It’s been one of those strange fantasy football weeks where tight ends are driving the conversation for all the right reasons — and a few frustrating ones. Between unexpected breakouts and familiar names cooling off, managers are starting to see separation at a position that’s felt like a coin flip all season.
Several offenses are shaping their passing game around their tight ends, creating real upside for those paying attention. As Week 8 kicks off, it’s prime time to dig into which developments actually matter and which might burn you if you chase them too hard.
Cade Otton | TB
Cade Otton has never been a high-end target earner, but he’s being pressed into chain-moving duties with the receivers around him dropping like flies.
It’s not the highest of thresholds, but there are only two tight ends in the NFL with 50+ receiving yards in each of their past three games, and Otton is one of them.
Kelce is the other, as a part of a Chiefs offense that is hitting its stride.
Otton slides into my low-end TE1 tier for this week and for as long as Mike Evans (collarbone) is sidelined.
Chig Okonkwo | TEN
After consecutive games with 4+ receptions, Chig Okonkwo was shut out on 23 routes against the Patriots.
In theory, Okonkwo checks the boxes of a tight end streamer. He’s on the right side of the age curve, has athletic upside, and plays for an offense developing a rookie QB without a deep WR room.
That theory is great until you get a week like this and he buries you.
Okonkwo is on the fringes of streamability, though I’m more likely to lean toward a Theo Johnson or Likely type — hyper athletes involved in an offense with more weekly potential.
Okonkwo isn’t a top-20 tight end for me this week or for the remainder of the season.
Cole Kmet | CHI
A back injury forced Cole Kmet out early over the weekend, but this tight end situation doesn’t look like a committee anymore.
Kmet is a fine player, and the Bears know that. There’s a reason he’s on the roster and continues to get run, but it’s becoming clear that this offense has bigger plans for Colston Loveland as 2025 wears on, and they are coming at the expense of the former Golden Domer.
With no more than a single catch in four of six games this season, I find it unlikely that you need to be advised to cut ties here, but if he’s still on the back-end of your bench … move on.
Colston Loveland | CHI
Colston Loveland has run more routes than Kmet in both games since returning to action and was on the field for a robust 67.2% of Chicago’s offensive snaps in the win over the Saints last week (a Kmet back injury factored in, but things were trending in this direction pre-injury as well).
Three catches for 24 yards isn’t exactly the type of explosion that a spike in role like that would point to in an ideal world, but I do think we are gradually moving in the right direction.
Williams has had his ups and downs, but to my eye, he’s starting to buy into this Ben Johnson system, and considering that he had some say in the Bears taking Loveland 10th overall back in April, I feel strongly that the best is yet to come.
I need to see it before ranking him as a starter, but I’m stashing him on my rosters now, understanding that it could pay off massively during the final month of the season.
Dallas Goedert | PHI
It’s funny, I don’t see nearly as much vitriol online from the fantasy community when the Philadelphia passing attack targets a tight group, leaving Dallas Goedert out in the cold, as I do when one of the receivers underachieves.
After scoring in four straight, Goedert wasn’t at all featured in the Hurts bonanza, finishing the Week 7 win over the Vikings with just 18 yards.
This is who Goedert is and why I’ve been labeling him as a streamer with a good publicist.
He’s a name you know on an elite team, but he’s been relying on touchdowns this season. That’s dangerous on a good day, but when you have four teammates that I view as far more likely to finish a drive than you, “unsustainable” doesn’t begin to describe his early-season profile.
Now, it should be noted that the one game that looked different was two weeks ago, in this exact matchup. In the upset loss, he was targeted 11 times on 31 routes, caught nine balls for 110 yards and a touchdown.
For whatever reason, he was featured from the jump and was one of the lone bright spots for the Birds on that Thursday night.
That’s not the norm, and I don’t expect it to repeat (it’s his only game with 45+ yards this season). If you can sell a league mate on Week 7 being a breakthrough effort for this offense and that Goedert is poised for a big Week 8, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
Goedert is a fancy streamer, and I bet you can find similar productions by cycling through the weekly options.
Dalton Kincaid | BUF
An oblique injury cost Dalton Kincaid Week 6, and that needs to be watched, but the general hope is that he’s ready to go after the bye.
