Hunter Henry Among Tight End Streamers with Good Fantasy Football Matchups in Week 1

Among the skill positions, tight end tends to fall behind wide receiver and running back in importance, both in real life and in fantasy football. Part of the reason is because there are fewer guys who truly stand out at tight end, and in the fantasy world, that means fewer players who are highly coveted among owners.

With less known quantities, tight end becomes more about the matchups than the players involved. Luck also plays a big role; the guys who get into the end zone are always going to reign supreme on any given week. Finding players going against teams that struggle to stop the tight end position, though, is the best chance of finding consistent success if you don't have one of the top guys.

Let's look at three tight ends who are being drafted outside 10 at their position who have good matchups in Week 1 and can be good streamers that first week, even if they only last one game on your roster. Streaming is about roster churn, after all, and these guys can be picked up later in your draft with the intention of swapping them out later.

I'm using our FantasySP ADP rankings to determine who is available later in drafts. Don't forget to check out my recent look at kickers and defense/special teams units who are good streaming options for Week 1.

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Hunter Henry, New England Patriots vs. Las Vegas Raiders

On a team with a wide range between the ceiling and floor of many of their skill players, Henry is one of the steadier hands. That doesn't make him a great fantasy option: in his four years with the Patriots, Henry has only been a top-10 fantasy TE once, and that was in 2021 when he caught nine touchdown passes.

Last year with Drake Maye as his quarterback was his best year by many measures, though, as his 97 targets, 66 receptions, and 674 yards were all career highs (he only scored two touchdowns, lowering his fantasy impact). The wide receiver group lacks top-end talent again unless Stefon Diggs can return from a major knee injury as strong as ever, so Henry could be in line for a similar workload.

That would play well against the Raiders, who last year tied for the seventh-most points allowed and gave up the third-most fantasy points per game to tight ends. They were better against the pass on both a per-attempt and per-game basis, finishing in the middle in each category, but Vegas was vulnerable against the men in the middle. The Raiders also lost essentially their entire starting group at linebacker and their best safety in Tre'von Moehrig, so there could be more trouble from tight ends this year.

Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Carolina Panthers

With Evan Engram off to Denver, Strange moves into the top role in Jacksonville. Strange is a similar player to Engram in that he is more of a pass catcher at tight end than a blocker, so he should be able to step in and offer much of the same. With Engram appearing in only nine games last season, Strange caught 40 passes for 411 yards and two touchdowns.

There's a new head coach and play caller in town in Liam Coen, so that will shake up the offense a bit. Last year in Tampa Bay, where Coen came from, tight end Cade Otton was second on the team with 59 receptions and 600 yards. Part of that is because Chris Godwin missed more than half the season, but it shows that the tight end will likely be involved.

The Panthers allowed more points than any other team last season and gave up the 10th-most passing yards per game and fourth-most yards per attempt. Specific to tight ends, they allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to the position, behind only the Bengals. Carolina made a few additions on defense, but they are much the same team on that side of the ball and unlikely to make big improvements, making Strange an intriguing player in Week 1.

Darren Waller, Miami Dolphins @ Indianapolis Colts

This is a risky one, as Waller sat out all last season in supposed retirement before choosing to come back for 2025. He was a star receiver at the position with the Raiders, particularly in 2019-2020, when he combined for 197 catches, 2,341 yards, and 12 touchdowns. Those are also the only seasons in which he played more than 12 games, as injuries have been a consistent issue.

We're only looking for him to have one good game, not an entire season, so I'm not as worried about those injuries for the soon-to-be 33-year-old. The riskier side is that he did sit out that whole season and is now with a new team where he will be at best third in the receiving hierarchy (behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle).

He starts out with about as good a matchup as possible by 2024 numbers, as the Colts were ninth worst in points per game allowed, seventh worst in passing yards per game allowed, fifth worst in yards per pass attempt allowed, and fifth worst in fantasy points per game given up to tight ends. Every arrow is pointing up in terms of pass catchers taking advantage of Indianapolis.

They made some improvements, including bringing in Charvarius Ward at cornerback and Cam Bynum at safety, two guys who will help directly against the pass. The pass rush still looks a little weak, though, meaning quarterbacks could have time to once again pick apart the secondary. I want to see improvement from the Colts before I actually believe it.