The tight end position continues to be one of the biggest headaches in fantasy football, and the elite tier is as thin as ever. This difficulty makes identifying effective tight end sleepers and streamers even more important.
If you’re going to stream the position, you have to be willing to stay active on the waiver wire. Snap counts, route participation, target share, red-zone opportunities, and matchups all become extremely important when you don’t have one of the elite options on your roster.
This season has already created plenty of uncertainty at the position. Brock Bowers is dealing with a knee injury, while Colston Loveland has struggled to make much of an impact early in the season. With reliable tight ends becoming harder to find, fantasy managers need to start looking for players whose opportunity is trending in the right direction.
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Week 3 Tight End Streamers
Dalton Schultz
Schultz is making a strong case that he should be treated as a weekly fantasy option rather than a touchdown-dependent streamer.
With Nico Collins out in Week 2, Schultz became a major part of the Texans’ passing game, finishing with 12 targets, 140 receiving yards, and a 28.3% target share. CJ Stroud threw the ball 55 times, but Schultz was still very encouraging. Schultz also saw seven targets in Week 1, even with Collins active. As long as Collins remains sidelined, Schultz should have enough volume to remain in the TE1 conversation.
Even when Collins returns, Houston doesn’t have an overwhelming number of proven target earners behind him. That gives Schultz a path to remaining fantasy-relevant.
Oronde Gadsden
Gadsden is another tight end who deserves attention, especially with injuries creating a much clearer path to playing time.
Is this any good? pic.twitter.com/u5JQlu7FGT
— The Voice of Reason (@reasonlocker) September 21, 2026
With David Njoku and Charlie Kolar both headed to IR, Gadsden’s opportunity should increase significantly. In the offseason, we couldn’t draft Gadsden because the situation looked so muddled. The biggest question isn’t whether he can make plays in the passing game. It’s how much he’s actually going to be on the field.
In Week 2, Gadsden found the end zone, but more importantly, like last year, the potential increase in routes and targets is what makes him intriguing.
Week 3 Tight End Sleepers
Darren Waller
Waller isn’t someone I’d automatically consider a locked-in TE1, but he’s definitely worth monitoring.
After having a touchdown wiped away by a penalty in Week 1, Waller found the end zone twice in Week 2. That’s already three potential touchdowns through two weeks if you count the score that was called back.
The biggest appeal here is his role around the goal line. Waller may not dominate the snap count in Carolina’s tight end rotation, but he’s arguably the team’s most dangerous receiving threat at the position.
He’s more of a deeper-league stash, but Bryce Young is white-hot right now, so the upside is there.
A.J. Barner
Barner is playing around 80% of Seattle’s offensive snaps. In Week 1 against the Patriots, he commanded an 87.5% snap share, playing 44 out of 50 offensive snaps. Proving his unique utilization near the goal line, Barner scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown in Week 2.
For Week 3, Seattle draws a struggling Washington Commanders team that has already allowed four receiving touchdowns to the position this season. Barner could become a useful safety valve for Seattle’s passing game.
He’s not someone I’m aggressively forcing into lineups yet, but the combination of snap percentage, route opportunity and potential red-zone usage makes him a player worth having on your waiver-wire watch list.
Make sure to check out all of our Week 3 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!
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