In a tough six-team bye week, fantasy teams will have to go without tight ends like Antonio Gates, Martellus Bennett, Coby Fleener, Garrett Graham, and Dallas Clark. Many fantasy owners are streaming their tight ends weekly if they missed out on one of the top guys as well. The best place to start looking for a suitable starting tight end is the defensive matchups.
This week, Tony Gonzalez, Rob Gronkowski, Vernon Davis, Jordan Reed, Greg Olsen, and Julius Thomas are all likely to go off against their favorable matchups but, if you have those guys, you’re starting them either way.
On the other hand, Kyle Rudolph, Brent Celek, Rob Housler, and Tyler Eifert or Jermaine Gresham are solid plays against favorable matchups and could be good value picks for a bye week replacement or a daily lineup.
Meanwhile, Jordan Cameron and Jason Witten are tough starts. Cameron faces an NFL-best Chiefs defense who, while not having faced an elite tight end yet, have not allowed more than 4.3 fantasy points against the likes of Jason Witten, Delanie Walker, Brandon Myers, and Brent Celek. He’ll almost surely be touchdown dependent to have a strong effort. Witten will face a Lions D that has held Jordan Cameron, Jermichael Finley, Martellus Bennett, Jordan Reed, and Kyle Rudolph to fewer than nine points so he’s a tough start as well.
Jimmy Graham, if healthy, would have to face one of the best tight end defenses in the league but is a must-start if he does play. On the other hand, I wouldn’t start Benjamin Watson against those linebackers if Graham is out.
Let’s take a look at all of the fantasy football tight end matchups for Week 8.
Browse Matchups by Position: QB – RB – WR – TE
Highly Unfavorable, Unfavorable, Neutral, Slightly Favorable, Favorable
|
Rank |
AVG |
Defense |
Week 8 Opponents |
|
1 |
2.77 | Chiefs | Jordan Cameron |
|
2 |
4.62 | Bills | Jimmy Graham (Q), Benjamin Watson |
|
3 |
5.02 | Steelers | Mychal Rivera |
|
4 |
5.67 | Seahawks | Jared Cook, Lance Kendricks |
|
5 |
5.97 | Saints | Scott Chandler |
|
6 |
6.02 | Lions | Jason Witten |
|
7 |
6.15 | Eagles | Brandon Myers |
|
8 |
6.22 | 49ers | Marcedes Lewis |
|
9 |
6.23 | Rams | Zach Miller |
|
10 |
6.55 | Colts | BYE |
|
11 |
6.58 | Panthers | Tim Wright |
|
12 |
7.07 | Raiders | Heath Miller |
|
13 |
7.20 | Bengals | Jeff Cumberland |
|
14 |
7.42 | Chargers | BYE |
|
15 |
7.83 | Jets | Jermaine Gresham, Tyler Eifert |
|
16 |
7.9 | Patriots | Charles Clay |
|
17 |
8.13 | Bears | BYE |
|
18 |
8.15 | Texans | BYE |
|
19 |
8.37 | Browns | Anthony Fasano, Sean McGrath |
|
20 |
9.36 | Redskins | Julius Thomas |
|
21 |
9.44 | Buccaneers | Greg Olsen |
|
22 |
9.72 | Broncos | Jordan Reed |
|
23 |
9.77 | Titans | BYE |
|
24 |
9.95 | Ravens | BYE |
|
25 |
10.93 | Jaguars | Vernon Davis |
|
26 |
11 | Falcons | Rob Housler |
|
27 |
11.8 | Giants | Brent Celek |
|
28 |
12.12 | Packers | Kyle Rudolph |
|
29 |
12.24 | Vikings | Andrew Quarless, Brandon Bostick |
|
30 |
12.77 | Cowboys | Brandon Pettigrew, Joseph Fauria |
|
31 |
14.8 | Dolphins | Rob Gronkowski |
|
32 |
16.55 | Cardinals | Tony Gonzalez |
*Values based on Yahoo standard scoring.
Browse Matchups by Position: QB – RB – WR – TE
