Thanksgiving is here and in all honesty I’d rather be thankful I wasn’t streaming tight-ends. But if, like me, you don’t have one, or just lost Mark Andrews, there are plenty of options to choose from this week. There is a full 16 game slate to choose from and plenty of streaming options in decent match-ups. But pay attention early in the week, in addition to the traditional three Thanksgiving Day games the Jets and Dolphins play in the first ever Black Friday game.

All of the options discussed in the article are rostered in less than 50% of Yahoo fantasy leagues. These suggestions are aimed at players in 10-12 team leagues. In shallower leagues there may be better available. In deeper leagues there’s a good chance some of these players will not be available for you.

Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens

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Rostered in 4 % of Yahoo Leagues

First up, the obvious option. Mark Andrews went down injured last week and whilst the outlook is a little better than on Thursday night, he’ll still most likely miss the rest of the season. Isaiah Likely is the next man up, although he is an obvious downgrade at the position. He hasn’t done an awful lot this season, but he did manage 3 TDs and a couple of big yardage games last season. Likely is going to play a lot more snaps going forward, and the targets should follow.

For his first start, Likely and the Ravens faces a Chargers defence that is among the most generous to opposing tight-ends. Likely will also benefit from a Quarterback in Lamar Jackson passing the ball as well as he ever has. It’s a great spot for Likely to succeed this week and he could be a solid option for the rest of the season. He’s likely to be a priority add this week, so don’t expect him to clear waivers.

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Rostered in 46 % of Yahoo Leagues

Luke Musgrave was mentioned last week and here’s back again this week. Musgrave was targeted 6 times last weekend, his most since week 5. It didn’t turn into an awful lot of production but he was missed by Jordan Love on a potential long gain. It won’t gain him any fantasy points, but he also put in a fantastic block downfield on a Jayden Reed TD run. There’s some hope the yardage can come, after a very rocky stretch Jordan Love has set a career high in passing yards each of the last two weeks.

It’s another positive match-up for Musgrave as the Packers travel to Detroit for the Thanksgiving Day opener. However, it wasn’t a match-up that yielded much success back in week 4 when Musgrave caught his only target of the day for a solitary yard. It was Musgrave’s worst performance of the season and since then the Packers offence has come out the other side of a rough patch. If the targets keep up for Musgrave it should be at least a serviceable fantasy performance.

Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Rostered in 20 % of Yahoo Leagues

Cade Otton has been quietly consistent over the last few weeks in the Buccaneers offence. Otton has been targeted 5+ times and caught 4+ passes in four of his last five games. He’s unlikely to blow you away with yardage and he has plenty of competition from Mike Evans for redzone targets. But Baker Mayfield has shown the ability to lead a competent offence for the most part and has always had a soft spot for tight ends.

This week the Bucs travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts. It’s not a great match-up on paper, but it certainly isn’t the worst by any means. The Colts have given up just one touchdown to the position, but they do average 55 yards to the position. Otton doesn’t have a huge amount of upside, but his consistency at a position that’s getting thinner and thinner isn’t something to sniff at.

Other Options

Michael Mayer (11%) has been alright with Aidan O’Connell under centre. The Raiders will likely need to throw a lot against the Chiefs.

Donald Parham Jr (5%) head 6 targets with Gerald Everett out of the line-up. If Everett is out again, Parham should be a solid option again.

Tyler Higbee (41%) could also benefit from injuries this week. If Cooper Kupp can’t go, Higbee could be in line for increased targets as he had in weeks 1-4.

It’s Tim Boyle at QB for the Jets but the role for Tyler Conklin (20%) shouldn’t change. He’ll be the safety blanket and a key part of the offence again.

Hunter Henry (29%) has seen is targets increase since Kendrick Bourne’s season ending injury. Although the match-up isn’t great against the Giants

On the other side of the ball Daniel Bellinger (1%) has been a decent fill-in for Darren Waller. Bellinger has had 3 targets in 3 consecutive games and if Tommy DeVito can continue to run a passable offence there’s a trustable floor.

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