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
You have to start your tight ends against the Eagles. You have to. The Chargers finished with three tight ends in the top nine on Sunday. THREE. With both Stephen Anderson and Donald Parham scoring more points than Jared Cook. You know, the guy we started. I really did hate Week 9. But we’re playing the matchup here. Fant missed last week, so it will be important to monitor his status as the week goes on. Would I even be willing to switch to Albert Okwegbunam if Fant is unavailable? I might. You just try me. You don’t know what I’ll do!
The Jaguars didn’t have a ton of offense against the Bills -- scoring just nine points. And hey, I’m not here to judge that. The Jaguars won the game so that’s the most important thing. But what’s important to note here is Darnold -- whoops, misspelled that -- Dan Arnold led the Jaguars in targets (7), receptions (4) and yards (60). He’s a legit part of their offense. We are almost to the point where Arnold needs to be considered a near must-start every week. The good fortune here is this matchup against the Colts is one of the best on the weekend.
Conklin has been consistent, which is saying something for him when you consider robust options for the Vikings. I mean, have you looked at the Vikings? They have some receivers, although Adam Thielen is starting to be overlooked. I mean, if this was wrestling, Thielen would pull the heel turn on Kirk Cousins and end up joining the Packers. Which would be kind of cool. But here’s my thing. Conklin has been very good, with at least 9.50 points in his last three games. The Chargers have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to tight ends this year.
The secret is out: Freiermuth is now a TE1 for the rest of the season. I’m not even worried about the matchups anymore. Some idiot had Freiermuth as a sit last week because the Bears had been tough on tight ends all season. I had forgotten about the Ben Roethlisberger noodle arm factor in all of this. Honestly, Freiermuth is this year’s Bob Tonyan. And the good news is Aaron Rodgers might be his quarterback next season.
Schultz is a tough one this week, because the Falcons are right in the middle of the pack against tight ends. Which seems very Falcons of them. Kind of like the way the Falcons can’t decide if they are a good football team or not. And Sunday was a roller coaster. I’m choosing to believe in Schultz because he’s been consistent for the Cowboys this season. He’s been dynamite since Week 3, save the Cooper Rush game. Although the Cowboys won with Rush, unlike last week. But I’m rolling with Schultz.
This is another situation where we need to monitor the practice reports. Thomas was just starting to develop into a pretty good option for us, scoring at least 9.5 in all three of his games, with a touchdown in two of three. He’s been out since Week 3 so the hope is that he will be available against the Bucs, who have allowed 15.2 points to the tight end position this year.
Higbee had a touchdown reception overturned on Sunday night, so his opportunity is there. And it’s not like the 49ers are a completely tough matchup. They are good against tight ends. But Higbee has consistently been the second-most targeted player on this offense behind that one game. Oh man, what is his name? Oh yeah, Van Jefferson. Kidding. Cooper Kupp is the only guy getting more consistent targets for the Rams since Week 6.
Sit 'Em
Man, I wanted Cook to have a monster game against the Eagles last week. And he was fine. But he ended up being the third-best tight end on the Chargers. Which you would know if you don’t just skim through this and just take a moment to read. I know it’s a lot of words on these pages, but I’m trying to make a point here. The point I’m making right now: The Vikings are good against tight ends. Not so good winning close games, but good against tight ends. In fact, they have allowed the fewest points to tight ends over the last month.
Swaim had a touchdown against the Rams and that was great. The Titans offense is evolving and it might be important to grab some pass catchers where possible. My biggest issue with starting Swaim this week is the Saints have been so good against tight ends this season. New Orleans hasn’t allowed a touchdown to tight ends over the last month.
The Packers have been one of the best defenses against tight ends this entire season. I know that Travis Kelce had his bounce-back game and looked pretty good. But that’s Travis Kelce. That’s expected. You can’t compete with that. Like, I know I would never ever be able to compete with Randy Orton for my wife’s affections. Which might be a little bit of an overshare, but that’s what I do. However, the matchup is too difficult, so I’m avoiding Everett this week.
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