There’s no denying that Kincaid has been great this season, and with each passing week, it appears likely that he is the answer to the question of which pass catcher holds the most value in this Josh Allen-led machine.
The former first-round pick has a touchdown or six targets in every game. His aDOT sat at 6.7 yards during his high-volume rookie season, rose to 8.2 in Year 2, and through five games this season, is currently 9.7. This development makes sense, with Cook and Shakir primarily responsible for the horizontal targets, though it should be noted that as the routes extend downfield, the range of outcomes widens.
Kincaid already has a career-high in single-season touchdown receptions, and he’s done it with a red zone target rate that is actually lagging from where it finished last season. This is obviously a good spot for the Buffalo offense, and that should have you feeling very confident in their lead tight end, provided that there are no reports of the injury lingering.
Dalton Schultz | HOU
C.J. Stroud sees 30.6% of his pass attempts come when under pressure, and a large portion of the remaining attempts are rushed due to the threat of the iffy offensive line collapsing in short order.
For the Texans, that’s not great, but for the value of their tight end, it works. Dalton Schultz has tallied four straight games with at least five grabs, putting him on a list with only Jake Ferguson and Trey McBride when it comes to TEs to have accomplished that this season.
He’s not a real threat to post a big number in any one given week because of what he is asked to do. As a function of this offense, just 2.7% of his targets come 15+ yards downfield, the lowest rate among the 21 tight ends with at least 30 targets (NFL average: 11.7%).
Thanks to that role, I think you’re safe to start Schultz weekly and position the rest of your lineup to decide your fate.
Darren Waller | MIA
A pec strain kept Darren Waller out of the second half of Week 7 against the Browns and has since been placed on injured reserve.
I believe that you ALWAYS use your IR slot when possible. It’s free, why wouldn’t you?
Outside of that, I’m not the least bit burning a roster spot on Waller. He’s no different than half a dozen streaming options, so when you factor in this injury and the limitations of the offense as a whole, there’s far more risk than projectable reward in this profile.
David Njoku | CLE
David Njoku hasn’t played a full season since 2018, and that track was assured of continuing through 2025 after a DNP in Week 7 (knee).
The veteran tight end remains on the field for over three-quarters of the snaps, something that has been consistent for four years now, but the quality of look, for our purposes, is on enough of a decline to put him in the fringe starter conversation, even when at full strength.
Compared to last season, Njoku’s yards per route are down 12.7%, and his red zone target rate has fallen from 36.4% to 27.8%. That’s not to say he can’t produce, but the range of outcomes is certainly less favorable than it was a year ago. As Harold Vannett continues to develop, it’s easier to be bearish than bullish on his stock moving forward.
Evan Engram | DEN
Evan Engram hasn’t been on the field for the majority of Denver snaps once this season, but we are still moving in a positive enough direction to lock him into lineups given the matchup.
Before missing Week 3 with a back injury, Engram was targeted on 16.7% of his routes. Since, however, that rate has swelled to 29%.
Now, we still have a Bo Nix situation to overcome for Engram to work his way into the lineup lock conversation. However, usage is certainly trending in the right direction, and I’m still not sold that this team has a secondary pass-catcher next to Courtland Sutton.
The 1.7-aDOT was a bit extreme last week, but his season mark is 3.8 yards, and that speaks to Nix’s desire to get the ball in his hands with yards to gain in front of him. You play anyone with a pulse against the Cowboys, but I do think Engram is more than that moving forward: more of a floor play than a ceiling one.
George Kittle | SF
Given the access we have today — where every Google search you make affects the ads you see for the next 17 years and social clips live forever — how did we have no idea that the 49ers wanted to run the ball 40 times on Sunday night against the Falcons?
Every single postgame interview mentioned that.
I know what Cardi B thinks about Patriot games, but we can’t get a leak on something that actually matters?
George Kittle (hamstring) came off the IR and ran 24 routes and was held without a reception. He was on the field to clear paths for this struggling running game, and that’s great, but it doesn’t help us at all.
This wasn’t the result of the injury. He was on the field for 81.8% of San Francisco’s offensive snaps, and there has been zero reporting of any sort of flare-up.
I’m not worried long-term, as Kittle is a man of many strengths, and this team lacks stability at the pass-catcher position. Could he be unleashed this week?
