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 our seasons on the line every week. So, let’s look at our Week 16 start/sit plays for the TE position.
Which TE Should You Start in Fantasy This Week?
Darren Waller, New York Giants (at PHI)
After a five-game absence, Darren Waller made his return in Week 15. He only played 42% of the snaps, but he ran 22 routes and was targeted on a whopping six of them. That’s a 27% rate.
Waller was intentionally limited in his first game back from yet another hamstring strain, and he escaped the game with no aggravation. Thus, it’s likely that his role is going to expand this week. While he’s unlikely to return to the 90% snap count level he was at earlier in the season, even 70% would go a long way.
The Giants still lack a clear top receiver — it was always supposed to be Waller. This week, it very well might be. If Waller is seeing six targets on limited snaps, he can easily get to 10 with a larger snap share.
The Eagles allow the 13th-most fantasy points per game to tight ends, but I also feel it’s worth pointing out they allow the most points per game to wide receivers … by a lot (4.1 points per game more than the next-worst team). Waller is a de facto wide receiver, and he could be in for a strong game this week.
Which TE Should You Sit in Fantasy This Week?
Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers (at CAR)
Last week, I started Tucker Kraft over Kyle Pitts in a league. It worked out. This week, I am going back to Pitts. Why? Because of the matchup.
Kraft has played well since replacing Luke Musgrave as the Packers’ TE1. The key for Kraft has been the full assumption of the role, as there has been no timeshare or tight end by committee. Kraft is playing around 95% of the snaps every week.
For as bad as the Panthers are offensively, and as bad as they are against the run, they’ve actually been excellent against the pass. They allow just 10.0 points per game to tight ends, the sixth-fewest total in the league.
Add in the fact that their run-funnel nature should result in a whole lot of Jones out of the backfield, and Kraft is poised to disappoint fantasy managers who might be inclined to chase last week’s production.
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 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 on!
Should You Start Waller or Isaiah Likely?
Over the past three weeks, Isaiah Likely has made a believer out of me. I was skeptical he would see any sort of meaningful increase in production. Instead, he’s been an elite TE1, scoring 19.3 and 18.0 fantasy points over his last two.
MORE: PFN’s FREE NFL Playoff Predictor
In similar circumstances, I would probably still prefer Darren Waller. However, Waller is still just in his second game back. While I expect an increase in work, I don’t expect him to be back to a 90% snap share. He is startable, but he is not quite at Likely’s level.
The Start/Sit Optimizer has likely projected for 8.7 points against Waller’s 7.3. I actually think both will outperform those projections, but Likely remains the preferred start.
Should You Start Kraft or Pat Freiermuth?
The Start/Sit Optimizer has Tucker Kraft at 7.7 points and Pat Freiermuth at 6.8. When going with my choice for the TE start of the week, I considered the Muth. I think you can see where this is going.
Kraft was a great start last week because of the favorable tight end matchup. This week, he has the brutal matchup, while Freiermuth gets a Bengals defense he went off for 120 yards on last time.
The Bengals allow the second-most PPG to tight ends. They allow the most receiving yards per game to tight ends. As great as Kraft has been, this is the week to start Freiermuth.
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, Start/Sit Optimizer, and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!
