TE Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Picks for Week 8 (2024)

How predictable has the tight end position been for fantasy this season? Last week, ahead of Monday Night Football, Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry were top 5 options. The trio of Ja'Tavion Sanders, Noah Fant, and Noah Gray finished inside the top 12. Noah Gray was the Chiefs' top fantasy option at tight end. Let that sink in.

The way this fantasy fairytale is playing out at the tight end position, Greg Dulcich may be the one wearing Cinderella's slipper this week. If you are looking for a Prince Charming to save you, rumor has it that T.J. Hockenson is trending towards returning this week.

It's time to go down the rabbit hole once more. Here are the RotoBaller tight end starts and sits for Week 8.

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Week 8 Starts - Fantasy Football Booms

Evan Engram - Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers     

Since returning to the field in Week 6, Evan Engram is averaging 13.35 fantasy points per game, and this week faces a Packers defense allowing 16.65 fantasy points to the position per game, the second-most over the last four weeks. The Packers rank first in receptions allowed (29), fourth in receiving yards (256), and have allowed two touchdown receptions over that period.

While Brian Thomas Jr. has quickly become the face of this offense and a weekly must-start, Engram remains a top fantasy asset and competitive advantage at the tight end position. Even with the emergence of Thomas, Engram has maintained a 24.7% target share and accounted for a 14% air yard share this season.

With a favorable matchup this week, a catch rate of 89%, and 21.1% of his targets coming from designed plays such as screens, the Jaguars will again be looking to get the ball into their Pro Bowl tight end's hands. 

It seems weird to me that we consider tight ends with less than a 40% inline rate tight ends. Then again, that is the world we now live in.

Brock Bowers - Las Vegas Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Brock Bowers even runs fewer routes from the inline position. In fact, 58% of Bowers' routes this season have come from the slot. Bowers has also accounted for a 23.4% target share this season and is well on his way to setting rookie tight end records here in 2024.

Brock Bowers, with 10 catches and 93 yards today, broke the NFL record for most catches by a tight end in their first 7 career games in bittersweet fashion.

“I’d rather be winning games. … My focus is to help the team win games, so imma keep it on that track.”#Raiders pic.twitter.com/j0ECi1PZMu

— Levi Edwards (@theleviedwards) October 21, 2024

We are entering Week 8 of the NFL season, and Bowers' 47 receptions have him 15th in the all-time rookie tight end reception leaderboard, averaging seven receptions per game. If Bowers remains healthy, he is on pace for 110 receptions, which would break the rookie record for receptions by 23. It is scary to think Bowers is coming off of a 13-target performance a week ago.

Remember when people said there would never be another Puka Nacua? Don't look now, but if Bowers maintains his current trajectory, he will surpass Nacua's rookie record of 105 receptions set in 2023.

This week, Bowers will look to continue his dominance against a division rival, the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs' defense has been good this year, except for defending the tight end position, where they have allowed a league-high 17.52 fantasy points.

On the season, the Chiefs have surrendered a pair of touchdowns on 43 receptions, which equates to a league-high 501 receiving yards.

Dalton Schultz - Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts

After watching the Texans' offense last week, this is a proceed with extreme caution inclusion. On paper, it appears to be a smash start. Indianapolis has allowed the third most fantasy points to tight ends this season, allowing 4.96 per game. They are also tied for the league lead in touchdown passes allowed to the position with four, with three of those touchdowns coming over the last four weeks.

With the tight end position the way it has been this season, you have to treat the entire position as a matchup-based start. This is one of the best matchups on this week's docket as long as offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik can see what the rest of us see as far as a potential competitive advantage that the Texans can exploit.

Week 8 Sits - Fantasy Football Busts

Sam LaPorta - Detroit Lions vs. Tennessee Titans 

What to do with Sam LaPorta. He's too good to drop. He's too bad to trade. All you can do right now is sit him on your fantasy bench and hope we can get some kind of return on our August investment.

LaPorta has cracked double-digit fantasy production just once, back in Week 6. With six contests under his belt, LaPorta is penciled in as the TE19 in fantasy and is averaging just 7.1 fantasy points per game a season after he ended up averaging 14.1 fantasy points per game and earning the title of TE1.

Sam LaPorta games with 2 or fewer catches

2023: 1
2024: 4

— Jared Smola (@SmolaDS) October 21, 2024

If you are looking for a bounce-back to fantasy relevance this week, keep waiting. As good as the Lions' offense has been, they have succeeded without including LaPorta. It also doesn't help his cause this week, taking on a Titans team who have yet to allow a tight end to score on them and have yielded the fourth-fewest receiving yards (107) and third-fewest fantasy points (7.23) this season.

Mark Andrews - Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns

Mark Andrews has put together a couple of solid fantasy performances over the last several weeks to give fantasy managers some optimism. Optimism is one thing; trust is completely different.

Until we start seeing Andrews string together three or four solid weeks, fantasy managers have to treat him as a matchup-based starter. The tight-end landscape for fantasy isn't incredible, and neither is this week's matchup against a Cleveland Browns team allowing 6.98 fantasy points per game, the second only to the Eagles for fantasy futility.

Like the Titans, the Browns have yet to allow an opposing tight end to hit paydirt this season. There are other options out there this week that have better matchups. 

Cole Kmet - Chicago Bears at Washington Commanders

The final sit of the week is none other than Cole Kmet. I am confident he hates me. Every time I say to sit him, he manages to have a productive afternoon. Then, just when I think I can trust him, he completely lets me down.

Kmet is averaging 12.2 fantasy points per game in PPR formats and sits inside the top 5 when it comes to overall fantasy points at the position. Here's the thing, though: Kmet has two weeks in which he has 24 or more fantasy points and four in which he failed to record nine. Those two big weeks are driving that average up. Remove those two games, and we are looking at an average of 5.8 fantasy points.

This week's matchup has Caleb Williams facing fellow Rookie of the Year candidate Jayden Daniels in what one would assume would be one of those whatever you can do, I can do better type games. The matchup favors targeting receivers as the Commanders allow 35.09 fantasy points per game to the position (eighth-most) as opposed to the tight end position which they allow 9.71 points against (13th fewest).

So, it would be reasonable to think that DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, and even D'Andre Swift would be among Williams' preferred targets as he seeks to silence his critics.

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