Tight End Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Picks For Fantasy Football Week 1

SI Fantasy insider Michael Fabiano breaks down which tight ends you should trust and which you should avoid in Week 1 of the fantasy football season.

Start Em, Sit Em Tigth Ends: Week 1 /

Start ‘Em, sit 'em is the ultimate look at the best and worst matchups based on a PPR scoring system in fantasy football. This column will not cover elite players like Travis Kelce or Sam LaPorta.

Instead, I'll look at the players you have questions about who could exceed or fail to meet expectations. For your final lineup decisions, be sure to check out my weekly fantasy player rankings which will be updated daily.

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Fabs’ Top 10 Tight End Rankings for Week 1

1. Sam LaPorta vs. Rams
2. Travis Kelce vs. Ravens (Thur.)
3. Mark Andrews at Chiefs (Thur.)
4. Trey McBride at Bills
5. Dalton Kincaid vs. Cardinals
6. George Kittle vs. Jets (Mon.)
7. Evan Engram at Dolphins
8. Kyle Pitts vs. Steelers
9. Jake Ferguson at Browns
10. David Njoku vs. Cowboys

Complete Week 1 tight end rankings can be found here.

Be sure to check out start 'em, sit 'em picks at other positions as well: Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Kicker & Defense

Week 1 Start ‘Em: Tight Ends

Start of the Week

Dalton Kincaid vs. Cardinals (1 p.m. ET, CBS): This is low-hanging fruit, but you can’t get too cute at a thin “onesie” position. Starting Kincaid isn’t about him having a great matchup, but more about projected volume. The Bills have an almost all-new receiving corps, and Curtis Samuel and Marquez Valdes-Scantling are both coming off preseason injuries. As a result, don’t be surprised if Kincaid leads the Bills receivers in targets vs. Arizona.

Start ‘Em

Evan Engram at Dolphins (1 p.m. ET, CBS): Engram was one of the top fantasy tight ends in the league last season, and an opening-week matchup in Miami makes him a nice start. In 2023, the Dolphins allowed seven touchdowns and the fifth-most points to tight ends. Also keep in mind that the Jacksonville offense threw to the tight ends 26.8% of the time a year ago, which ranked fifth among all teams. Engram should post top-10 totals.

Kyle Pitts vs. Steelers (1 p.m. ET, Fox): This is either the season Pitts finally breaks out in the stat sheets … or he’ll go down as a fantasy dud. With Kirk Cousins under center, he is almost guaranteed to get more accurate and catchable targets than in past seasons, and a matchup against the Steelers is a good one. Their defense allowed the tenth-most PPR points to tight ends a year ago, so Pitts should post top-12 numbers at the position.

Jake Ferguson at Browns (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox): Ferguson was a top-10 fantasy tight end a season ago, and he was a popular target for me in drafts. The Browns defense presents a difficult matchup, especially on their home field, but I’m betting on his near 17% target share in the offense from last season. Cleveland also gave up two huge stat lines to Mark Andrews and Evan Engram at home in 2023, so their defense wasn’t impenetrable.

TEs With Good Matchups

• Trey McBride at Bills (1 p.m. ET, CBS)
• David Njoku vs. Cowboys (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox)
• Pat Freiermuth at Falcons (1 p.m. ET, Fox)

Week 1 Sit ‘Em: Tight Ends

Nov 9, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet (85) runs after a catch against the Carolina Panthers during the third quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports / daniel bartel-usa today sports

Sit of the Week

Cole Kmet vs. Titans (1 p.m. ET, Fox): Kmet was a top-eight fantasy tight end a season ago, but the Bears offense has had a complete overhaul … and none of it benefitted him. New OC Shane Waldron likes to use two tight ends, thus the addition of Gerald Everett, and the Bears are loaded at receiver with DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze. The Titans also allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy points to enemy tight ends in 2023.

Sit ‘Em

Dalton Schultz at Colts (1 p.m. ET, CBS): Like the Bears, Houston’s offense also went through a lot of chances in the offseason. The team added Joe Mixon to the backfield and Stefon Diggs to the passing game, which of course will have a negative effect on Schultz’s target share. What’s more, he’s averaged just 7.3 fantasy points in three career games vs. the Colts. Unless he scores a touchdown, Schultz’s stat line won’t be attractive.

Taysom Hill vs. Panthers (1 p.m. ET, Fox): Hill is always a dart-throw fantasy option, but I’d keep him on the sidelines in the opener. Juwan Johnson (foot) will serve as the team’s top tight end, leaving fewer targets (which he doesn’t see many of anyway) for Hill. Sure, he could be used in a goal-line package as a running back, but I’d also remind managers that Hill has averaged just six fantasy points in 11 career games against the Panthers.

Jonnu Smith vs. Jaguars (1 p.m. ET, CBS): Smith was a popular late-round pick in fantasy drafts, but I’m still unsure of the reasons. After all, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel offense has not used the tight end position in the pass attack, making Mike Gesicki and others mostly useless when it comes to fantasy play. The matchup against the Jags isn’t great either, as their defense allowed the third-fewest points to the position among visiting defenses in 2023.

TEs With Bad Matchups

• Mike Gesicki vs. Patriots (1 p.m. ET, CBS)
• Chigoziem Okonkwo at Bears (1 p.m. ET, Fox)
• Noah Fant vs. Broncos (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS)

Don't forget to check out the top start 'em, sit 'em picks at other positions while you make your Week 1 fantasy football lineup decisions too! Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Kicker & Defense