On paper, it makes plenty of sense. The Texans are on a short week and have a corner in Derek Stingley that can make funneling targets to the receiver position difficult. I’m following that line of thought and have him ranked as my TE3 this week: the bad was bad last week, but the good can be just as impactful, and I’ll dance with that devil this weekend.
Hunter Henry | NE
Hunter Henry earned eight targets in Week 1 and 11 in Week 3, but he’s yet to earn more than five looks in a game since, and that’s more concerning than anything.
The better Drake Maye gets, the less usage there is going in the direction of his tight end.
If you want cheap exposure to the Maye experience, this is a decent way to do it. That said, Stefon Diggs is pretty clearly the top target earner in New England, and Kayshon Boutte continues to excel when his QB has time to look down the field.
Henry is a viable option in the short pass game, but so are both running backs and DeMario Douglas. There are half a dozen TEs that can be started every week in this range, and Henry is no different.
Shuffle them up and deal.
Schultz, Zach Ertz, Noah Fant, etc.
You get the idea. I’m generally ranking those tight ends, barring an extreme matchup in either direction, in the order in which I prefer their QBs, but the margins are so thin. Streaming TE is as much feel as data, and I generally am not enamored with the direction things are headed for Double-H.
Isaiah Likely | BAL
The Ravens have been outscored 98-33 in the three games since Likely debuted, a stretch that included the Jackson injury and two missed games from the former MVP. Game script and generalized ineptitude have been problems, but the split in field time at the tight end position has been nearly even.
Weeks 4-6
- Mark Andrews: 111 snaps and 66 routes run
- Likely: 107 snaps and 65 routes run
The team has had no issue running Likely out there, but he’s been out-targeted 17-3 by Andrews over that stretch as he works into game shape.
With Jackson back in a favorable spot this week, I think we get a clearer picture of what the Ravens are thinking for the remainder of the season.
I don’t think you can play either with any level of confidence; that said, I do believe we get clarity, and that’ll give us an idea of how to play this situation moving forward.
Ja’Tavion Sanders | CAR
A high ankle sprain cost him nearly a month, and, in terms of the box score, he’s still absent.
In his return to action, Ja’Tavion Sanders was held without a catch, operating in a tight end committee that is tied to Bryce Young.
There are a lot of words in this article weekly, and this is the eighth week of my third season of writing it for PFSN. “Operating in a tight end committee that is tied to Bryce Young” might be the most depressing string of words I’ve penned.
- Sanders: 14 routes, 37.1% snap share
- Mitchell Evans: 13 routes, 42.9% snap share
- Tommy Tremble: 12 routes, 67.1% snap share
If you’re the type to call a glass that has a drop of water in it “half full,” Sanders’ route-per-snap rate was well ahead of his teammates, but to be thinking that way, you’re trying a bit too hard.
I like Sanders’ profile and still think there is something there. You can’t go that direction in any season-long format. If you want to buy dynasty shares on the cheap, I won’t stop you. Heck, for a bag of used soccer balls, I’d encourage it.
In redraft, look elsewhere.
Jake Ferguson | DAL
Fantasy’s TE1 just keeps chugging along.
- Blind Line #1: 153 targets and 261.4 PPR points
- Blind Line #2: 147 targets and 317.6 PPR points
Any guesses?
The first one is 2024 Brock Bowers, and the second is the pace of Jake Ferguson over his past six games.
Yes, that’s what we are looking at here. The type of target looked a little different last week against the Commanders with CeeDee Lamb back, but the quality of the look was strong, and he knows what to do with it.
We are only halfway through the fantasy season, but if I had to guess today who will be the most common player on playoff teams this season, Ferguson’s name is on the short list.
This is the perfect setup, and there’s no reason to think he’ll stop producing like an absolute game-changer.
Jake Tonges | SF
There is no such thing as a rostered handcuff tight end.
Jake Tonges was viable in place of George Kittle, and that was good to see.
Past tense.
Kittle returned on Sunday night, and while he didn’t do anything, Tonges ran just two routes. Over the past month, we learned that if Kittle sees an injury flare up, we have a name added to the streamer radar.
But without that, there aren’t opportunities available. Brian Robinson holds the running back equivalent role, but we see RBs get banged up much more often than tight ends.
Jonnu Smith | PIT
Jonnu Smith scored as a part of the Pittsburgh TE bonanza on Thursday night, and now? Now it’s National TE Day.
