Ladies and gentlemen, it’s here. The single wackiest slate of DFS every single season. Why? Well, for starters, we haven’t seen any of these teams play a real game yet. It’s complete chaos every time. And, on top of that, sites like DraftKings released their pricing in late July. That pricing cannot be changed, despite all of the crazy things that have happened throughout August. So there are bound to be some values out there.

So it’s time for us to dig back in. I’m happy to be back, and I’m happy to have you back discussing the most important position in DFS - the tight end. The salaries are cheaper here, and this position can swing your entire lineup. It can mean the difference between winning $10 and a million dollars. So let’s go get that milly!

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Top Tier Picks For Week 1

David Njoku TE Cleveland Browns - DraftKings: $4,700 | FanDuel: $5,700

We always try to remain flexible at the tight end position. I like to fill out the rest of my lineup first, where guys are more expensive and correlations matter more - then I circle back and see what price range I’m in at tight end. If you can afford one of the “big three” in Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, or George Kittle, then great, go for it. But David Njoku offers pretty intriguing upside at his price point.

The DFS pricing was released in late July, back before we knew who the starting QB was for Cleveland. And we got the best possible outcome with Joe Flacco getting the gig. Back in 2023, when Flacco last played for the Browns, David Njoku was averaging 9 targets a game and over 18 PPR points. Flacco has no interest in holding onto the ball, so the underneath guys can feast when he’s starting.

On top of that, the Bengals were arguably the worst team against the tight end last year and didn’t do much to improve the personnel there. This game has a 47.5 over/under, but the Bengals are actually only favored by 5.5, meaning they expect the Browns to punch back. David Njoku could easily be the TE1 for the week, especially in full PPR. 

Evan Engram TE Denver Broncos - DraftKings: $4,500 | FanDuel: $5,300

If you need a couple extra bucks, we also like the slight paydown from Njoku to Evan Engram in this range. Folks might be scared off because Engram was released by the Jaguars. But that was entirely scheme-related - Liam Coen uses his top WR in the slot like Cooper Kupp and Chris Godwin so he had no use for Christian Kirk or the “big slot” Evan Engram.

But Sean Payton absolutely does use that type of player. Engram will be his “joker” tight end that can line up all over the formation and create mismatches. They’ll be squaring off at home against a Tennessee Titans team that earned the first pick for a reason last year so conditions should be pretty good for Engram to put up some numbers. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Mid-Tier Picks For NFL Week 1

Hunter Henry, TE New England Patriots - DraftKings: $3,900 | FanDuel: $5,000

Old reliable Hunter Henry. This is a cash game option we’ve turned to time and time again. But this year, he could potentially have a little more GPP upside. This isn’t the Patriots of last year who won three games (and were given a fourth win by the Bills in the final week). The over/under win total for this team is a respectable 8.5. And they are three-point favorites in Week One at home against the Raiders.

Henry is very good against man coverage, which translates really well to the red area when it’s a lot of lockdown, one vs. one. Henry quietly was top five in redzone targets, and his 11 targets inside the 10-yard line tied for the second most of any TE. And this was a team that was not making a ton of redzone trips. Henry is a familiar face who led the Patriots in targets last year, so he could once again be one of Drake Maye’s favorites - this time, on a better team. 

Chig Okonkwo, TE Tennessee Titans, DraftKings: $3,400 | FanDuel: $4,900

The theory on Chig Okonkwo is pretty simple here. The Titans have Calvin Ridley, but after that, the target pecking order is wide open. They have a 32-year-old Tyler Lockett leaving Seattle for the first time. They have a Day 3 rookie WR in Elic Ayomanor. And then they have Chig Okonkwo.

Okonkwo can do more with less on his targets because of his speed. He runs the same 40 time as George Kittle at 4.52, which is 97th percentile for the position. He’s one of the few tight ends in the league who have broken off three or more 40+ yard plays in the same season, along with Kittle and Kyle Pitts. At his price, all it would take is one long touchdown to pay off here.

This offseason, there have been some reports of Okonkwo displaying great chemistry with rookie QB Cam Ward. If you remember Ward’s time at Miami, he loved throwing to tight end Elijah Arroyo, who is a similar athletic build to Chig. We’re willing to take a flyer on Okonkwo in case the rumors prove to be true, as his price will likely be going up moving forward. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Value Picks For NFL Week 1

Ja’Tavion Sanders TE Carolina Panthers - DraftKings: $2,900 | FanDuel: $4,500

This is one of my favorite plays this week. Not only has there been a lot of steam about how well he’s been playing this offseason, including training camp. But the pieces are falling away alongside him. First, the team turned and traded away Adam Thielen to the Minnesota Vikings. Then they put Jalen Coker on IR, where he will miss at least the first four games.

