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
Hockenson is one of the most annoying, good tight ends in fantasy right now. He’s currently the TE11, which is, whatever. He’s had two receiving touchdowns in each of the last two games. Which I know seems fantastic. Because any time your tight end scores a touchdown, you think to yourself, “Oh my gosh, this is going to be a monster game. But he scored 9.9 points in Week 4 and just 8.7 last week. In games where he SCORED A TOUCHDOWN. If we had a Wiki page for “touchdown dependent” there would be a photo of T.J. But he’s got the Falcons this week, and we’re thinking that maybe he can break double digits in receiving yards. Modest dreams, for sure.
He’s just behind Hockenson in points scored this year, as he’s the TE12. But he’s had at least 10 points in four of five games and just barely clears that as he holds an average of 10.96 fantasy points per game. The Jaguars have allowed five receiving touchdowns to tight ends this season, the fourth-highest total. And of course, the Jaguars played the Lions last week, which means Hockenson got into the end zone. Henry scored his first touchdown of the season in a plus matchup against the Saints in Week 5.
I’m not starting Jared Goff or any of his receivers if I can avoid it. I do have a team with Cooper Kupp that ended up costing me last week. But we’re not here to talk about that. Let’s talk Higbee. He split targets with Gerald Everett last week. But I like him against the Bears. He’s had at least eight fantasy points in three of the last five games. And the Bears have allowed three receiving touchdowns to tight ends during this season. The Bears are really good in the red zone. But I feel like Higbee could create a mismatch problem if the Rams get down there.
Tonyan had one of his least productive games in recent weeks. Missed some time in the second quarter, but he still managed to play 60% of the snaps. He was fourth on the team in targets, which isn’t much of a surprise with Davante Adams' return to the lineup. But credit to the Bucs for doing a great job of locking him up. The matchup this week is neutral, but the Texans have allowed three touchdowns this season.
Gronkowski is back, baby! Well, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. There were times where it looked like Gronk was just going to be a nostalgia act, like when the WWE brings back legends to bury the younger workers, I mean put over Randy Orton again. But there are some positives to what Gronk did last week. He led the Buccaneers in targets and scored his first touchdown in a tough matchup against the Packers. The Raiders are also a tough matchup having given up the ninth-fewest fantasy points to tight ends this season. But given the lack of depth at this position (I mean, I might even start Ian Thomas in a league), I’m going to roll with Gronk.
Sit 'em
I know, many of you wanted to make Hurst a thing this season. Kind of like I wanted to make Hanson a thing back in the day. What, that song rocks. You know the one. But Hurst is currently the TE17, in a position that needs somebody to step up. He’s had less than five targets in four straight games. The Lions have allowed the second-fewest points to tight ends this season, which seems like a wild stat. It’s like knowing somebody who has a strange talent that is out of the ordinary, you know what I mean? Like if your barista was also a trained concert pianist. But yeah, the Lions are great against tight ends.
Cook is coming off his best game of the season when he recorded 52 receiving yards and scored a touchdown against the Chargers in Week 5. But he has been wildly inconsistent with his only other double-digit game coming in Week 1. He’s got a tough matchup this week against the Panthers, who have allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points to tight ends this season.
The Steelers just aren’t seeing the passing volume to make their tight end be a valuable commodity. It’s like a 7-11 hotdog. I mean, 7-11 has a lot of great things to offer. But maybe you should leave the hot dogs to the professionals. Ebron is currently the TE29. He’s had fewer than eight fantasy points in four of five games this season. Ebron is coming off a season-low nine receiving yards last week.
There used to be a rule that you’d start your tight ends against the Cardinals because they had such trouble. But the Cardinals have allowed the eighth-fewest yards per game to tight ends this season. And they are doing it without Isaiah Simmons making much of an impact this year. Which is kind of a surprise to me. But I wanted to make sure that you knew, as you’re looking for a tight end, that the Cardinals aren’t the pushover they once were. Olsen has less than 10 fantasy points in three of his last four games.
I used this space last week to besmirch Fells and his choice of college (UC Irvine), and the dude ends up having a great game. But the reasoning (outside the Anteater stuff) was sound. Don’t chase the points this week. The Packers allowed their first receiving touchdown to a tight end this week when Rob Gronkowski scored his first of the season.
