Week 9 Tight End Preview: Jonnu Smith remains a starter with Delanie Walker out

There are more than enough streaming options to make a case for this week. That's not a problem at all. But there are very few you can actually feel some level of confidence in. I'd argue that Jonnu Smith is one of the few with Delanie Walker out once again. 

Smith caught six of seven targets in Week 8 for 78 yards and a touchdown. As impressive as that is it's not the only thing Smith has going for him. Dating back to last year Smith has scored at least 9.4 PPR points in six of his past seven games without Delanie Walker. He struggled to fill Walker's shoes when the veteran first went down in 2018 but every thing we've seen from him since says he's a good tight end in Fantasy with the right opportunity. 

The Titans face a good Panthers defense but a big part of their defense is how good they are against wide receivers. If anyone is going to have success in the passing game I would expect it will be Smith. he's a must-add and a must-start if you don't have a trustworthy tight end. But he's not the waiver option listed below.

Week 9 TE Preview

The following players are not being projected to play Week 9 at this time. Here's what it means:

Delanie Walker TE TEN Tennessee • #82 Age: 40 • Experience: 15 yrs. Jonnu Smith has a great matchup if Walker is out.

O.J. Howard TE LV Las Vegas • #88 Age: 30 • Experience: 7 yrs. Fire up Cameron Brate.

• 8.3 - Darren Waller's targets per game, the most among all tight ends.
• 27.1 - Mark Andrews' share of the Ravens air yards. No tight end has a bigger share.
• 17 - Targets for Dallas Goedert in the past three weeks, just one shy of Zach Ertz. 
• 12.6 - Yards per target for Jonnu Smith. He won't keep that up, but I do love his ability after the catch. 

T.J. Hockenson TE MIN Minnesota • #87 Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ OAK OAK -2 O/U 50.5 OPP VS TE 29th PROJ PTS 7.9 TE RNK 16th YTD Stats REC 19 TAR 31 REYDS 240 TD 2 FPTS/G 7.6

Week 8 Streamer

Jonnu Smith TE MIA Miami • #9 Age: 29 • Experience: 8 yrs. YTD Stats Ownewrship 36% The only risk for Smith this week is Delanie Walker coming back. In the past two weeks he's caught nine passes for 142 yards and a score without Walker. As long as the veteran remains out, Smith remains a starter.

Cameron Brate TE TB Tampa Bay • #84 Age: 33 • Experience: 9 yrs. YTD Stats Ownership 28% Brate busted last week, but he did get six targets and he is playing in what should be one of the highest scoring games on Week 9. He's still a fine streamer.

Jason Witten TE LV Las Vegas • #82 Age: 42 • Experience: 17 yrs. Ownership 64% I'm just thinking week-to-week with this level of starter, and I prefer Witten over Fells against the Jaguars in Week 9.

Top Plays

Hunter Henry TE NE New England • #85 Age: 29 • Experience: 9 yrs. Week 9 Prices FanDuel $6,400 DraftKings $6,000 Henry's production was disappointing in Week 8 but he's still the No. 2 tight end in Fantasy over the past two weeks. It should be a high-scoring game against the Packers, which helps Henry's touchdown odds, and his volume should bounce back as well.

Contrarian Play

Jonnu Smith TE MIA Miami • #9 Age: 29 • Experience: 8 yrs. Week 9 Prices FanDuel $5,500 DraftKings $3,800 The price bump should keep Smith's ownership low, but I'll fire him right back up if Walker is out.

So who should you sit and start this week? And which surprising quarterback could lead you to victory? Visit SportsLine now to get Week 9 rankings for every position, plus see which QB is going to come out of nowhere to crack the top 10, all from the model that out-performed experts big time last season.