Soppe’s Fantasy TE Start-Sit Week 10 Players Include Colston Loveland, Dalton Schultz, Evan Engram, and Others

The tight end position in fantasy football is a weekly adventure, and this slate offers a fascinating blend of stability and volatility across the league. Whether you’re chasing upside or looking for a reliable floor, several options stand out—though just as many bring risk that could make or break your lineup.

Some emerging rookies and volatile role changes promise shakeups, but consistent production remains elusive for most teams. For those hoping to gain an edge, the trends and usage shifts at tight end this week could be pivotal in your fantasy football success.

AJ Barner | SEA (vs ARI)

The ever-popular TE sneak got you to the finish line if you played AJ Barner on Sunday night, but the limited volume through the air remains a concern.

Only once this season has he earned 5+ targets in a game, and that’s saying something with Sam Darnold playing at about as high a level as he is capable of. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the ace on this team and is the only Seahawk I’m comfortable with on a weekly basis.

I’d rather play Barner than the back-end of TE committees in Cleveland and Baltimore, but that doesn’t land him in my top 15 for Week 10.

Brock Bowers | LV (at DEN)

Can you imagine if the bye week came earlier in the season?

I kid, but Brock Bowers looked like rookie Brock Bowers coming out of the off week. He caught 12 of 13 targets against the Jags for 127 yards and three scores, looking unguardable for all 60 minutes.

Since the beginning of last season, Bowers has had half of the 30-point (PPR) games from the tight end position across the NFL, and he led the Raiders in receiving by 80 yards in the near victory.

I’m not yet ready to say that he’s all the way back; we still have to see how the knee reacts, and he still does have a Geno Smith problem that could pop up at any time, but he’s back to Tier 1 status and could pull your team out of the fire should you still have playoff aspirations.

If we acknowledge that his last healthy game came in Week 1, then his last 15 healthy contests have seen him rack up 109 catches for 1,208 yards and eight scores. That’s elite-level upside for any tight end in the history of the game, let alone one dealing with below-average QB play.

If you stayed patient with a player we all labeled as a difference-maker this summer, you stand to be rewarded moving forward.

Cade Otton | TB (vs NE)

Cade Otton is going to be a viable tight end streamer for the remainder of the season.

I don’t think the upside, even with a crippled cast around him, is enough to elevate him above that level. For the season, he has just one end zone target (Week 2) and has more games with single-digit yardage totals than games with 55+.

So no, I don’t think he can get to the “reliable starter” level, but with a 20+ yard catch in four straight and plenty of targets up for grabs with Mike Evans out for the year on top of various other injuries, his floor is higher than the names on your waiver wire.

He’s boring and is unlikely to win you this week or any week. That said, the name of the game for many is to roster a tight end that won’t outright cost them their matchup, and I think Otton checks that box.

Cole Kmet | CHI (vs NYG)

Cole Kmet entered last week battling a back injury and then exited in the second quarter with a head injury.

He’s been running into health hurdles for a month now, but the biggest issue he has is a Colston Loveland problem.

The rookie exploded last week and scored the game-winning touchdown: this was a committee situation early in the season, but those days seem to be over.

There’s not nearly enough contingent value to hold a fully healthy Kmet, and there’s no guarantee that we get that version of him with regularity moving forward.

Kmet can be safely dropped, even if he clears all protocols during the workweek.

Colston Loveland | CHI (vs NYG)

No player had a louder Week 9 than Colston Loveland, a high-pedigree rookie who was having the best fantasy day of his season before the 58-yard game-winning TD to cap his 6-118-2 day in Cincinnati.

Kmet’s late departure in the first half certainly aided the role expansion, but we were trending that way prior (7-2 route edge in the first quarter). There are plenty of mouths to feed in this offense, but with Ben Johnson feeling himself and motivated to make this first-round pick look the part, I’m comfortable in elevating Loveland to the top 10 at the position.

Williams can have a wide range of weekly outcomes, but the ceiling performances are high enough to suck me in on Loveland over tight ends like Kyle Pitts and Harold Fannin, two players at the mercy of lesser QBs.

Dallas Goedert | PHI (at GB)

Is Dallas Goedert the TE version of 2024 Nick Westbrook-Ikhine?

