After putting up a pathetic goose egg in Week 12, Jonnu Smith will miss the Titans’ Week 13 tilt against the Browns. In his place, the team will look to Harvard’s Anthony Firkser to take over tight end duties. Best known for scoring a touchdown and effectively ending the Patriots dynasty in last year’s Divisional Round, Firkser drips in some real fantasy upside against a Browns defense that is susceptible to the tight end (3rd most FPs allowed). While Firkser is no guarantee to produce fantasy points, the tight end position has been a mess this year and he could be a decent fantasy streaming option with Smith out and Rob Gronkowski on a bye week.
Firkser has yet to start a game this year, but he did get additional playing time when Smith exited their Week 6 win against the Titans with an ankle injury. With TE1 duties, Firkser dominated. With nine targets, he put up 113 yards and a score on eight grabs. Furthermore, he commanded a 21.9 percent target share and ran 29 routes on Ryan Tannehill’s 46 dropbacks in that game.
It’s safe to say the former Crimson tight end will be a factor against a defense that’s let up the second-most fantasy points to tight ends this season.
But on the flip-side, there is some cause for concern, which is what makes Firkser a sketchy streamer. Tannehill simply hasn’t looked the way of his top tight end over the last seven weeks. According to Titans Wire, Smith has averaged only 1.7 receptions and 16.8 receiving yards over the last seven weeks after looking like a locked-in TE1 through the first four weeks of the season.
Either way, Tannehill clearly trusts Firkser when he’s in the game and even with the recent dominance of Derrick Henry and AJ Brown, the tight end should make some noise against a leaky pass defense. If someone snagged Kyle Rudolph off the Week 13 Waiver Wire and you’re in a bind at the tight end spot, there are worse options than the Titans’ clear pass-catching tight end.
Keep an eye on The Wolf’s Week 13 Fantasy Rankings on Saturday to see where Firkser lands. He’s also only $2500 on DraftKings, making Firsker the ultimate “free square” spot to load up around.
