Making fantasy football lineup decisions can be incredibly frustrating or incredibly rewarding; it all depends on how often you get it correct. Here to help you make those decisions are our positional start ’em and sit ’em picks.
Fantasy decisions are more important than ever with playoff spots and playoff positioning on the line, so let’s look at our Week 10 start/sit plays for the TE position.
Which TEs Should You Start in Fantasy This Week?
Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans (at CIN)
I know what you’re thinking. I’m just point-chasing from last week’s career effort from Dalton Schultz. I promise that’s not the case.
It’s certainly encouraging to see Stroud playing so well and targeting his tight end. Schultz caught 10 of 11 targets for 130 yards and a touchdown last week. He has reestablished himself as an every-week TE1.
MORE: Week 10 Start/Sit Options — WR | RB | QB
The reason I’m so bullish on Schultz this week is the matchup. The Bengals have been quite a favorable opponent for tight ends this season. They’re allowing 15.7 ppg to the position, the third-most in the league. Only the Los Angeles Rams and Denver Broncos have seen a higher percentage of their total receiving yards allowed go to tight ends than the Bengals’ 26.2%.
With the Bengals’ offense humming, the Texans should be trailing and throwing once again. Plus, the Texans have no semblance of a running back. We could be looking at another strong week from Schultz.
Which TEs Should You Sit in Fantasy This Week?
Luke Musgrave, Green Bay Packers (at PIT)
I still like Luke Musgrave long-term. He has the makings of an everyday TE1 of the future. It probably won’t be this year with Jordan Love at QB, but the talent is there. Right now, Musgrave is a spot starter … and this is not the spot.
Musgrave posted TE1 numbers last week purely because he found the end zone. Otherwise, he’s now seen target counts of five, three, and four over his last three games. That’s simply not enough.
This week, the Packers get a Pittsburgh Steelers defense that has been suffocating tight ends all season. They allow just 8.5 ppg to the position, the fourth-lowest in the league. Just 14.6% of their total receiving yards allowed have gone to the tight end position.
Love is barely capable of moving the ball through the air to his wide receivers in good situations. In one of the toughest matchups for tight ends, I’m expecting Musgrave to be minimally involved once again. Better days are ahead for the ascending rookie, but this week will not be one of them.
Trending Searches for TE Start/Sit
Did you know that we have a Start/Sit Optimizer here at Pro Football Network?! It’s completely free to use, and it allows you to enter in up to six players to find the best option to plug into your starting lineup!
It also allows us to see the most popular trending searches, and we’ve jotted some of them down here to help provide some clarity!
Should You Start Dalton Schultz or Taysom Hill?
Things are going to take a turn for Dalton Schultz soon…but not yet. I love him in this spot this week. If you have both of these guys, congratulations on your embarrassment of riches, at least for one week.
While Schultz is a great start, Taysom Hill is the start. He’s not a matchup guy — he’s an every-week guy.
MORE: Fantasy News Tracker
The Saints have decided to go all in on Hill around the goal line. That gives him a predictable weekly touchdown upside. He’s scored in three straight games.
As if that isn’t enough, Hill is getting consistent usage on the ground, with 20 carries over his last two games. The Saints are also letting him throw the ball around the goal line.
Hill does it all. He’s been the best TE in fantasy over the past month.
The Start/Sit Optimizer has Schultz projected for 8.9 fantasy points against 8.1 for Hill. That is quite surprising to me. In my rankings, I have Hill a good three spots ahead of Schultz. Given Hill’s usage and role, you have to start him.
Should You Start Luke Musgrave or David Njoku?
Last week, I would’ve answered Luke Musgrave to this, and I would’ve been wrong but also right. Both of these guys scored, which is all we can ask for from a tight end.
This week, however, I am out on Musgrave. As mentioned above, the matchup is as tough as it gets against the Steelers.
While things aren’t great for David Njoku, either, the Ravens are at least a little bit worse against the tight end than the Steelers.
If these are your two options, it might be a rough week for you at tight end. Both are worthwhile players to roster and will have their weeks, but this is shaping up to be a down week for both.
Neither is likely to score a touchdown, and both defenses are excellent at defending the tight end. But given that the Steelers are a little bit better, and Musgrave’s quarterback is quite a bit worse, I agree with the Start/Sit Optimizer, which has Njoku at 8.5 points and Musgrave at 7.3 points and would start Njoku in this scenario.
Looking to make a trade in your fantasy league? Having trouble deciding who to start and who to sit? Setting DFS lineups? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!