Week 8 Fantasy Football Start/Sit Candidates: Tight Ends
Wondering whom to start and sit at tight end this week? Below are two top-notch start and two sit options at the tight end position for Week 8 of the 2022 NFL season.
Week 7 Review – half-PPR scoring
Starts
- TE Gerald Everett (Los Angeles Chargers) vs. Seattle Seahawks – 8.8 fantasy points (TE8)
- TE Juwan Johnson (New Orleans Saints) @ Arizona Cardinals – 17.7 (TE2)
Sits
- TE Mike Gesicki (Miami Dolphins) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers – 4.2 fantasy points (T-TE24)
- TE Jonnu Smith (New England Patriots) vs. Chicago Bears – 0.9 fantasy points (TE48)
Tight Ends – Starts
Greg Dulcich (Denver Broncos) @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Denver Broncos rookie tight end Greg Dulcich spent the first five weeks of the season on Injured Reserve (hamstring). He made his debut in Week 6 and sits as the TE6 overall with 19.5 half-PPR points during that span. The coaching staff was so impressed with Dulcich’s Week 6 showing that nominal No. 1 tight end Albert Okwuegbunam was kept inactive for Week 7.
Among Denver pass catchers with at least four targets over the last two weeks, Dulcich is No. 2 across the board in targets (12), receptions (six), receiving yards per game (47.5), and yards per route run (1.64). His 21.0% targets per route run rate is third behind wide receiver Jerry Jeudy and running back Mike Boone, the latter of which just landed on Injured Reserve.
Though the Jacksonville Jaguars defense has defended the tight end position well overall, primary coverage linebacker Devin Lloyd is among the league’s worst.
Dulcich is a fantasy TE1 moving forward.
Harrison Bryant (Cleveland Browns) vs. Cincinnati Bengals
The Cleveland Browns No. 1 tight end David Njoku suffered the dreaded high-ankle sprain last weekend. Per Adam Hutchison’s Injury Index, tight ends miss an average of 4.8 games with the injury, and players are often impacted for the remainder of the season with this particular ailment.
Having won the Mackey Award as a college senior in 2019 after posting a gargantuan receiving line of 65 receptions, 1,004 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns, Bryant was selected by Cleveland in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Frustratingly, Bryant has been stuck in a deep tight end room ever since but as of Week 8, 2022, he is the top tight end on the roster.
Among NFL tight ends with at least 20 receptions in 2021, Bryant’s 1.86 yards per route run in 2021 ranked No. 10 overall.
*Check out the full TE Rankings here.
Tight End - Sits
Dawson Knox (Buffalo Bills) vs. Green Bay Packers
In what has been a largely forgettable season for the Green Bay Packers, one of the few things they have managed to do well is defend against enemy tight ends. Green Bay’s defense is surrendering just 8.0 half-PPR points per game to the position, T-11th fewest at the position.
Despite flashing talent in the past, Knox has toiled in mediocrity this year, earning just 20 targets in five games played. The sum has him trailing three Buffalo wide receivers and one running, and promising rookie wide receiver Khalil Shakir is very likely to see his role increased coming off of the team’s Week 7 bye.
Dalton Schultz (Dallas Cowboys) vs. Chicago Bears
Dalton Schultz has suffered repeated setbacks with his PCL injury this year but did flash signs of life in quarterback Dak Prescott’s Week 7 return from an extended, injury-induced absence. It is difficult to trust Schultz this week though as the Chicago Bears are limiting opposing tight ends to the eight-lowest half-PPR points per game average, 6.9.
The Dallas Cowboys also have their bye coming up in Week 9 and the team would do well to shut Schultz down until Week 10, with the hope that two weeks of rehabilitation would get him ready for a playoff run, as Dallas is currently 5-2 (third place) in the suddenly competitive NFC East.
