Fantasy Football TE Tiers and Streamers for Week 1

With Week 1 of the NFL is finally upon us, it’s time for fantasy football managers to set their lineups and dive into each position. At a position with a tendency to lack weekly upside, here are our TE tiers for Week 1, along with streamers for fantasy football.

Week 1 TE Tiers

While individual rankings will always be valuable for weekly decisions, using a tier-based approach at TE can help find similar production ranges.

Tier 1

Travis Kelce | Kansas City Chiefs vs. CLE
Darren Waller | Las Vegas Raiders vs. BAL
George Kittle | San Francisco 49ers @ DET

Tier 2

Mark Andrews | Baltimore Ravens @ LV
T.J. Hockenson | Detroit Lions vs. SF
Kyle Pitts | Atlanta Falcons vs. PHI

Tier 3

Logan Thomas | Washington Football Team vs. LAC
Dallas Goedert | Philadelphia Eagles @ ATL
Noah Fant | Denver Broncos @ NYG
Robert Tonyan | Green Bay Packers @ NO

Tier 4

Tyler Higbee | Los Angeles Rams vs. CHI
Jonnu Smith | New England Patriots vs. MIA
Mike Gesicki | Miami Dolphins @ NE
Austin Hooper | Cleveland Browns @ KC
Gerald Everett | Seattle Seahawks @ IND
Zach Ertz | Philadelphia Eagles @ ATL
Jared Cook | Los Angeles Chargers @ WAS
Hunter Henry | New England Patriots vs. MIA

Tier 5

Cole Kmet | Chicago Bears @ LAR
Anthony Firkser | Tennessee Titans vs. ARI
Tyler Conklin | Minnesota Vikings @ CIN
Eric Ebron | Pittsburgh Steelers @ BUF
Dawson Knox | Buffalo Bills vs. PIT
Jordan Akins | Houston Texans vs. JAX
Adam Trautman | New Orleans Saints vs. GB

Tier 6

Hayden Hurst | Atlanta Falcons vs. PHI
Dan Arnold | Carolina Panthers vs. NYJ
Tyler Kroft | New York Jets @ CAR
Kyle Rudolph | New York Giants vs. DE

Tier 7

C.J. Uzomah | Cincinnati Bengals vs. MIN
Juwan Johnson | New Orleans Saints vs. GB
Albert Okwuegbunam | Denver Broncos @ NYG
Jimmy Graham | Chicago Bears @ LAR
David Njoku | Cleveland Browns @ KC

Mo Alie-Cox | Indianapolis Colts vs. SEA
Donald Parham Jr. | Los Angeles Chargers @ WAS
Kylen Granson | Indianapolis Colts vs. SEA
Drew Sample | Cincinnati Bengals vs. MIN
Jack Doyle | Indianapolis Colts vs. SEA
Will Dissly | Seattle Seahawks @ IND

TE streamers for Week 1

Rather than focusing on the top-tier fantasy football players, we are looking at the TEs who might be going under the radar for Week 1. For this, we are using FleaFlicker and their availability percentage with a cut-off at 60%, meaning these TEs should be available in most fantasy football leagues in Week 1.

Anthony Firkser

Firkser was touted as a breakout candidate for most of the offseason. However, the enthusiasm ceased once the Titans traded for wide receiver Julio Jones.

Tennessee has leaned heavily on the running game with Derrick Henry. How many targets would be left after Jones and A.J. Brown get fed? The good news is that Firkser was very efficient last season playing opposite of Jonnu Smith.

Firkser set new career highs with 39 receptions, 387 receiving yards, and a touchdown in 2020. He only played 31% of the Titans’ offensive snaps in 2020 but still managed to finish the season with 53 targets. He was targeted on 15.2% of his snaps. Did you know that ranked second among tight ends who played 300+ snaps behind only Travis Kelce?

The 26-year-old tight end will be splitting snaps with Geoff Swaim this season. As a reminder, Smith is now with the Patriots. Therefore, Firkser should operate as the primary passing-down tight end. He is in prime position to replace the statistical production vacated by Smith.

The presence of Brown and Jones on the outside commands a ton of defensive attention. This presents an opportunity for Firkser to potentially prosper in the middle of the field. The total for the Titans and Cardinals matchup is one of the largest on the Sunday slate, climbing to 52 points. Firkser is a solid streamer for Week 1.

Dan Arnold

Arnold set career highs in targets (45), receptions (31), receiving yards (438), and touchdowns (4) last season with the Cardinals. Now with the Panthers, the 26-year-old TE developed a rapport with new QB Sam Darnold during training camp and the preseason.

The Panthers signed Arnold to a two-year deal worth $6 million. He has an excellent matchup against a Jets defense that allowed the most fantasy points per game to tight ends last season.

Dallas Goedert

Some fantasy managers may be hesitant about Goedert heading into Week 1 because Zach Ertz is still on the roster. Yet, Goedert has performed extremely well playing alongside Ertz. He’s finished as a TE2 or better in 57% of his games in PPR formats over the last three seasons while only playing 64% of the offensive snaps.

Goedert faces a Falcons defense that allowed the third-most PPR fantasy points to tight ends last year. He’s an excellent streamer who could finish as a TE1 this week.