Honorable mention Start: Brock Bowers (LVR), Hunter Henry (NE), David Njoku (CLE)
Honorable mention Sit: Jonnu Smith (MIA), Zach Ertz (WAS), Tucker Kraft (GB)
Start: Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
12, 16, 12 – Kelce’s targets in the last three weeks. 20, 20, 16 – Kelce’s fantasy outputs in those same three games. 4, 3, 1 – Travis’ finishes in Weeks 8, 9, and 10. In fact, Kelce has Top 10 finishes in five of the last six (save the dud in San Francisco). It took a minute, but Taylor’s beau is back to must-start status every week. And while I do expect this one to be more defensive than offensive, Kelce’s volume will work for us. 6-65 will work just fine.
Start: Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
Another stud that took a minute to start clicking, LaPorta has been palatable – if not good – over the last five games (three Top 10s). Even with Goff struggling, LaPorta has managed adequate targets/touches to go along with touchdowns in two of the last three games. You love to see that, especially with a tasty matchup looming large this weekend (reference Jacksonville’s generosity mentioned above). A touchdown to go along with a handful of receptions and about 40 yards will have Sam easily in the top 10 once again, but there’s space for more.
Sit: Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
Pitts continues to baffle me. He’s one of the most physically gifted athletes in the league and works with a QB who has shown a predilection for throwing to his TEs. His weekly inconsistency is frustrating, as are the results (he has just one finish inside the top 10 in his last five contests). Drake London and Darnell Mooney have really stepped up, and Bijan has factored more heavily in the offense of late (finally), which hasn’t boded well for Kyle. This week, it’s the Broncos who’ve defended the position well as of late, minus Sunday. But this isn’t the Chiefs, and Pitts isn’t Kelce. For me, Pitts is hard to trust on the road this week.
Sit: Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
If you’ve followed my patterns, this space has consistently been occupied by tight ends opposing the Lions. And rightfully so. Detroit is phenomenally stingy against the position, including names like Trey McBride, Jason Ferguson, Tucker Kraft, and Cade Otton. This week, it’s Evan Engram, whose volume we’ve come to both love and expect. Mac Jones wisely kept feeding Engram in Lawrence’s absence last week, though it appears likely Trevor will be back for this one. That’s generally good news for Engram owners, but I’m not sure it matters for this one. It’s a tough matchup for me this week, and Engram will be on my bench.
