Last week in this space, I told you to stick with Taysom Hill despite his bad Week 10. Even I didn't expect a 40-point outburst in Week 11. Needless to say, you should continue to stick with Hill through his bye week. He may just be a league winner in the Fantasy playoffs.
One guy we hoped would be a league winner was T.J. Hockenson. After he caught eight of nine targets for 72 yards in Week 10, it looked like he was right on track. Then he scored 3.3 PPR Fantasy points last week. There are two lessons here. One, beware of counting on Fantasy production that comes against Jacksonville. Two, Hockenson is still not a full-time player, and he's not shown any signs yet of moving that direction.
Hockenson has played between 45% and 48% of Minnesota's offensive plays in each of his first three games this season. For reference, his season low before he got hurt was 63% last year. He was at 70% or higher in 13 of 14 games. That's what we need to see for Hockneson to be a must-start tight end.
An injury to Josh Oliver may force the Vikings' hand. In the three games since Hockenson returned, Oliver has 32 more receiving yards and 8.2 more PPR Fantasy points. It's hard to be a number one tight end in Fantasy when you aren't even the most productive tight end on your team.
This week, I would prefer to sit Hockenson. There are three streamers below I like more. But I also understand there are six teams on bye, and you may not want to use a roster spot on a second tight end. I would not drop Hockenson for any of those streamers. I'm still hoping he turns into a league winner.
Here's everything else you need to know about tight end in Week 12:
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0 -- Trey McBride has zero receiving touchdowns this season, and he's still TE4 per game. He could lap the position down the stretch if regression hits.
24% -- Taysom Hill saw a career-high 34% target share in Week 11. He also had a 25% rush share. He's a league winner if he comes close to those numbers in the Fantasy playoffs.
119 -- Brock Bowers is on pace for 119 catches. That would smash the rookie record Puka Nacua set last year.
8 -- Travis Kelce had eight receiving yards in Week 12. That's the fifth time this season he's been held below 40 yards.
There are four streaming tight ends ranked in my top 10 this week. So don't go spending too much on any one of them. But in terms of priority, Jonnu Smith is at the top. Smith has seen 39 targets in his last six games. He's scored at least 9.6 PPR Fantasy points in four of those six. He is TE5 since Tua Tagovailoa returned in Week 8, averaging 12.8 PPR FPPG. This is not just chasing a great Week 11 performance; Smith was my top streamer going into last week.
Dissly is a consensus top-six tight end this week. He has six or more targets in four of his last five games, and he has a great matchup against a Ravens defense that has been a pass funnel.
Schoonmaker saw an 18% target share in Week 11 after Jake Ferguson left with a concussion. This has been a plug-and-play situation with the Dallas tight end position going all the way back to Jason Witten. If Ferguson misses Week 12, expect Schoonmaker to finish as a top-12 tight end.
Smith is priced at least $1,000 less than the other top five tight ends, and the way the Dolphins offense is functioning, I think he's in that discussion. This is one of those weeks where my favorite cash game play at the position is also my favorite tournament play.
I prefer to play Jonnu Smith in both cash and tournaments this week. If you want to diversify, Schoonmaker is a great option. The injury to Jake Ferguson happened after Week 12 pricing was out, so Schoonmaker is still priced like a backup tight end. I wouldn't be surprised if he sees seven or more targets this week.
TE Preview
Heath's Projections
My full set of Week 12 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. You can find them here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 12. Projected stats for all starting tight ends are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.
