Streaming Tight Ends: Week 14 Targets

Dec 06, 2016

The fantasy playoffs are upon us, and it’s time to get serious about having the best squad possible at your disposal. It’s time to assess your current roster and see if the TE you drafted is starter-worthy this week or if you are better off grabbing someone off the waiver wire to get the TE1 production your team needs to survive.

The main focus of our research when looking at a TE’s matchup is 4for4’s Schedule-Adjusted Fantasy Points Allowed (aFPA) metric. As the season continues to progress and more data is available, aFPA becomes more and more reliable, using rolling 10-week data. Targets and efficiency metrics are also considered when coming up with weekly TE streamers.

Our goal in streaming is to roster a player that is going to return TE1 fantasy points, and for Week 13, two of my four streamers finished within the 15 best for TE PPR points. Jermaine Gresham had 10.2 as TE14, and Vernon Davis ended up as TE15 with 9.7.

After 13 weeks of football, 4for4 streaming candidates are averaging 8.27 PPR fantasy points per game. The optimal TE streamer has a combined 159.3 PPR fantasy points, enough for TE4 on the season. On to Week 14 where those of us who made the post season are going to put it all on the table in the hopes of basking in the glory of a fantasy championship.

In order to provide advice that you can actually implement, candidates for streaming must be available in at least 40% of Yahoo fantasy leagues.

Ladarius Green (PIT) @ BUF

The Steelers have found their Zen and have handily won three consecutive games. At 7-5 on the season, Pittsburgh is sitting second in the AFC North fighting for a playoff berth. Out for the first nine weeks of the season due to a head injury, Ladarius Green has been slowly integrated back into the offense culminating with 11 targets in Week 13, which he turned into 23 PPR fantasy points.

In Week 14, the Steelers will head to New York to face a Buffalo defense who has given up three touchdowns to the TE position in the past five games, with a current aFPA of 12.0. It appears that Ben Roethlisberger is pleased to have Green back in the mix and he should be a prominent part of this offense for your fantasy playoffs.

Green will face a Bengals defense with the worst aFPA in the league in Week 15, so snagging him this week will benefit your next round of playoffs as well. The Pittsburgh TE is currently owned in only 24% of Yahoo leagues so be sure to bid high if you have any FAAB left -- he certainly won’t last long on the waiver wire.