option. And that’s highlighted in the season opener, with Rob Gronkowski, Blake Jarwin, O.J. Howard, and Dalton Schultz all having a case as the best tight end option.

Gronkowski is probably the easiest to make a case for, even if it’s really just a non-PPR case. Gronkowski has scored touchdowns at a higher rate than just about any pass catcher in history. HIs Buccaneers have the second-highest implied point total for Week 1. One touchdown is generally enough to call it a good week at tight end, especially in non-PPR.

Jarwin and Howard are coming off injuries, so I can understand if you’d rather see it from them first. But I like their season-long upside better than Gronkowski’s. Jarwin is the most dynamic tight end on a team that has produced a borderline No. 1 each of the past two seasons. Howard was outproducing Gronkowski before he got hurt last year and may still be one of the most athletic tight ends in the league.

The case for Schultz? Jarwin is coming off an injury and Schultz just finished 2020 as a borderline No. 1 tight end with much worse quarterback play. You should start anyone over the top eight in the projections below, but after that it’s pretty much a free-for-all and this game should be a shootout.

Here’s everything else you need to know about tight end in Week 1:

Week 1 TE Preview

The following players are not being projected to play Week 1 at this time. Here’s what it means:

• 11.5 — PPR Fantasy points per game for Noah Fant in the 12 complete games he played with a QB. That would have been TE5 last year.
• 481 — The 49ers only allowed 481 yards to tight ends all year last year. Everyone should still start T.J. Hockenson, but if he struggles we may have to think twice about Dallas Goedert next week.
• 7.0 — We expect Logan Thomas‘ 7.0 aDOT will get a boost with Ryan Fitzpatrick under center.
• 5.5 — Austin Hooper averaged 5.5 targets per game with Odell Beckham on the field. That’s enough to be a low-end TE1.
• 174 — Evan Engram’s 174 PPR Fantasy points as a rookie are the best of the modern era. Kyle Pitts will need to best that to justify his ADP. 
• 138 — The Titans threw 138 passes to their tight ends last year. If Anthony Firkser could earn 70% of those, he’d be in play as a starting tight end.