It may not be that dramatic, and there’s certainly a value difference because of the position he plays, but this is about as shaky of a profile for any of the options that most appear to be comfortable in locking in.

This season, Goedert has scored on 17.9% of his targets, nearly four times (4.7%) his career rate. He’s doing this with only one end zone opportunity (hasn’t had more than five in a season since 2019) and a target share that is down from 23.1% in 2021 to 20.3%.

I believe that Goedert’s consistent playing time on a strong offense keeps him out of the streaming tier at the position … but not by much.

With no more than four targets in each of Philadelphia’s last four wins, we really don’t have proof that they value him in neutral-to-positive scripts, a situation that I like the Eagles to operate in more often than not moving forward.

He’s a fringe TE1 for me this week because the position gets ugly in a hurry, but I’m terrified of the floor, both this week and for the remainder of the season.

Dalton Kincaid | BUF (at MIA)

It seems to be an every-other-game thing with Dalton Kincaid, but the fact that he has the confidence of Josh Allen (15.2 yards per catch and an 81.8% catch rate) is good enough for me to lock him in weekly.

Last week, he benefited from the corner losing his footing and scored from 23 yards out, his fourth TD of the season. I’m more willing to buy into a target share that’s been at least 25% in three straight games than to panic about the lack of red-zone usage (zero touches inside the 20 since Week 1).

Kincaid checks in as my TE7 this week and should be started in all formats. When these teams met in Week 3, he led Buffalo in catches (five), targets (six), receiving yards (66), and was responsible for one of Josh Allen’s three touchdown passes.

The scoring is likely to regress over time, but as long as his efficiency remains and the role doesn’t change significantly, I see no reason to consider him anything other than a lineup lock.

Dalton Schultz | HOU (vs JAX)

Dalton Schultz has reached 60 receiving yards in three of his last four games and 6+ targets in five of six, usage that elevates him to the top of the streamer conversation.

Stroud left last week with a concussion (not before he got Schultz a 47-yard catch, the longest of his career), but I’m not sure that the TE’s production is all that tied to who is under center.

Schultz has proven to be the outlet pass in this offense, a valuable weekly role given the struggles of this offensive line. The upside is capped, but you’re not starting him to swing your matchup: you’re doing it to steady the ship.

If you can get 8-12 PPR points from your tight end, you’re going to be competitive more often than not and I think you can continue to bank on him for that (8.9 PPR points in the Week 3 loss in Jacksonville).

David Njoku | CLE (at NYJ)

David Njoku (knee) was a game-time decision in Week 8, but he elected to play and scored 13.7 PPR points in the blowout loss at the hands of the Patriots.

Maybe a full-strength version of him will emerge this week and change the course of things, but in the games played on either end of the injury (Week 7 DNP), Fannin has been the more featured of the two tight ends on this roster.

Even with that being the case, both Fannin and Njoku had a target share north of 20% in both games. This is a broken offense that lacks options … and that works out well for these tight ends!

If one can take over this room, we might be talking about a top-8 option. Until that happens, both are on the low end of the TE1 radar: playing either is viable, even in what might be the ugliest game of the week (or the season).

Evan Engram | DEN (vs LV)

The up-and-down nature of Nix can be tough to watch at times, and Evan Engram is the one who seems to feel it the most.

He finished last week without a single catch despite running a route on 83.9% of his snaps. I’m not reading too far into it (4+ receptions in five straight games prior), but there is no denying that the inconsistencies of his QB introduce a lower floor than most with this sort of role.

He lives in the TE15 range when things are going right in Denver, and that’s where I have him ranked in this favorable spot. I hope that he can show us signs of life over the next two weeks to give us reason to hold him through the Week 12 bye, with the Commanders, Raiders, Packers, and Jaguars on deck after that.

George Kittle | SF (vs LAR)

George Kittle has turned 79 routes into just 75 yards since missing over a month, but he did get two red-zone touches last week against the Giants and seems to be trending in the right direction.

Is the slow start a pain? Of course it is, but there’s no threat to his tight end role and a lack of healthy target earners not named McCaffrey.

Kittle reached double figures in PPR points in his last meeting with the Rams, and I think we get him trending in that direction sooner than later, regardless of who is under center.

