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Fantasy Football 2019: No top tier tight end? No problem!

By Joe Metz

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - NOVEMBER 18: Tight end Evan Engram #88 of the New York Giants celebrates carrying the ball for a first down with teammate wide receiver Bennie Fowler #18 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium on November 18, 2018 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The New York Giants won 38-35. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - NOVEMBER 18: Tight end Evan Engram #88 of the New York Giants celebrates carrying the ball for a first down with teammate wide receiver Bennie Fowler #18 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium on November 18, 2018 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The New York Giants won 38-35. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Fantasy Football
Fantasy Football: EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – NOVEMBER 18: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) O.J. Howard #80 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in action against the New York Giants on November 18, 2018 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Giants defeated the Buccaneers 38-35. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Fantasy Football: O.J. Howard | Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Perhaps no tight end outside of Travis Kelce, George Kittle and Zach Ertz carries more hype into the season than O.J. Howard and rightfully so. He missed 6 games last season and was still able to finish as the #14 overall tight end on the season.

Even so, among qualified tight ends, he ranked 1st overall in yards per reception (16.6), 5th in receptions of 20 or more yards (11), 5th in touchdowns (5) and 6th in fantasy points per game (PPR) (12.1). He also topped 60 receiving yards in over half of the games he appeared in (6 out of 11 games) and his 11.8 yards per target last season is the second-highest number in NFL history.

If you were to expand his 34 catches, 565 yards, and 5 touchdown slash line in his 11 games last season and expand that pace to a 16 game sample size, you’re looking at 49 catches, 822 yards, and roughly 7 total touchdowns. For reference, in a full-point PPR league, that would equate to 173.2 fantasy points, which would have put him as TE6 overall last season.

He’s a big-play machine that should only see more big-play opportunity with the departure of deep-threat DeSean Jackson and should he remain healthy for the entirety, or at least the vast majority of the season, he has the potential to flirt with top 3-5 tight end numbers and will cost you a 5th to 6th round pick at the highest.

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