Tight ends can be a focal point of a team’s offense, and we have seen some dominant ones take over a game before. Stopping tight ends is a tough task, as defensive backs are usually too small, and linebackers are too slow. They are a mismatch, and some defenses have no answer for stopping them. Defenses can let up fantasy points in bunches, and the tight end position is no different. However, tight ends can score in various ways. Defenses can allow a hefty amount of receptions or can be pummeled in the red zone. This page helps break down what defenses are allowing the most and fewest amount of fantasy points, but also how those
Tight ends can be a focal point of a team’s offense, and we have seen some dominant ones take over a game before. Stopping tight ends is a tough task, as defensive backs are usually too small, and linebackers are too slow. They are a mismatch, and some defenses have no answer for stopping them. Defenses can let up fantasy points in bunches, and the tight end position is no different. However, tight ends can score in various ways. Defenses can allow a hefty amount of receptions or can be pummeled in the red zone. This page helps break down what defenses are allowing the most and fewest amount of fantasy points, but also how those
Team | Fantasy Points Allowed | Receiving Stats Allowed | Rushing Stats Allowed | ||||||||||||||
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Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 0.9 | 1 | 0.9 | 1 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 3 | 2 | 9.5 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 2.5 | 1.5 | 10 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 1.1 | 3 | 1.1 | 3 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 2 | 1.5 | 11.5 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 1.2 | 4 | 1.2 | 4 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 2 | 2 | 12 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 1.2 | 5 | 1.2 | 5 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 4.5 | 2.5 | 12.5 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 2 | 6 | 2 | 6 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 6.5 | 4 | 20.5 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 2.2 | 7 | 2.2 | 7 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 6.5 | 4 | 22 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 2.5 | 8 | 2.5 | 8 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 6.5 | 4 | 34.5 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 2.8 | 9 | 2.8 | 9 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 3.5 | 3 | 27.5 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 3.9 | 10 | 3.9 | 10 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 4 | 3 | 38.5 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 4 | 11 | 4 | 11 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 6 | 3.5 | 39.5 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 4 | 12 | 4 | 12 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 6 | 5.5 | 40.5 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 4.7 | 13 | 4.7 | 13 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 7.5 | 3 | 17 | 0.5 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 5 | 14 | 5 | 14 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 9.5 | 5 | 49.5 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 5.2 | 15 | 5.2 | 15 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 7 | 5.5 | 52 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 5.2 | 16 | 5.2 | 16 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 10 | 7.5 | 52.5 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 5.3 | 17 | 5.3 | 17 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 9 | 5.5 | 53 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 5.7 | 18 | 5.7 | 18 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 7.5 | 6.5 | 56.5 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 5.7 | 19 | 5.7 | 19 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 5.5 | 4 | 57 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 6.7 | 20 | 6.7 | 20 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 6.5 | 5 | 36.5 | 0.5 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 6.8 | 21 | 6.8 | 21 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 9 | 5.5 | 68 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 8.4 | 22 | 8.4 | 22 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 9 | 7.5 | 54.5 | 0.5 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 8.4 | 22 | 8.4 | 22 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 5.5 | 4 | 54.5 | 0.5 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 8.6 | 24 | 8.6 | 24 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 11.5 | 8.5 | 85.5 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 9.2 | 25 | 9.2 | 25 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 6.5 | 5.5 | 31.5 | 1 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 9.2 | 26 | 9.2 | 26 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 11 | 6 | 61.5 | 0.5 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 9.8 | 27 | 9.8 | 27 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 8.5 | 7 | 98 | 0 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 10.7 | 28 | 10.7 | 28 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 7.5 | 5.5 | 47 | 1 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 12.4 | 29 | 12.4 | 29 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 9.5 | 8 | 63.5 | 1 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0.5 | 1 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 14.2 | 30 | 14.2 | 30 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 8 | 6.5 | 82 | 1 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 17.6 | 31 | 17.6 | 31 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 10 | 8.5 | 85.5 | 1.5 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Team | 2 | Fantasy Points Allowed | 18.4 | 32 | 18.4 | 32 | Receiving Stats Allowed | 14 | 11.5 | 153.5 | 0.5 | Rushing Stats Allowed | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Contents
Starting with the tabs and drop-downs above, you are going to want to get everything set up to get the specific data you are looking for. If you want to see
Going into the fantasy points allowed and team stats, you will find the defense with their overall defensive rating from our Lineups formula. This is not a pass defense rating, but an overall rating for their defense. The higher the rank, the better the defense is at allowing fantasy points, so if you are looking for teams to target, then you are going to want to look for the lower-ranked numbers. The red zone stats are important for tight ends, as they show how those defenses are allowing production to tight ends in the red zone.