There’s nothing actionable to do with these struggles. Kittle can’t be traded at his current value, and there’s no one available that has anything close to enough of a role to justify starting him over Kittle.

Harold Fannin Jr. | CLE (at NYJ)

Harold Fannin found the end zone in Week 8 against the Patriots before the bye and has now caught at least four passes in each of Cleveland’s past four games.

It should be noted that Njoku has been battling a knee injury for the majority of that run, and with a week off, the veteran TE should be in as good a shape this week as he was at any point in October.

That’s why I think this is a hinge game for the rest of the season. Do the Browns prioritize the 21-year-old tight end? If so, he’s a top-10 tight end for the remainder of the season. I’ll rank him as such starting next week should we see him dominate the snap share over a healthy Njoku, but I need to see it before projecting as much.

I have Fannin over Njoku this week, but both are just outside of my top 15 at the position for Week 10.

Hunter Henry | NE (at TB)

Hunter Henry hasn’t seen an end zone target in four straight games and hasn’t hit double-digit expected points at any point during this six-game win streak.

This is what the streaming tier is.

Henry is attached to a good offense and has been on the field for at least three-quarters of their snaps in eight of nine games. That’s going to land him near the top of my streamers’ range at the position, but we’ve seen Drake Maye be plenty comfortable in taking what the defense gives him.

The Bucs own the 11th-lowest opponent aDOT this season, and that’s the type of matchup where Henry can ugly his way to 10 PPR points. He’s currently my TE12, ranked just ahead of other TEs with young QBs who are carving out their space in the NFL (Theo Johnson and T.J. Hockenson).

Isaiah Likely | BAL (at MIN)

Technically speaking, Isaiah Likely saw an end zone target on the third-down play before Mark Andrews scored on fourth down, but it wasn’t a competitive pass, as Lamar Jackson was late in reacting to the pressure and airmailed the pass intentionally.

He was able to shake free for a chunk play on the final snap of the first quarter (35 yards), and that saved what was a low-volume day for Baltimore (23 pass attempts against 31 runs).

That’s the risk, and it will always be the risk: if this team is clicking, Jackson isn’t dropping back 35+ times, which makes counting on either side of a TE committee difficult.

Likely had receptions of 10 and 15 yards within a four-play stretch on the first drive of the second half, and that was his final line for the day (3-60-0). He earned one more target on four fewer routes than Mark Andrews, so if you’re nitpicking the role, that’s a plus, but Charlie Kolar (2-23-1) outscored him for the night, and that’s where we are right now with this passing game.

You can start Zay Flowers, but that’s it. Both tight ends are viable, but with the presence of the other, neither is particularly exciting and comes with a low ceiling.

Ja’Tavion Sanders | CAR (vs NO)

The Panthers won on Sunday and are shockingly in the playoff mix, but that doesn’t mean their passing game is clicking.

It’s not.

And even if it doesn’t improve, there’s no proof that it’ll be via the tight end position. Last week, the trio of Tommy Tremble/Ja’Tavion Sanders/Mitchell Evans combined for 78 offensive snaps, but ran just 23 routes and two targets.

There are a lot of TEs in this range and almost all of them play for an offense I trust more. This feels like as good a spot as you’ll get for the Panthers, and while that’s true, it simply means that they are likely to run the ball even more than normal.

I’d go as low as the Steelers’ trio of tight ends in the ranks over Sanders. Heck, if you’re truly stuck, Taysom Hill’s goofy role makes more sense than the risk profile that Sanders currently has access to.

Jake Tonges | SF (vs LAR)

Kittle hasn’t been the superstar in his three weeks back that we had hoped, but it’s not as if his usage is going to anyone else at the position.

Jake Tonges ran just five routes last week (22 for Kittle) and is viewed by the team as a hole opener for McCaffrey more than anything.

There’s some contingent value here, but not enough to hold through the weeks in which Kittle is active.

Jonnu Smith | PIT (at LAC)

The tight end position as a whole is getting used in Pittsburgh, but those looks are split three ways, and considering that Jonnu Smith doesn’t have a 15-yard catch since mid-September, there’s just not enough upside to even consider going this way.

