Week 5 Fantasy Football Start/Sit Candidates: Tight Ends

Wondering who to start and sit at quarterback this week? Below are two top-notch start and two sit options at the quarterback position for Week 5 of the 2022 NFL season.

More Start/Sit: QB | WR | RB

Week 4 Review – half-PPR scoring

Starts

• TE Evan Engram (Jacksonville Jaguars) @ Philadelphia Eagles – 12.4 fantasy points (TE5)
• TE Tyler Higbee (Los Angeles Rams) @ San Francisco 49ers – 3.5 (TE33)

Sits

• TE Mike Gesicki (Miami Dolphins) @ Cincinnati Bengals – 4.5 fantasy points (T-TE26)
• TE Irv Smith Jr. (Minnesota Vikings) @ New Orleans Saints – 2.9 fantasy points (TE40)

Tight Ends – Starts

Tyler Conklin (New York Jets) vs. Miami Dolphins

New York Jets tight end Tyler Conklin has broken out as the TE9 in half-PPR scoring via a four-game stat line of 21 receptions on 29 targets, 192 yards, and one touchdown. His advanced data can be found in the table below. Conklin is ranked in reference to NFL tight ends with at least 20 targets this year.

Second-year quarterback Zach Wilson made his 2022 last week and Conklin promisingly finished with six total targets, tied for second-most on the team, and his 1.79 yards per route run ranked third.

Conklin’s Week 5 foe, the Miami Dolphins, are fantasy football’s seventh most tight-end-friendly defense in half-PPR scoring, allowing 13.9 fantasy points per game. Conklin should cruise to another third top-12 finish of the year with little issue.

Dallas Goedert (Philadelphia Eagles) @ Arizona Cardinals

Dallas Goedert has been a model of consistency for Philadelphia this year, catching at least three passes and producing at least 60 receiving yards in three of four weeks. In his lone sub-60-yard outing, Goedert secured a top-12 finish thanks to a touchdown reception from 23-yards out.

Goedert was drafted just after the position’s elite tier in most formats this year, which means fantasy managers who have him rostered are likely to have a backup plan on the bench. Keep it that way. Philadelphia at Arizona is one of four games to have an over/under set at 48.0 points or higher on 4for4 promotional partner MGM Grand this week and Arizona has been toasted for 16.5 half-PPR points per game by opposing tight ends this year, the second highest average in the league.

Arizona general manager Steve Keim has had a series of draft picks bust in his attempt to shore up the coverage deficiencies of this linebacker and slot coverage corps and Goedert stands to benefit this week.

* Check out the full TE Rankings here.

Tight End – Sits

Pat Freiermuth (Pittsburgh Steelers) @ Buffalo Bills

Pat Freiermuth’s 37.3 half-PPR points have earned him the position’s eighth overall spot in scoring this year. Fantasy managers need to find another option in Week 5 though.

The Buffalo Bills are generating pressure on quarterbacks 25.3% of the time, the seventh best average in the league, and they are doing so with the NFL’s highest rush-four rate, 88.1%, per 4for4’s NFL Team Stats Explorer. The speed-based unit simply dominates the opposition and rarely needs help from a blitzing defender, which is bad news for rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett, who is set to make his first career start this week.

Making matters worse, Buffalo has allowed just 4.0 half-PPR points per game to opposing tight ends this year, the top mark in the league, which they share with the Los Angeles Rams.

Dalton Schultz (Dallas Cowboys) @ Los Angeles Rams

Dalton Schultz missed Week 3 thanks to a sprained PCL but was able to log 79.3% routes run rate. Unfortunately for Schultz, the PCL injury may hamper his cutting ability for some time; the big fella was only able to earn three targets, all of which he failed to secure.

Schultz is now competing with No. 2 wide receiver Michael Gallup (ACLR), for second-fiddle status and appears thoroughly out-matched. As mentioned above, in the Pat Freiermuth section, this is also a very poor matchup for Schultz as the veteran tight end is forced to do battle with one of the league’s top-two tight-end coverage units.