Not interested.
Darnell Washington is getting a lot of usage thanks to his versatility in this conservative offense, and the Pat Freiermuth explosion gives Arthur Smith an excuse to increase his route count.
If I’m streaming a tight end, it’s not Smith.
If I’m streaming an AFC North tight end, it’s not Smith.
If I’m streaming a Steelers tight end, it’s not Smith.
Under 1.0 yards per route and one end zone target this season. No thanks.
Juwan Johnson | NO
Juwan Johnson caught five balls for 79 yards in Chicago last week, easily his best game since Taysom Hill was activated.
But, as is the case with Alvin Kamara, how much of your mental health do you really want in the hands of this offense?
Chris Olave had a breakout game last week, and Rashid Shaheed is generally a commander of the high-upside targets. Add in the potential for the aforementioned Kamara to chew up some of those easy-button targets, and your math will return similar results to mine.
The 12.9 PPR points from last week are a lot closer to a ceiling than an expectation.
The Bucs are a little more vulnerable through the air than on the ground, and New Orleans can’t run the ball anyway, so there’s volume potential. However, with next to zero scoring upside, Johnson is low on my priority list when it comes to streamers at the position.
Kyle Pitts Sr. | ATL
Kyle Pitts set a season high with 10 targets against the 49ers on Sunday night, and I think it was a pretty important performance.
- 2021: 11.2 aDOT
- 2022: 13.7 aDOT
- 2023: 12.0 aDOT
- 2024: 8.7 aDOT
- 2025: 5.8 aDOT
Through the first six weeks of this season (five games), Atlanta had seemingly given up on using Pitts as this weird hybrid WR/TE thing and embraced a limited route tree.
Get the ball in the hands of our super-athletes and let the chips fall.
I’m a fan of this plan, but we saw some branching out last week. His 8.6 aDOT was a season high and resulted in him recording more than double his air-yardage output in any other game this season.
Was it a one-off?
Maybe.
Are they working on finding a sweet spot that actually works for what Pitts brings to the table and where Michael Penix is comfortable?
It’s at least possible.
If you were encouraged like I was, this might be your last chance to buy. Matchups against the Dolphins have a way of elevating everyone involved, and that means you may have to pay an even greater premium this time next week.
The Falcons don’t have a single game in December that projects as a weather threat, and they still have games against the Panthers and Saints on the books before then. Paying market value for Pitts right now is an acceptable move, and one that I prefer over trying to band-aid the position together for the remainder of the season.
Mark Andrews | BAL
Likely has three targets this season, and while there has been a Jackson injury to navigate, the fact that we are in the back half of October and Mark Andrews has two top 25 finishes at the position is disturbing.
With a near-even snap share over the past month, I expect him to be prioritized this week, with him now through the preseason portion of his recovery from the offseason foot injury. Both are to be treated the same: rostered and benched.
Baltimore needs to get hot in a hurry, and this week should give us an idea of what tight end they view as most instrumental in doing so. Personally, I think Likely is that option, but check back next week after we get an all-important data point this weekend.
With Tanner Hudson concussed and Mike Gesicki missing the first of at least four games after being placed on IR, Noah Fant ran 37 routes to Drew Sample’s 17 and operated as a pretty clear TE1 in terms of the passing game.
There is an athletic profile to chase here, and with eight catches on eight Joe Flacco targets over the past two weeks, who am I to complain?
Add his name to the list of streamable tight ends as long as he has the primary role in downs. He’s caught at least four passes in four games this season, and while he’s yet to reach 45 receiving yards, he does seem to fill a chain-moving role that Chase Brown isn’t exactly thriving in.
This is a low-end option, but if I’m taking one tight end moving forward from the Thursday night bonanza, it’s Fant.
Pat Freiermuth | PIT
I suppose this is a name that needs to be addressed for the first time in this space because he turned six targets into 28.1 PPR points on Thursday night in Cincinnati.
Relax.
Yes, it’s a name you know, and yes, this offense is going to use the TE position to essentially serve as their WR2 role, but there’s no way to project Pat Freiermuth as a viable option moving forward.
His first touchdown was an absolute dime from Aaron Rodgers, threading the needle in zone coverage, and the 68-yard score gave the Steelers a late lead that they’d squander. The two players were great, but it doesn’t change the fact that this man wasn’t a top-25 performer at the position during the first 1.5 months of the season.