Pat Freiermuth scored last week and has the only real spike performance from the position in this offense. Darnell Washington’s size alone makes him a threat in scoring situations, leaving Smith to work between the 20s and hope to rack up the volume.

That’s an iffy role if executed at a high level, and Smith isn’t doing that (34 targets in eight games this season).

Jaylen Warren is the only Pittsburgh player I’m starting with any level of confidence. That’s true for Week 10, and I don’t see changing for the remainder of the season.

Juwan Johnson | NO (at CAR)

It was good to see Juwan Johnson find the end zone for the first time since Week 2, but I’m not labeling any good vibes from last week as transferable with Shough under center.

His average depth of target was dialed back to 5.8 yards last week, and that increases the point expectancy of each look. I just worry about the volume part of that equation as a part of an offense that struggles to move the ball with any level of consistency.

Rashid Shaheed seems to have the eye of Shough, Olave isn’t going away, and Taysom Hill continues to weasel his way into usage. I’d much rather stream a player like Luka Musgrave, a player I view as a lesser talent but is tied to a far superior offense.

Kyle Pitts Sr. | ATL (at IND)

Kyle Pitts saw his first end zone target of the season last week and has racked up 26 looks during this three-game skid. Darnell Mooney has been a non-factor since returning, and that, on Sunday at least, meant that Pitts was left handling his duties.

His 11.9-yard aDOT against the Patriots was easily a season high. While that introduces more single-play upside than the shallow target role he’d been occupying prior, it also ramps up the weekly variance, a trade-off I’m not thrilled about making with Michael Penix pulling the trigger.

If Mooney can get going, I think we get stable TE8-12 production from Pitts. That’s what I’m ranking for this week on a fast track in Indy, but last week, despite the seven targets, was more concerning than encouraging for those with exposure to Pitts.

Luke Musgrave | GB (vs PHI)

Luke Musgrave was drafted ahead of Tucker Kraft in 2023, but their careers have gone in different directions.

Until now.

Musgrave profiles as the natural fill-in for the void left by Kraft (torn ACL). That’s great for those of you in points per offensive snap leagues, but outside of that, I think you’re living on a prayer.

Kraft’s ability to change the game with the ball in his hands is why he was averaging four catches per game and a weekly starter. Musgrave hasn’t shown us that at the professional level and, given the depth of WR talent on this roster, I’m not sure he gets the chance to.

Musgrave will be on the field plenty for a good offense, so keep him on your streamer Bingo card, but I need to see proof of concept before I trust him with a spot on my roster.

Mark Andrews | BAL (at MIN)

Jackson only needed to throw 23 passes in the more-dominant-than-the-final-score-indicates win over the Dolphins on Thursday night, and that naturally resulted in low volume across the board as he fed six players multiple targets.

Mark Andrews, however, was able to pay your trust off in a big way, scoring on both of his receptions, efficiently finishing as the top skill player for the Ravens in Week 9.

This is what he is: a low-end starter or a high-end streamer, depending on your format. You may not want to hear that because of his name value, but he has two multi-TD games this season and zero top-15 finishes at the position otherwise.

Andrews is essentially a poor version of Dallas Goedert, and I’m far from sold that the Eagles’ TE is a safe weekly play. Due to the number of people cycling through tight ends, I can’t imagine that there is much in the way of value on your wire right now, but trading this veteran off of this big game might just be the play.

See if you can build up his pedigree, Baltimore’s need to keep the gas pushed to the floor, and the two-TD upside: if you can get a stable flex player weekly, I’d make the move and piece together the TE position for the rest of the season.

Mason Taylor | NYJ (vs CLE)

You mean betting on a rookie tight end in a Fields-led offense comes with a wide range of outcomes?

Mason Taylor has seen 7+ targets in three of his past five, but he’s also managed to reach 35 receiving yards in just two of eight this season.

He’s the definition of a streaming option. I like the player, but I don’t like the environment, and specifically in this spot, how many points are going to be scored?

Taylor has scored north of 6.12 PPR points three times this season, in games against the Cowboys, Bengals, and Dolphins that saw an average of 61.3 points put on the board.

It might take these two teams a month to score that much, and that’s why I’m not the least bit tempted to go this route this weekend.