After that, you get your normal production-based stats. You can see what defenses are facing the most volume and allowing the most
Some defenses are just simply not equipped with defending opposing tight ends. If they have a slower group of linebackers, you will often see defensive backs try and guard a tight end. If the defensive backs are undersized, then it is back to the linebacking group to try and get the job done. Defenses will chip away and try different things, but some just have a weakness against the position. We can identify those teams, and the fantasy points allowed will generally follow with it. There are some exceptions as to why defenses allow more to fantasy points besides just a weak defense. A defense might have excellent corners and a secondary that funnels everything down to tight ends. We have seen this with a few teams, where because of the skill of the secondary, the best matchup for an offense is with the tight end.
Scheduling is a big one for opposing defenses. Not every team has a great fantasy tight end. In fact, only 14 tight ends crossed over 500 receiving yards last season. Two of those were on the same team too. So when half of the league doesn’t have a great set of tight ends, schedules can become unbalanced. Looking at the AFC West, they have a great set of tight ends with Travis Kelce, Hunter Henry, Darren Waller, and an up and coming talent in Noah Fant. Within the division, those defenses will have a tough task trying to defend those names. Because the schedule sets up for that division to play another one, another team can have to face this group. That doesn’t bring in the chances of playing other elite tight ends in the out of division games.
Teams that play up in tempo and are forcing teams to play from behind will also get a little extra volume thrown their way in the passing game. If they allow more pass attempts against them, there is a higher chance of allowing fantasy points to opposing tight ends. Now the stats that really make a difference are receptions and touchdowns. In PPR leagues, receptions are an easier way for tight ends to generate fantasy points against the defense, especially on check-down plays. In standard leagues, touchdowns are going to be weighted much higher, and this is where you will need to pay attention.
Just like above, some defenses are excellent in stopping tight ends. They usually have one or two guys who can check a tight end in size and speed, and those teams are lucky to have that type of player. Defenses can also draw up great schemes and double teams to help slow down opposing tight ends. It is a tough thing to do, but teams can certainly do it. As we look at what the top-ranked defenses have in common is the fact that they limit receptions and touchdowns. We see a wide range for receptions allowed from around 50 to over 100 receptions allowed in a season. There is a consistent line with the top defenses against tight ends, where they don’t allow over 70 receptions in a season and nothing over six touchdowns.
Having a good schedule is going to factor into fantasy points allowed to any position, and the same goes for tight ends. The AFC North last season had very little tight end use outside of Baltimore. When we look at their teams within the ranks, they all rank fairly well. Partially because they have some decent defenses, but also because they didn’t see great tight ends for 4-6 games. When those schedules come out, and a defense is going to face only three-four quality tight ends over the course of a season. The fantasy points are not going to be that high. It is important in evaluating what opponents a defense has faced, especially early in the season. If they haven’t faced a ton of talent, then there should be no surprise they rank high against tight ends.
Touchdowns for tight ends are extremely important, as they will be one of the main reasons a player finishes high in scoring at the end of the season. However, a single touchdown catch can help make or break value for that fantasy player. A cheap red zone touchdown can swing a matchup. When looking at the table above, you will notice the red zone rank and fantasy points allowed in the red zone. You can pair tight ends with red zone targets and find great matchups against opposing defenses who allow a lot of red zone production to opposing tight ends.
When you sort through touchdowns for tight ends, a lot of them do come in the red zone. A few can burn your defense for a long run, but tight ends are generally a higher targeted position in the red zone because of the blocking and receiving matchups they create. Because these touchdowns are coming inside the red zone, it is crucial to find those struggling defenses.
You may not be in a prime position at tight end, as the position is highly volatile and can leave you streaming throughout the year. Streaming tight ends is when you are picking up new names starting guys based on matchup and production instead of having a consistent starter. A few things that are important to start with before getting to the fantasy points allowed page. You will need to look into tight ends that are still seeing average volume. You can’t stream blocking tight ends and those who have no value in the receiving game.
The fantasy points allowed page can help for streaming because it can point to matchups where there is a little bit more upside. Streaming a strong red zone tight end against a defense that allows a lot of red zone fantasy points is a smart way to go. If a defense is allowing above-average targets to even average tight ends each week, there is a good chance that the tight end is going to see a few extra targets. Use it in addition to your other research, because it won’t solely just point you to strong fantasy tight ends.