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 will only get more difficult from here on out, so let’s take a look at our Week 8 start/sit plays for the TE position.
Which TEs Should You Start in Fantasy This Week?
Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys (vs. LAR)
It remains rough out there at the tight end position. Jake Ferguson has garnered just four total targets in his last two games.
But the Cowboys are coming off the bye with an extra week to prepare for the Los Angeles Rams. How have the Rams been beaten all season? The tight end.
MORE: Week 8 Start/Sit Options — QB | WR | RB
This season, only the Texans have surrendered a higher percentage of their receiving yards allowed to the tight end position than the Rams’ 28.3%. They are allowing the eighth-most points per game to the position.
Ferguson may have done a whole lot of nothing against the Los Angeles Chargers, but he played 86% of the snaps. He’s out there, and he’s running routes. The Rams are vulnerable against the TE, so Ferguson is a nice start this week.
Which TEs Should You Sit in Fantasy This Week?
Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons (at TEN)
It’s a challenge to recommend sit ’em options at tight end because outside of five or six guys, every TE can reasonably be benched. Since Kyle Pitts still carries name value, he seems like a good choice.
Throughout Pitts’ surge in Weeks 5 and 6, I was cautioning fantasy managers that it was just a blip and not a sign of any sort of leap in performance. Sure enough, Pitts’ 15.7 and 14.3 fantasy points in those two weeks look like the outlier. In his other five games, his best effort is 8.7 points.
The most concerning part isn’t even Pitts’ raw fantasy output. Rather, it’s his volume. After seeing 11 targets in Week 5, Pitts has seen 10 combined over his last two games.
Pitts’ 18.9% target share isn’t terrible, but remember, it’s in a low-volume passing offense. He’s gone over 50 receiving yards just once all season.
The Tennessee Titans have been a pass-funnel defense, but they are good at defending the tight end. They’re allowing 8.9 points per game to the position, which is the eighth-fewest in the league. Fantasy managers should not rush to put Pitts in Week 8 lineups.
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, allowing 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, which we’ve jotted some of them down here to help provide some clarity on!
Should You Start Jake Ferguson or Logan Thomas?
Outside of the top tight ends, it’s really the dealer’s choice on what random TE1/2 you want to start. I won’t profess to be some sort of clairvoyant on tight ends. You are just hoping for a touchdown with either of these guys.
Ferguson does have a good matchup, as detailed above. However, Logan Thomas has displayed a higher floor. He’s scored at least 7.3 fantasy points in all but one game this season. Ferguson has three games at 9.8 or higher but three at 5.8 or lower.
MORE: Fantasy News Tracker
Given that he plays on the Cowboys, Ferguson is a far better bet to score. But if he doesn’t, Thomas is more likely to outscore him.
The Start/Sit Optimizer says to start Thomas, with his projection edging Ferguson’s by 0.5 fantasy points. I agree.
Should You Start Kyle Pitts or Taysom Hill?
The perennial underperformer or the perennial overachiever. Pitts is the chosen one but has fallen well short of expectations. He often finds his name on the sit list because he’s consistently overvalued due to his name.
More recently, the volume has been there for Taysom Hill. For the first time in his career, he’s actually being used as a tight end. I really want to disagree with the Start/Sit Optimizer here and say Hill. Unfortunately, I cannot.
We only have two weeks of Hill looking like a startable tight end. Most importantly, those came without Juwan Johnson in the lineup. He is returning this weekend. If Hill can continue to be productive with Johnson back, then I will anoint him as an every-week startable TE1. But until I see it, I will stick with the guy I know is at least going to see 5-6 targets.
Looking to make a trade in your fantasy league? Setting DFS lineups? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!