Michael Mayer | LV (at DEN)

It’s pretty hard to cut a tight end the week following an 83.3% snap share with seven targets earned, but this is the Brock Bowers show once again, and that’s going to make it difficult, if not impossible, for Michael Mayer to turn those snaps into anything besides cardio.

I’m holding off for now, just to give Bowers a chance to prove to me that the knee concerns are truly a thing of the past. But the second-year TE was used less as a blocker than Mayer was and touched the ball 10 more times despite being on the field for a few fewer snaps.

I’m not in the business of betting on Smith supporting multiple pass catchers if I can help it, thus making Mayer an expendable piece as your playoff roster begins to take form.

Oronde Gadsden II | LAC (vs PIT)

We had the Quentin Johnston run of excellence in this offense early in the season, and he certainly seems to have handed off the baton to Oronde Gadsden.

The rookie has caught all 10 of his targets over the past two games and has cleared 65 receiving yards in each of his past four. Trey McBride was the only TE with such a streak (over 65 receiving yards in four straight) last season, and as far as rookie pass catchers (WR/TE) to rip off such a run since 2023, Gadsden’s name is now sitting next to Brian Thomas Jr., Malik Nabers, and Nacua.

I have no idea why you’d be skeptical in the short term. The Bolts aren’t taking him off the field (30+ routes and a red zone touch in all four of those games), and he’s rewarded them by catching 15-of-17 targets over this run that have been thrown to or behind the sticks.

He’s essentially a version of the run game, a 6’5″, 236-pound super-athletic version of the run game.

Gadsden has a catch gaining north of 30 yards in three straight contests, and his ability to marry volume with upside makes him an easy click weekly when setting your lineup. I’ve got him as TE6 for Week 10, a ranking that could place him as a viable flex option if you added him to a roster that already had a reliable tight end.

Pat Freiermuth | PIT (at LAC)

I understand the reflex to want to roster Pat Freiermuth. He’s scored three times in three weeks and plays for a team that lacks depth at the receiver position behind DK Metcalf.

I get it, but I’m not confident in Metcalf weekly, so selling me on one part of a tight end committee is going to take a lot more than a few nice plays over the course of two months.

Week 9 Participation Report

• Darnell Washington: 41 snaps, 16 routes, 6 targets
• Freiermuth: 28 snaps, 20 routes, 4 targets
• Jonnu Smith: 25 snaps, 17 routes, 5 targets

If one of these three were to get hurt, the math shifts, and maybe, maybe, we can have a discussion. But with all three healthy and doing very similar things in terms of route depth, YAC ability, etc., I can’t imagine going into a week with much confidence that you have the right one plugged in.

Last week, Washington and Freiermuth ran eight red zone routes apiece while Smith checked in with six. If there were a clear funnel for the most valuable of the tight end targets, maybe I could get on board. But this is a mess that I’m not wasting time with in any capacity.

Stream a player who is on the field more often and has a consistent role carved out, even if it’s not as big as you’d like.

Sam LaPorta | DET (at WAS)

Sometimes teams are coy about what they want to do or which matchup they’d like to pick.

Other times, not so much.

Jared Goff hit Sam LaPorta for gains of 11 and 15 yards on Detroit’s first two plays last week against the Vikings, a drive that ended up with the tight end turning a fourth-down catch into a 46-yard score.

This is why I always preach leaning into an offensive environment. The Lions threaten opponents in so many ways that, if they identify a single player as holding a significant edge, they can pick at that scab without the opponent being able to do much about it.

Not every week will work out as cleanly as last week did. But with Williams being utilized more as a vertical threat and Gibbs less as a pass catcher, there is a 6-8 target role to pencil in for LaPorta every week, a role that carries one of the 10 highest floors at the position, given the efficient stylings of Goff.

You can feel good about starting LaPorta every week moving forward, and great this week against a Commanders defense that showed no areas of strength last week.

T.J. Hockenson | MIN (vs BAL)

T.J. Hockenson scoring a revenge TD last week, his first trip to the end zone since Week 3, was great to see, but I’m not at all certain that he’s a weekly starter.

