As bad as the tight end position, it's pretty amazing that Tyler Conklin is still on the waiver wire. While Conklin has only averaged 9.2 FPPG, that ranks as TE11 on the season. And we're not expecting three of the tight ends ahead of him -- Dallas Goedert, Zach Ertz, and David Njoku -- to play this week. And Taysom Hill, whose usage has completely disappeared the past month, is on that list as well.
The one thing I could understand is people think Conklin was only a thing because of Joe Flacco. And it's true that most of his production came before Zach Wilson took over at quarterback. But that was also before the Jets discovered Breece Hall and their running game. With Hall on IR, we expect the Jets to be more pass-heavy, and that's the real indicator for Conklin. In the five games that the Jets have thrown at least 30 passes this season, Conklin is averaging 14.4 PPR FPPG.
One of those games was Week 8 against the Patriots, the Jets' Week 11 opponent. In that game Conklin caught six of 10 targets for 79 passes and two touchdowns. That may sound weird because of the Patriots' history against the position, but that history has been bucked in 2022. The Patriots have allowed the seventh-most Fantasy points to the position this year, including a league-high seven touchdowns.
Conklin isn't just a streamer this week, he's a top-10 option. And he's available in more than two-thirds of leagues.
Here's everything else you need to know about tight end in Week 11:
Tre'McKitty is likely the top tight end for the Chargers, but it won't matter if Mike Williams and Keenan Allen are back.
TE Preview
Numbers to Know
73 -- Tyler Higbee caught all eight of his targets for 73 yards. With Cooper Kupp out, he very well could be the only viable starter on the Rams offense.
30% -- Off-target rate for Kyle Pitts. As much as he gets slammed for his lack of Fantasy production, we must consider that Marcus Mariota isn't doing him many favors.
79 -- In three of the last four games against the Cardinals, George Kittle has at least 79 receiving yards or a touchdown.
4 -- Touchdowns in the last three games for Juwan Johnson.
19 -- Targets for T.J. Hockenson in two games as a Viking.
49 -- After a brutal start to the season, Dalton Schultz has at least 49 receiving yards and at least five catches in his past three games. Dak Prescott has saved his season.
Any time you expect the Jets to throw more than 30 passes, you should feel decent about Conklin as a low-end starter. And that's going to happen often down the stretch due to the Jets' lack of a running game without Breece Hall.
Moreau scored his first touchdown last week and has been a top-12 tight end since Week 7. There's not much to be excited about here, but excitement is not a prerequisite to be a starting tight end with all the injuries we've had at the position.
McBride is more of a stash than a stream, just in case he can earn Zach Ertz's role. He has elite pedigree, and the Cardinals are a high volume pass offense, but the matchup is pretty terrible in Week 11.
We're expecting Mark Andrews to return in Week 11 and with Travis Kelce in primetime and Dallas Goedert out for the foreseeable future, there's really no other choice at tight end. It's Andrews or punt the position and pray for a touchdown. I'd rather play Andrews and find value somewhere else.
The Raiders have been terrible against the pass in just about every way, but particularly against tight ends. Hopefully Dulcich's Week 10 dud will lower his roster rate enough to be a contrarian play. I expect him to be second on the Broncos in targets this week and I expect Russell Wilson to have another good performance against the Raiders.