It also doesn’t change the fact that he accounted for one-third of the TE targets and 35.6% of the TE routes in Week 7.
READ MORE: Soppe’s Week 8 Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em: Analysis for Every Player in Every Game
Darnell Washington and Jonnu Smith also scored (five TE TDs across both teams, the first time that had happened since 2018) and were on the field plenty.
In combing through the snap data, there seems to be no real lean. Whether you split it off by third downs, red zone snaps, or participation when trailing … everything was split pretty evenly.
We all have developed trust issues with tight ends that have no role competition; they simply just struggle to produce every week, so forgive me if I’m not jumping at the opportunity to throw a dart at a three-headed committee.
You know what happens to that? The three-dragon meme. There are two scary ones and one goofy one with its tongue sticking out. You hit the latter option.
Every. Time.
Travis Kelce | KC
The Chiefs got whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted it, on Sunday against the Raiders.
That was good news for Kelce (seven-yard grab on Patrick Mahomes’ first pass of the game and a 44-yard reception on the second) initially, but it resulted in a one-sided game that saw the starters sit out the fourth quarter.
Noah Gray came off the bench on that first drive and had a 28-yard reception, further proof that the Chiefs were playing chess to the Raiders’ checkers.
My concern moving forward for Kelce is back to where it started in the preseason, now that Kansas City has all of its pieces and has won four of five after the 0-2 start.
Desire.
Kelce’s production has faded in the past when fantasy managers need it the most because Reid wants to save his 36-year-old TE for a deep playoff run. That remains my fear, and it’s why I’d consider moving off the future Hall of Famer after his next big game.
That opportunity might be just a week away as the Commanders are licking their wounds after allowing Jake Ferguson to kill them underneath (two touchdowns, 100% catch rate).
Tucker Kraft | GB
Well, this is interesting.
Tucker Kraft scored for a second straight week and set a season-high in slot usage.
Does that stick? Jayden Reed and Christian Watson are on the mend: would their presence change anything?
I’m not sure, but I am sure that Kraft is a vital part of an offense I trust. An offense I trust that has yet to fully commit to any receiver as their alpha.
This offense is built around the running game, and while they lack a WR1, they don’t lack mouths to feed. For those reasons, I can’t view Kraft as a threat to enter the top tier at the position, but his status as a Tier 2 TE is very safe, and that puts you ahead of half of your competition weekly.
The score last weekend came in the fourth quarter of a tight game with some nice ball-handling from Jordan Love. If the Packers are going to continue to scheme things like this up for their athletic tight end, the hot start to the season might only be the beginning.
Tyler Warren | IND
There are few things on a football field that Tyler Warren can’t do.
The rookie has now scored in three straight games and, despite being a fluid runner down the field, is averaging more YAC than air yards per target.
A tight end can’t really earn the “queen on the chessboard” scouting take, but Warren is close to it. The Colts identify a pressure point in the defense and send their TE there to expose it. We’ve seen a masterclass from this offense up to this point, and as he develops each week, I think we can expect elite production to sustain.
He’s a Tier 1 option at the position moving forward, and it’s not a conversation. He ranked third on this team in catches and receiving yards in Week 3 against these Titans, but I’m more than happy to label that as a blip.
Zach Ertz | WAS
It’s touchdown or bust for Zach Ertz.
He’s scored in four of seven games, including each of the past two, and because of the offense he plays in, it stands to reason that he is a better version of this profile than most, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s still in that streaming mix.
The veteran has reached 45 receiving yards once this season and had four targets thrown his way hit the ground on Sunday in Dallas.
He’s primarily been an efficient player, but that can be fickle, especially as this Washington offense evolves and gets healthy (hopefully!). When playing alongside Deebo Samuel and Terry McLaurin, you can feel better about the quality of opportunity for Ertz, but the quantity will drop off.
The Falcons and Chargers are the only two defenses of note that the Commanders have played over the past five weeks, and in those contests, Ertz turned 46 routes into 4.1 PPR points.
There are no “bad” plays at the tight end position down the ranks because they all come with a low floor, but I would caution against viewing Ertz as anything different than the top few options on the waiver wire: I wouldn’t commit to him long-term, and this isn’t a great spot.