It’s starting to get to that point in the season where some of your season-long fantasy teams are eliminated from playoff contention. Or maybe your only team is eliminated. And that’s sad. It always is. But you know what will always be here for you? DFS.

So, whether you are crying tears of sadness because your teams are struggling or tears of joy because you are dominating, you can dry your eyes with a little one-week fantasy football money from DFS. With only two teams on bye, we’ve got a big slate of options this week. So let’s dig into the tight ends at every level!

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Top Tier Picks For Week 11

Trey McBride TE Arizona Cardinals, DraftKings: $6,300 | FanDuel: $7,700

It might seem “boring” to have Trey McBride at the top of this article most weeks. But we don’t care about being controversial - we don’t need hot takes or clickbait for a premium article that is just for our members. Our only goal is to be right. We want to give ourselves the best chance to succeed vs. the field.

And, with all the WR injuries in Arizona, it’s hard to imagine a world where Trey McBride isn’t HEAVILY involved. Marvin Harrison Jr, Zay Jones, and Simi Fehoko are all out. The 49ers also aren’t as tough a matchup for TEs this year as they have been in the past when they had Talanoa Hufanga and Fred Warner. So McBride is once again a super viable high-end option. 

George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers - DraftKings: $5,000 | FanDuel: $6,600

George Kittle is kind of the only other high-end tight end option by default this week. Tyler Warren is on bye. Brock Bowers, Sam LaPorta, and Jake Ferguson are off the main slate. Oronde Gadsden and Dalton Kincaid are banged up. And Travis Kelce faces Denver, one of the toughest tight end matchups. So, if you are paying up for an elite tight end, it should be one of the two in this game. 
 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Mid-Tier Picks For NFL Week 11

Kyle Pitts Sr TE, Atlanta Falcons - DraftKings: $4,000 | FanDuel: $5,000

You can use Theo Johnson if you are making a Jameis Winston lineup. But the Packers really aren’t as easy a matchup as they may seem with Xavier McKinney and Quay Walker. DVOA over at FTN Fantasy actually suggests they are the 11th toughest for tight ends, in fact. Whereas DVOA also suggests that the Carolina Panthers are the single easiest matchup for tight ends.

And that’s who Kyle Pitts gets. Kyle Pitts is still TE2 in on the season in route participation. He’s TE4 in targets. After this next stretch of three really easy matchups, I expect Pitts to rank a lot higher in the TE standings than TE14. And it starts with this week, where he’s super affordable - especially on FanDuel.

Dalton Schultz TE, Houston Texans - DraftKings: $3,900 | FanDuel: $5,300

The Texans are still figuring out their identity at pass-catcher. We’re hoping for a season-long fantasy team that rookie Jayden Higgins can turn things up. But he’s still not a full-time player. Last week, there were only two guys on the team who ran over 30 routes: Nico Collins and Dalton Schultz.

In fact, both Collins and Schultz ran over 40 routes. As it stands, he’s a top two target on a team that needs to throw a bunch. So no, he’s not a super athletic guy. And the Tennessee Titans are not the best matchup. But Schultz has been one of the highest targeted TEs over the last four weeks, and he could be getting C.J. Stroud back. We like Pitts better on FanDuel, where Pitts is absurdly cheap. But Schultz has some appeal on DraftKings given his targets lately. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Value Picks For NFL Week 11

Luke Musgrave TE, Green Bay Packers - DraftKings: $3,700 | FanDuel: $5,200

We don’t really care about the lack of surface-level production for Luke Musgrave last week. The game wasn’t on the main slate, and we would not have used him against the Philadelphia Eagles, who are arguably the best defense in the league against the tight end. Three catches are fine.

What we cared about was his level of participation. And he passed that with flying colors. The other tight ends, Josh Whyle (3 routes) and John FitzPatrick (2 routes), hardly contributed in the pass game. Musgrave ran a whopping 35 routes, second only to Christian Watson. With Tucker Kraft, Jayden Reed, Matthew Golden, and now Romeo Doubs all dealing with various ailments, we are going to make some Luke Musgrave lineups against the Giants at this discount price.  

Mark Andrews TE, Baltimore Ravens - DraftKings: $3,500 | FanDuel: $5,800

We typically don’t like chasing touchdowns. But we will do it with guys that A. have a meaningful path to scoring and B. are super cheap. And Mark Andrews fits the bill for both of those this week. It’s kind of crazy to picture a world where Andrews is $3,500 on DraftKings, but that’s the world we are living in right now.

Besides just being in a generally good passing offense, the two top indicators for touchdowns are receptions vs. man-to-man and endzone targets. Naturally, that part of the field sees more lockdown coverage, and teams that are willing to throw to their TE in the actual endzone will see more TDs. Of the healthy tight ends, there are three tight ends who are top five in both categories. They are Trey McBride, Jake Ferguson, and Mark Andrews. The Ravens are expected to be without Rashod Bateman this week, and Mark Andrews is as decent a bet as any to score again. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS Bonus Dart Throw For NFL Week 11

Elijah Higgins, TE Arizona Cardinals - DraftKings: $2,500 | FanDuel: $4,500

We don’t always have a bonus dart throw. But it’s a lot more fun when we do right? The Arizona Cardinals have been absolutely ravaged with injuries, with Marvin Harrison Jr already ruled out this week on top of Zay Jones and Simi Fehoko recently hitting IR. The last time just MHJ was out, Elijah Higgins played the most snaps he has all year and caught a couple of balls. With the desperate conditions here, I expect him to be utilized more than he has all year.

The thing about Higgins is that he’s not your average tight end. He actually played wide receiver at Stanford. In fact, Michael Wilson, Simi Fehoko, and Elijah Higgins were the three leading WRs at Stanford in 2020. So Higgins is no stranger to playing in a WR role. He’s always been a top TE handcuff for Trey McBride, but this week, he might have to be a little more than that. And we’ll dabble at his bare minimum price of $2,500 on DraftKings. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Fades For Week 11

Travis Kelce TE Kansas City Chiefs - DraftKings: $4,800 | FanDuel: $5,600

The Broncos did lose Pat Surtain. But that’s not a guy that plays out wide the whole game anyway. He’s not a problem for tight ends. A guy like Talanoa Hufanga, a top 5 graded safety in coverage in the league, is a problem for tight ends. He’s a big reason why this Broncos team blanked Jake Ferguson and even held the great Brock Bowers to one catch. In fact, their stats should be even better than they are against the tight end, as Theo Johnson only scored on a fluky tipped pass he took 41 yards. Just not something we want to mess with. 

Cade Otton, TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - DraftKings: $4,200 | FanDuel: $5,500

Speaking of bad matchups, the Bills have been absolute nails against the tight ends this year. They’ve allowed the fewest receptions of any team, the fewest yards of any team, and only one touchdown (which ties with the Falcons and Eagles for fewest). Teams don’t even want to TRY throwing to the tight end against them - tight ends as a group are only averaging 3.7 targets per game against them, which is the only team under 4. I know Cade Otton has been solid, but we’re leaving him out. Chris Godwin is reportedly on the practice field, so his time as a useful option could be winding down anyway.