Getty Rob Gronkowski #87 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers warms up.
Welcome to Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Tight Ends edition for Week 7 of the NFL season. This edition features a potential future Hall of Famer looking to continue his hot streak. Plus a former must-start fading into mediocrity.
* Reminder: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em is intended to present you with the non-obvious choices for your fantasy lineup. We dig deep into player matchups, scoring trends, and other factors to best help you with your fantasy decisions. Superstars such as Travis Kelce will not be found in this column. If you’re looking for players of such caliber check out our weekly fantasy football tight end rankings.
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TE: Start ‘Em
Start of the Week: Hunter Henry vs. JAC
With the tight end position looking like a crapshoot at the moment, Henry remains one of the most consistent plays at the position. He’s put up double-digit points and seen at least seven targets come his way in all but one game this year. The Jaguars allow the eighth-most points to opposing TEs this year, including five touchdowns since Week 2.
TJ Hockenson at ATL
Speaking of consistency, Hockenson has averaged 11.34 points on the year, totaling 53-plus receiving yards and/or a receiving touchdown in every game this season. Only the New Orleans Saints allow more points to TEs than the Falcons do this season. Two of Atlanta’s past three opponents at the position have hauled in two-plus TDs against them.
Austin Hooper at CIN
After a slow start to the season, Hooper looks to be coming into his own of late. Since Week 4, Hooper is the TE8 on a per-game basis (min. two games). Over that span, he’s received a hefty 23 targets. Three opposing TEs have seen at least eight targets come their way against the Bengals this year. Cinci has also allowed a receiving touchdown in each of the past two weeks to the position.
Evan Engram at PHI
As a Giants fan, I can tell you that Engram’s usage of late has been nauseating to watch. Five total targets over his past two games is downright awful. If his targets don’t go up against the Eagles, we have a problem. Philadelphia allows the fourth-most points to TEs this year, including five total touchdowns and an outrageous 183-yard outing to George Kittle.
Sleeper: Logan Thomas vs. DAL
Thomas is Washington’s most targeted pass-catcher (36) this season behind wideout Terry McLaurin, and it’s not really close. Dallas has allowed a double-digit outing to a TE in four of their six games this season. Furthermore, the Cowboys allow the most points in football.
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TE: Sit ‘Em
Sit of the Week: Hayden Hurst vs. DET
Hurst racked up 15-plus points a week ago. With that said, it was only his second double-digit performance of the season. He’s also put up single-digit receiving yard outings multiple times this year. Detroit allows the second-fewest fantasy points to TEs this year, as no opponent has topped 25 receiving yards.
Tyler Higbee vs. CHI
In a position stripped of high-end production, volume is king, and Higbee doesn’t have it. After receiving 11-plus targets in each of the final four games of 2019, Higbee has yet to see more than five passes come his way in any game this year. Aside from his three TD outlier in Week 2, Higbee averages just 6.36 ppg in 2020. While the matchup with Chicago isn’t horrendous by any means, Higbee’s floor is simply not worth the play.
Buyers Beware: Rob Gronkowski vs. LV
Gronk should be rostered in every league. He should also be in a number of starting lineups as it appears that he’s finally beginning to get his feet up under him. Yet, despite 14 targets over the past two weeks, expectations must be tempered. While Travis Kelce did explode for 24.8 points against the Raiders in their last game, that’s Travis Kelce we are talking about. Exclude that outing from the Las Vegas’ stats and suddenly they haven’t allowed an opposing TE to surpass 16 receiving yards in a single game.
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Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Tight Ends: Week 7