In J.J. McCarthy’s return to action, Hockenson earned just a 13% target share. Unless you think that this offense is going to make a massive step forward in terms of efficiency moving forward, that rate of involvement is more in line with a streamer at the position than anything else.

We know Justin Jefferson is an All-World talent and that Jordan Addison brings a level of upside that is otherwise lacking from this offense. But with McCarthy icing the game with a trust pass to Jalen Nailor, not to mention Jones’ ability to be split out wide, I think we are fighting an uphill battle.

This game could be a shootout, and so could next week’s home date with the Bears. If Minnesota finds itself in track meets, Hockenson can flirt with TE1 status if for no other reason than the high count in red zone trips.

But after that are games against the Packers and Seahawks, spots where it’s possible, if not likely, that this offense will be quiet.

There aren’t many instances where I’d hold two tight ends on my roster, but if you wanted to marry Hockenson’s schedule with a Luke Musgrave or other streaming option and play the matchup game, I’d give you the green light, provided that your depth is stable elsewhere.

Trey McBride | ARI (at SEA)

Trey McBride has more touchdowns over his past three games (four) than he had ever had in an entire season, and he hasn’t caught fewer than five passes in a game since Week 16 of last season.

The impact of who is under center is much more of a Harrison question than it is one for their All-World tight end: McBride is giving us the highest floor at the most volatile position in fantasy.

He wasn’t cheap this season, and he won’t be next year, but this weekly stability is hard to quantify. If you have McBride rostered, my hunch is that you’re sitting in a good spot. If you don’t, I bet the team that does is in a good spot.

We get obsessed with upside because it’s fun. It’s flashy. But the truth of the matter is that weekly output like this, at a tough position, is more valuable than just about anything in our game.

Tucker Kraft | GB (vs PHI)

Tucker Kraft suffered a knee injury late in the second quarter against the Panthers over the weekend and never managed to return, ending a streak of four straight double-digit PPR games dead in its tracks.

The injury looms as a real concern, even for an active player, given the number of pass-catching options in this offense. That said, I don’t see how you can do anything but follow the team’s lead on this one.

If the Packers play him, you do the same.

READ MORE: Soppe’s Week 10 Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em: Analysis for Every Player in Every Game

In Weeks 7-8, he earned 19 targets and was well on his way to proving himself as Jordan Love’s top option. A compromised version of Kraft wouldn’t be ideal, but at the TE position, it’s enough.

But that’s going to be a 2026 discussion after news broke that Kraft’s ACL is, in fact, torn. It’ll be natural to lose track of a player who isn’t on your radar for the final two months, but if he can clear rehab in time for Week 1 next year, he’s a viable starter at the position without much hesitation.

Tyler Warren | IND (vs ATL)

The fact that Tyler Warren can still catch five passes in a game where seemingly everything went sideways for the Colts is a nod to just how entrenched he is in what this offense wants to do.

In the loss at Pittsburgh, Warren finished with just 26 yards and, for the first time in his career, failed to catch a pass that gained 17+ yards. It was a mess for everyone attached to this offense, though their TE wasn’t far from turning in another top-10 week, as he appeared to be in position to score a touchdown on a short pass that Cam Hayward deflected before it had a chance to get to him.

His dud happening the same week as the Brock Bowers explosion might prompt some pivoting away from him as a Tier 1 option at the position, but I’m not in that camp. If anything, the Tucker Kraft injury removes one name from the weekly lock conversation at the TE position, thus making those still included in that tier even more valuable.

This is a blip on the radar. Rub some dirt on it and do the responsible thing.

Play Warren without a second thought.

Zach Ertz | WAS (vs DET)

Zach Ertz has been held to single-digit PPR points in five of his past seven and hasn’t reached 13 in a game this season.

The veteran’s profile would be in trouble if his dynamic quarterback were still under center, but with Jayden Daniels out of the picture, I think you’re best served streaming the position.

It’s not that Mariota can’t function; it’s that I don’t see enough scoring equity for Ertz to offset what is a low ceiling in terms of volume. He’s earned two end zone targets on his 252 routes this season. With scoring trips projecting to be more scarce now than they were last week, he doesn’t strike me as very different from a Theo Riddick or Hunter Henry type, both of whom have access to a more promising prospect under center.