Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em TE Picks for Week 2 Include Travis Kelce, Brenton Strange, and Zach Ertz

Week 2 is here, and fantasy football managers are already second-guessing their lineup decisions. The tight end position continues to be a weekly puzzle, with unexpected performances creating both opportunities and headaches. Whether you’re looking to capitalize on favorable matchups or avoid potential pitfalls, this week’s recommendations could make or break your fantasy week.

Start ‘Em: Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

This may not look very smart after the game. With Rashee Rice suspended and Xavier Worthy departing after three plays, Travis Kelce still commanded a mere four targets. If not for his 37-yard touchdown on busted coverage, the 36-year-old tight end would likely have finished the game with one catch for 10 yards.

MAHOMES TO KELCE IN SÃO PAULO. TOUCHDOOOOWN.

KCvsLAC on YouTube https://t.co/JVXS9sMZhB pic.twitter.com/HvlFruNr2o

— NFL (@NFL) September 6, 2025

What we are gambling on with this recommendation is the Chiefs having to throw more than they’d like to, facing a tough Philadelphia Eagles’ run defense, and there being a deliberate plan to use their tight end more.

Hollywood Brown stepped into the Worthy role last week, but that is not something the Chiefs necessarily want to do. Behind Brown are JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton. Even with Kelce lacking any explosiveness, he is still a more reliable set of hands. Patrick Mahomes should target him underneath more than he did in Week 1, giving Kelce a solid floor in a game the Chiefs will probably have to score a lot in to win.

Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars

We are doubling down on the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was an excellent Week 1 role for Brenton Strange, playing 79% of the snaps. He only saw four targets, but caught all of them for 59 yards. That level of efficiency is highly encouraging.

The same matchup analysis for Travis Hunter applies to Strange. The Cincinnati Bengals may have limited the Cleveland Browns to 16 points, but this is still the same defense that couldn’t stop anyone last season.

Brenton Strange led all TEs in total EPA and was 6th among all pass-catchers in WK 1.

Fantastic start for the #Jaguars young TE.
pic.twitter.com/qIHkcsLwr5

— Daniel Griffis (@DanDGriffis) September 9, 2025

Jacksonville’s passing attack wasn’t really needed in Week 1 as the Caroline Panthers never forced them to need to do much. Travis Etienne Jr. dominated on the ground, and the Jaguars rode him and their defense (or rather, the inept Panthers’ offense) to victory.

Last season, the Bengals allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to tight ends. In Week 1, they let rookie TE Harold Fannin Jr. rip off 63 yards on seven receptions. This is an excellent spot for Strange to establish himself as a weekly back-end TE1.

Sit ‘Em: David Njoku, Cleveland Browns

If you have David Njoku, it will probably be tough to sit him. It’s a challenge to find any tight ends to recommend as guys to truly bench. But there were some seriously discouraging signs from the Cleveland Browns’ veteran tight end in Week 1.

While Njoku did play 84% of the snaps, Fannin was right there with him at 72%. The rookie ran nine fewer routes, but saw four more targets than Njoku. That’s a concerning sign considering it’s only been one week. Even if the expectation was that Fannin would eat into or overtake Njoku’s role, it was not supposed to happen this year.

READ MORE: Katz’s Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Picks for Week 2: Breece Hall, A.J. Brown, RJ Harvey, and Others

The Baltimore Ravens allowed Dalton Kincaid to score last week, but were a middle-of-the-road defense against tight ends in 2024. The mediocre matchup, combined with increased target competition, makes Njoku a risky start in Week 2.

Zach Ertz, Washington Commanders

As difficult as finding one tight end to bench was, finding a second was even harder. Zach Ertz is your quintessential touchdown-or-bust TE2. He only played 64% of the snaps last week and saw a mere five targets. Had he not scored, his fantasy outing would have been a disaster.

This week, it’s hard to bet on Ertz scoring against a Green Bay Packers defense that looks like one of the best in the NFL.

The Packers were one of the more favorable matchups for tight ends last season, but they’ve since upgraded their defense, most notably with the addition of Micah Parsons.

Ertz offers nothing after the catch and needs to score to justify his spot in lineups. He scored last week. We’re betting against him making it two in a row.