Fantasy Football Week 9 TE Preview: Albert Okwuegbunam a sleeper streamer if Noah Fant is out
Noah Fant could be out in Week 9 but his teammate could fill in nicely
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1 min read
With all the breaking news this week, you may have missed the fact that Noah Fant was placed on the COVID-IR list and could miss the Broncos Week 9 game against the Cowboys. Fant needs two negative tests, 24 hours apart, before Sunday to be allowed to play. In other words, it's time to make other plans.
The top three streaming options are all available to varying degrees. Pat Freiermuth is now rostered in 60% of leagues, Tyler Conklin in 39%, and Dan Arnold in 27%. Freiermuth and Arnold have pretty terrible matchups, but in a week without T.J. Hockenson, Rob Gronkowski, and potentially Fant, we can't be too picky.
If you don't like those matchups, or if you're in a deep league where those guys are already rostered, you may want to take a shot on Fant's backup, Albert Okwuegbunam.
The Broncos' second-year tight end has caught 23 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns in his first nine NFL games. The Broncos' offensive tendencies (26% tight end target share each of the past two seasons) and Okwuegbunam's 82% catch rate should lead to a decent PPR floor. The fact that the Cowboys have given up the sixth-most Fantasy points to opposing tight ends only helps things.
Here's everything else you need to know about tight end in Week 9:
Week 9 TE Preview
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Who's Out
The following players are not being projected to play Week 9 at this time. Here's what it means:
Josiah Deguara or Marcedes Lewis are touchdown-dependent dart throws against the Chiefs this week.
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Numbers to Know
- 22.5% -- Mark Andrews leads all tight ends with a 22% target share.
- 25.5% -- Dallas Goedert has seen more than a fourth of the Eagles targets since Zach Ertz was traded.
- 31% -- Kyle Pitts' 31% air yards share leads all tight ends.
- 10.6 -- Dan Arnold has averaged 10.6 PPR Fantasy points per game in his three full games with the Jaguars.
- 14 -- Pat Freiermuth has seen 14 targets in two games without JuJu Smith-Schuster.
- 11 -- Tyler Higbee leads all tight ends with 11 red-zone targets.
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Matchups that matter
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Waiver Wire Targets
Week 9 Streamers
I actually prefer Dan Arnold rest of season, but Arnold has to face the Bills this week, so Freiermuth's Week 8 edge puts him over the top.
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Dan Arnold is second on the Jaguars in targets since Week 5. He also ranks top 12 among tight ends in target share, receptions share and Fantasy points per game in that stretch.
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Like Arnold, I like him more rest of season than this week because of his matchup with the Ravens coming off their bye week.
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If you're into matchups, this is probably the best one available for a streamer.
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DFS Plays
Top Play
Projections powered by
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Putting my money where my mouth is with Kelce this week. I see no reason he won't be TE1, and you're getting him at a discount due to his recent scoring drought.
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Contrarian Play
Projections powered by
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It is a bad matchup, but there should be a ton of garbage time for Jacksonville and Arnold is one of their primary targets.
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