Fantasy Upside
O.J. Howard is back and healthy this year, and ready to return to action. Howard looked strong in his four games with Tom Brady last season, averaging 4.8 targets, 2.8 receptions, 36.5 yards and 0.5 touchdowns. If you extrapolated those numbers over the full season, Howard would have finished as the No. 8 scoring tight end in full PPR.
Fantasy Downside
The obvious downside to Howard is the fact he plays in a crowded offense. Targets would be hard to come by with the wide receivers alone (Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown), but it makes it even tougher when he’s battling with Rob Gronkowski and even Cameron Brate at tight end.
2021 Bottom Line
If Gronkowski gets hurt at any point this year, Howard will end up being a strong play. But the two of them in this offense together will make it challenging for either to have a big season. It’d be nice if you could have a single tight end named like O.J. Gronkowski or something, but unfortunately, that’s not an option. Howard is outside of the top 20 tight ends.