It’s week 10, people! Time to set up those fantasy lineups! Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em is the ultimate look at a week’s best and worst matchups in fantasy football leagues. Each week I examine the tight ends who may or may not exceed expectations based on their weekly opponent…like Cade Otton and Tucker Kraft in Week 9!

For your final lineup decisions, check out my fantasy player rankings. I update them daily! Also, be sure to subscribe to the Fantasy Dirt Podcast with Lindsay Rhodes and I where we break down all things fantasy football five days a week!

All positions: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | K & DSTs

Bye: Browns, Packers, Raiders, Seahawks

1. George Kittle at Buccaneers
2. Travis Kelce vs. Broncos
3. Cade Otton vs. 49ers
4. Trey McBride vs. Jets
5. Evan Engram vs. Vikings
6. Jake Ferguson vs. Eagles
7. Dalton Kincaid at Colts
8. Kyle Pitts at Saints
9. Mark Andrews vs. Bengals (Thursday)
10. TJ Hockenson at Jaguars

Complete the Week 10 Tight End Rankings

beginning of the week

Jake Ferguson vs. Eagles (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS): Ferguson, who was listed as the starter last week, scored 14.1 points in a loss to the Falcons. On paper, he has a bad matchup this week as the Eagles haven’t allowed a touchdown to a tight end. But sometimes the volume is much more important than the opponent. With four teams having a bye and CeeDee Lamb being strong, I expect Ferguson to score a lot in this NFC East contest.

Start them

Dalton Kincaid at the Colts (1 p.m. ET, CBS): Kincaid wasn’t the high-end fantasy tight end we projected in the preseason, but he has seen a lot of targets lately. In fact, he had ten last week and no fewer than six in his last six games. Kincaid also had a good game against the Colts, who had five tight ends score at least 12.4 points, including four with more than 16 points and two with more than 20 points.

TJ Hockenson at the Jaguars (1 p.m. ET, Fox): Hockenson made his season debut last week and scored just 5.7 points in a win over the Colts. Still, he played 33 snaps and his snaps and targets should only increase as the Vikings travel to Duval County to face the Jaguars. Their defense has been vulnerable to tight ends, allowing five players to beat them by more than 11 points in the last four weeks, including more than 16 points.

Taysom Hill vs. Falcons (1 p.m. ET, Fox): Hill, who was listed as the starter last week, was a big hit among fantasy managers with one touchdown and 16 fantasy points. The Saints’ offense is riddled with injuries, so the NFL’s “Swiss Army Knife” should see offense (including inside the red zone) and targets in this contest. The matchup is also positive, as the Falcons have given up the eighth-most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends this season.

TEs with good matchups

Seat of the week

Sam LaPorta at Texans (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC): It’s difficult to send LaPorta on a four-team bye, but he wasn’t the same dream player he was as a rookie. He hasn’t scored double-digit points in all but two games, including just 4.8 points last week, and this weekend’s contest in Houston is an uphill battle. Only two tight ends have beaten the Texans by more than 7.2 points, and no tight end has scored more than 13.1 points against them in 2024.

Set them

Dalton Schultz vs. Lions (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC): Due to the encounters this season, Schultz had some positive games, but was never able to capitalize on them. In fact, he remained in single digits in every game and averaged just 5.6 fantasy points. I’d leave him on the bench against the Lions, who haven’t let any tight end score more than 10.7 points this season. That makes Schultz a tough opponent this weekend.

Cole Kmet vs. Patriots (1 p.m. ET, Fox): Kmet can finish with huge stats at any time, but this season was all or nothing for him. In fact, he was limited to single digits in every game in which he didn’t score 24 or more points (only twice). Even though this week’s matchup against the Patriots isn’t bad on paper, it’s difficult to start Kmet with any confidence. At best, he’s a dart-throwing starter for fantasy managers desperate about the bye weeks.

Zach Ertz vs. Steelers (1 p.m. ET, CBS): Ertz, who was listed as a sit ’em last week, had his worst game of the season with just 1.5 fantasy points. He also saw a season low in a goal. I obviously expect those totals to go up this week, but don’t be surprised if his numbers are still mediocre. The Steelers have had just one tight end beat them by scoring more than 13 points, and tight ends have averaged 41.3 receiving yards per game against them.

TEs with bad matchups