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Start 'Em, Sit 'Em

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2021 NFL Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 4: Tight ends

You have lineup questions. We have answers. At least we hope. Start 'Em & Sit 'Em has helped fantasy managers for years make those pressing lineup decisions. And you know what is a good decision? Starting Patrick Mahomes. But that's too obvious, so you won't see that here. Instead here are some of the most-pressing questions. And, if you can't find a player you are looking for, please check out latest NFL Fantasy lineup rankings right here.

Start 'Em

Robert Tonyan
Green Bay Packers GB · TE
Pittsburgh Steelers
2021 · 1-2-0

A pretty easy call since the Packers seem to be clicking once again. Aaron Rodgers has thrown six touchdowns in his last two games. And let’s be honest, we should be worried a little bit about the Steelers. I mean, this seems like the kind of game where the Steelers should show some pride and try to salvage their season. But I’m not getting crazy. The Steelers have also allowed two Top 10 fantasy performances to tight ends over the past two weeks.

Logan Thomas
Washington Football Team · TE
Atlanta Falcons
2021 · 1-2-0

This seems wild, but Logan is the only tight end in the league who has played every snap this season. Every snap. And the matchup is great this week, too. The Falcons have allowed a top-six tight end in two of three games this year. And Taylor Heinicke seems to like him enough. I’m sold here.

Dallas Goedert
Philadelphia Eagles PHI · TE
Kansas City Chiefs
2021 · 1-2-0

Again, as stated previously, I’m going with a lot of Eagles this week. The Chiefs score a lot of points. They give up a lot of points. Goedert is currently the TE13 this season. Zach Ertz got seven targets last week to Goedert’s four. And really, both of these players have value moving forward. But I’m going to ride with Goedert here. Mostly because the Chiefs have allowed 4.3 touchdowns per game this year.

Tyler Higbee
Los Angeles Rams LAR · TE
Arizona Cardinals
2021 · 3-0-0

He’s had two games in which he’s finished in the Top 10 this year, but currently stands as the TE12 on the season. Again, it’s his snap-share that stands out the most to me, playing 91% of the snaps this season. The Cardinals might not be the ideal matchup, but here’s my thing. Tight ends can be streaky. I’m going to favor guys on high-powered offenses.

Mike Gesicki
Miami Dolphins MIA · TE
Indianapolis Colts
2021 · 0-3-0

He had a bagel in the first game of the season. Just straight up zero points after I had promoted him all offseason. Well, at least in August. And then he’s started to show signs of life recently. His targets, yards and fantasy points have increased in each game. He’s the second-most targeted Dolphins player when Jacoby Brissett is the quarterback this year. It’s a miracle he’s the TE14 given that Week 1 performance. I mean, more like Weak 1, am I right? (I’ll show myself out.)

Jared Cook
Los Angeles Chargers LAC · TE
Las Vegas Raiders
2021 · 3-0-0

He’s getting some looks even with all of the pass catchers on this team, as he’s averaged 5.3 targets per game. Las Vegas just gave up a ton of production to our pal Gesicki last week, so if we’re looking for a streaming option and you want some fun on Monday night, you could do worse than Cook. In fact, I’ll select some worse guys right here.

Sit 'Em

Jonnu Smith
New England Patriots NE · TE
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2021 · 2-1-0

The Bucs have struggled against the pass this year. And I’ve wanted Jonnu to become a thing so badly this year. But it just hasn’t been working out. Hunter Henry had way more snaps last week (52 to 32) and Smith also caused a pick-six. Setting up the defender like he was more like Sinjin Smith or something. It will be interesting to see if Bill Belichick loses confidence in him moving forward, or if he tries to get him back into the mix.

Dawson Knox
Buffalo Bills BUF · TE
Houston Texans
2021 · 1-2-0

I hate to do this because Dawson caught four of his five targets last week. And if there is one person I would love to see become the next Gronk, it’s him. Because he seems like a fun player. But the game script on this team feels like it’s going to feature the running backs, so this feels too risky to me.

Tyler Conklin
Minnesota Vikings MIN · TE
Cleveland Browns
2021 · 2-1-0

Hey, he did look great last week as he broke out in a big way against the Seahawks. And I like the game script to force the Vikings to throw a lot. I do like him as a deep sleeper, but with Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen, it’s going to be hard to fight for targets in this offense. The Vikings were also throwing down the middle because the Seahawks were giving that up a lot. I just can’t expect the consistency.

Maxx Williams
Arizona Cardinals ARI · TE
Los Angeles Rams
2021 · 3-0-0


Maxx was a much sought after waiver-wire target a week ago after a seemingly breakout performance in Week 2. But he scored less than two points against the Jaguars last week and it’s time to find another tight end this week. Also, A.J. Green has become a thing with the Cardinals, and I expect that we may never get that breakout tight end we seek in Arizona. 

Follow Adam Rank on Twitter.

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