We came very close to Sanders being the super duper smash play of the week. Fellow tight end Tommy Tremble had back surgery this offseason and missed essentially the entire spring and summer programs. He recently returned to practice, so it does look like he will play Week One, however. Sanders still has an opportunity to run away with the pass-catching role in this tight end room, especially if Tremble is eased in. And, at this price, it costs you next to nothing to get him in some lineups. 

Elijah Arroyo TE Seattle Seahawks - DraftKings: $2,700 | FanDuel: $4,500

There were questions about who would be the pass-catching tight end for the Seattle Seahawks: Noah Fant or Elijah Arroyo. And those questions were answered when Noah Fant was released. Now, Arroyo could step into a decent role in an intriguing scheme for fantasy football.

Klint Kubiak loves to use a fullback and multiple tight end sets. That highly consolidates the targets among the top two wide receivers, the pass-catching tight end, and the running backs. AJ Barner and Eric Saubert are your prototypical inline tight ends that end up skewing more blocking, like how SF used Saubert, how NO under Kubiak last year used Foster Moreau, and how MIA in the same scheme used Durham Smythe (Smythe is the best comparable player for AJ Barner on Player Profiler).

Hopefully, that leaves Elijah Arroyo to play that pass-catching tight end role. Juwan Johnson last year ran ~60% of his routes from a WR spot, and Jonnu Smith ran 70% from a WR spot. SEA head coach Mike Macdonald said they drafted Elijah Arroyo because he can split out wide, do X receiver type of things,” and those kinds of things translate to fantasy football goodness. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Bonus Dart Throw For NFL Week 1

Stone Smart, TE New York Jets - DraftKings: $2,500 | FanDuel: $4,300

We can’t do Week 1 DFS without a stone minimum-priced guy. So why not our guy Stone “Cole” Smartt? This guy is more than just a meme (though I will admit I enjoy the Stone Cold Steve Austin memes whenever he does anything).

Mason Taylor is projected to start at tight end for the Jets. But we don’t know exactly what his role will be. In college, his role was not ideal for fantasy. He was asked to play inline for more than half his snaps and, even worse, he was asked to block on 16.7% of his pass plays. Sometimes NFL teams change how guys operate, but if the college team isn’t asking him to run routes, that’s not a great sign for the next level.

The Jets have both offensive line woes and question marks at wide receiver. There’s a real possibility that they run a lot of two-tight end sets here with Mason Taylor as the inline blocking tight end and Stone Smartt operating more as a “move” tight end. He did play 22 snaps at WR this preseason while catching 4 of 5 targets and scoring a touchdown (Taylor caught one pass for four yards). At this price, we will throw a dart or two.  I’m sure our own Howard Bender will be starting Mason Taylor, which isn’t a bad play at his price either, but we are getting sneaky with Stone Smartt.

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Fades For Week 1

Sam LaPorta, TE Detroit Lions - DraftKings: $5,000 | FanDuel: $5,900

Sam LaPorta is a great player - in a vacuum. But his situation with the Lions makes us a bit nervous. He plays a lot more inline TE than we’d like to see as ARSB plays the slot. The Lions' defense is much improved, and the run game is good, so they might not need to be super pass-happy. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs, and, reportedly, the new rookie Isaac TeSlaa, are all deserving of targets. And Packers defenders like Quay Walker and Xavier McKinney can make life difficult for the tight end. I’m going to pass at this price. 

Jonnu Smith, TE Pittsburgh Steelers - DraftKings: $4,200 | FanDuel: $5,900

Here’s the problem with former tight end coaches who become offensive coordinators - they love to tinker with their old position. They love the rotations. We saw the same thing for multiple years with Shane Waldron when he became an OC. Arthur Smith has never had a tight end play more than 75% of the snaps on the season - not Delanie Walker, not Kyle Pitts, not Pat Freiermuth, not Jonnu Smith on the Titans, not Jonnu Smith on the Falcons. I’m not really excited about betting that changes right now, and I’m definitely not excited about the matchup being a tough Jets defense.