Look, I’ll say it - the wide receiver position is in shambles right now. Colby Conway has his work cut out for him this week with his NFL DFS WR Coach article. So there will be no complaining from us at the tight end position, even if Sam LaPorta is hurt, Oronde Gadsden is on bye, and George Kittle isn’t on the main slate.

As always, we’ll bring you plays at all three levels - the top tier, the mid-level, and the value plays. We’ll give you a couple of guys we think might be popular that we plan to fade. And we’ll do our best to separate the good chalk from the bad chalk. So let’s dive in!

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Top Tier Picks For Week 12

Trey McBride TE, Arizona Cardinals, DraftKings: $6,800 | FanDuel: $8,500

Stop us if we sound like a broken record here, but Trey McBride is once again not priced as high as he should be. There was a time when prime Travis Kelce was priced like a top 5 FLEX play every week, and you truly had to decide whether or not he was worth the price. That’s where McBride should live.

Don’t believe me? Since Jacoby Brissett took over as QB, Trey McBride is averaging 24.5 PPR points per game. The only players averaging more over that span are Jonathan Taylor and Christian McCaffrey. So why are there 15 RB/WRs priced higher than Trey McBride when he faces the Jaguars this week? Even if you use another TE, he’s a viable flex play. 

Travis Kelce TE, Kansas City Chiefs, DraftKings: $5,000 | FanDuel: $6,000

“The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated” - Travis “Mark Twain” Kelce. In all seriousness, though, we have to apologize for having Travis Kelce in the fades section this week. His schedule has not been good lately, and we figured that we should fade him against a tough Denver Broncos team after he only gave us 4 for 66 against a tough Bills defense. But instead, he came out and had 9 for 91 and a touchdown. So definitel ynot a fade.

This week, we don’t have to worry about that as he goes up against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts have been brutal so far this year against tight ends, ranking both bottom five in points allowed and DVOA per FTN Fantasy. The Colts' corners might be great, especially after the Sauce Gardner trade, but the linebackers, like Zaire Franklin, have had a tough time in coverage. So Kelce is on the menu this week.

 

 


 

NFL DFS TE Mid-Tier Picks For NFL Week 12

Theo Johnson TE, Atlanta Falcons - DraftKings: $4,100 | FanDuel: $5,600

We are only sprinkling in Theo Johnson in a few spots as we really like the second play in this tier - and that player is cheaper on both DraftKings and FanDuel. But Theo Johnson isn’t a bad play either to diversify the portfolio, as we believe we haven’t seen the full potential of Theo Johnson for a couple of reasons.

First, he dealt with Russell Wilson, who doesn’t throw to the tight end much based on playstyle. That period also had Malik Nabers for target competition. After that, Johnson faced a tough stretch that saw him facing top tight end defenses like the Eagles, the Broncos, and then the Eagles again. And, naturally, right as that ends, we lose Jaxson Dart. He and Dart have good chemistry, and I expect better games with them playing together in good matchups. The price for Johnson is better on DraftKings than it is on FanDuel. 

Hunter Henry TE, Houston Texans - DraftKings: $3,900 | FanDuel: $5,300

This is our favorite play of the week here. And it will be pretty chalky, but sometimes you just need to play the good chalk. Hunter Henry has had his ups and downs this year, but this is the perfect time for an up game for him. And we are using him whether or not Austin Hooper returns this week (though Hooper being out would be an added bonus).

The Bengals have been cartoonishly bad against the tight end. They are allowing 22.5 points per game to the position on DraftKings, and the next closest team is allowing 17.8. They’ve allowed over 800 yards and 12 touchdowns to the position - the next closest teams have allowed 7. And this game has a 50-point over-under because Joe Flacco and company should be able to push back some. Hunter Henry is a lot on both platforms. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Value Picks For NFL Week 12

Brock Wright TE, Detroit Lions - DraftKings: $3,000 | FanDuel: $4,900

We actually did not expect to be doing this one this week. Brock Wright generally has not been “that guy” for the Lions, even when Sam LaPorta has been out. But part of that is because they usually have Shane Zylstra as a pass-catching option - but he’s also on IR.

Last week, the Lions had one of the very worst matchups for a tight end with the Eagles. So we didn’t expect much there either. But Brock Wright did play 49 snaps and run 25 routes, while the only other active tight end, Ross Dwelley, played 2 snaps and ran zero routes. And Wright got 7 targets even if he couldn’t make much of them. So Wright, at his meager $3,000 price tag on DraftKings, actually has some merit in a better matchup this week. 

Cole Kmet TE, Chicago Bears - DraftKings: $2,500 | FanDuel: $4,800

We’ve actually had a bit of an overcorrection on price here for Cole Kmet. Should he be priced in the $4,000 range, even? No, I don’t think so. But does he deserve to be priced at the bare minimum $2,500, a designation typically reserved for guys that hardly play at all? And that doesn’t describe Cole Kmet either.

In fact, Cole Kmet played the second-most snaps of any Bears position player this week, behind only DJ Moore. He ran 23 routes, which was more than the 21 that Colston Loveland ran. And he actually outproduced Loveland on the week. At the $2,500 price range, all you need is a random TD to be well worth the price. And it’s clear right now that Cole Kmet is capable of that and then some if things break right. It doesn’t hurt that the Steelers are allowing the 7th most points to tight ends this year. That doesn’t necessarily mean we are completely fading Colston Loveland either, we just like Kmet as a dart. 

 

 


 

NFL DFS TE Fades For Week 12

Jake Ferguson TE, Dallas Cowboys - DraftKings: $5,300 | FanDuel: $6,400

There is an argument to be made about whether the Buffalo Bills or the Philadelphia Eagles are the best team against the tight end this year. The Bills are allowing fewer stats/points in virtually every category. The Eagles are second in points allowed but are considered the top defense against the TE in DVOA per FTN Fantasy, which attempts to correct for the strength of opponent. Regardless of which side of the debate you fall on, the result is that we probably don’t want to pay up for Jake Ferguson against the Eagles. We successfully faded Cade Otton last week against Buffalo for similar reasons. 

Juwan Johnson TE, New Orleans Saints - DraftKings: $4,000 | FanDuel: $5,500

This might be surprising to some folks considering how much we like using Juwan Johnson (and that we are still willing to use him in redraft). But these Falcons safeties in Jessie Bates and Xavier Watts have been a bit of a problem this year for tight ends - and Divine Deablo could be back this week as well. I mean, they flat-out blanked George Kittle. Not to mention, Juwan Johnson is more expensive than our favorite play of the week on both platforms in Hunter Henry. So we really aren’t using him much at this price. I’m actually hoping he does have a down week here so that his price will be good next week against Miami - and then we’ll have him everywhere.