with our NFL DFS Tight End coach in each of the first three weeks. We had Trey McBride in Week 1, Hunter Henry in Week 2, and now Dallas Goedert in Week 3. 

We also successfully helped you fade guys like Sam LaPorta (TE23) and Dalton Schultz (TE36) last week. So, we’re doing okay as we prepare our NFL DFS Week 4 TE Coach.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Week 4 TE Coach For FanDuel & DraftKings Fantasy

But enough about last week - let’s move onto our NFL DFS Week 4 TE Coach. This is the last week we’re going to have for a long time with a full slate of games. Bye weeks start in Week 5, and they don’t stop until Week 15 of the NFL season. 

So, if you think the injuries and matchups are a problem now, just know this - it might get worse. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Top Tier Picks For Week 4

Travis Kelce, TE Kansas City Chiefs - DraftKings: $5,800 | FanDuel: $7,100

Derwin James is a tremendous safety. Everyone remembers the time that he pretty much power bombed Travis Kelce on the field. The good news is that Derwin James won’t be available for this game - he’s been suspended for a helmet to helmet hit last week on Pat Freiermuth.

And honestly? It wouldn’t matter if James played anyway. Kelce owns the Chargers. The last two times he’s faced them, Derwin James was playing. And Kelce put up 12 catches for 179 yards and a touchdown in one game and 6 catches for 115 yards and 3 touchdowns in the other. In fact, Travis Kelce has scored 38+ DraftKings points in three of his last four games against the Chargers.

Travis Kelce has not been playing well. But, if there’s a spot for him to get right, it’s here. He’s technically not the most expensive tight end on either platform but, if Trey McBride is ruled out, he will be on DraftKings. It doesn’t really matter though because we like his price on both. 

Dallas Goedert, TE Philadelphia Eagles - DraftKings: $5,100 | FanDuel: $7,500

The analysis doesn’t always need to be super hard when it comes to these situations. We were using Dallas Goedert last week because the Eagles were without A.J. Brown. Then DeVonta Smith suffered a concussion mid-game and Goedert had the most yards he’s ever had in a football game.

There’s a very real possibility they will be without both players again. And the Buccaneers can’t really sell out to stop Goedert because they need to sell out to start the white-hot Saquon Barkley. So Goedert might need to go hero-mode here in Week 4 once again. 

Be prepared for this one to be the HEAVY chalk. FanDuel is bracing for this situation where they made Goedert the highest priced tight end, so we don’t love him over there. On DraftKings however, he’s the 6th highest priced tight end. Which we’ll definitely throw in some lineups, especially cash. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Mid-Tier Picks For NFL Week 4

Kyle Pitts, TE Atlanta Falcons - DraftKings: $4,800 | FanDuel: $5,900

The week last week could have been a lot better for Kyle Pitts had he either A. not gotten tackled at the 1-yard line on his long play or B. Bryan Cook not gotten away with blatant pass interference in the endzone. Even the Chiefs fans can admit they got away with one here.

Now, it might not be easy to trust Pitts in redraft leagues. But the thought process is simple here. This guy is a freak athlete with a rare combination of size and speed. His deployment this year HAS been good - he’s top five in route participation, he leads starting tight ends in aDot, and he’s playing a ton of snaps at WR. He showed us last week that he can rip off chunk plays. We are going for upside and this guy offers it.

His pricing on both platforms puts him in the mid-tier range which works for us. He’s our “upper mid-tier” play that we especially like in GPP formats where all that matters is upside. If you want mid-tier in cash, the guy below is the ticket. 

Pat Freiermuth, TE Pittsburgh Steelers - DraftKings: $3,900 | FanDuel: $5,100

Zach Ert is another option in this range that has offered similar production. And he’s obviously a fine cash game play as well. But there’s a few reasons we like Pat Freiermuth over Ertz this week in that range.

For starters, Pat Freiermuth simply has more “juice” to his game. Zach Ertz has actually never been a YAC guy - despite all the targets he’s gotten, he has one single 1,000-yard season and he needed 156 targets to do it. Second, Freiermuth has the better matchup here with the Indianapolis defense.

Third is that Pat Freiermuth is cheaper than Zach Ertz on both platforms. You can use both if you want to differentiate but, without major differences in what we’ve been getting from these guys, you might as well use the extra money to upgrade elsewhere. If we are settling for these guys that basically just get four catches every week, the whole idea is to use those funds we save to create a killer lineup elsewhere. And hope for a touchdown from Muth.

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Value Picks For NFL Week 4

Elijah Higgins, TE Arizona Cardinals, DraftKings $3,100 | FanDuel: (Listed As WR)

We have to remember how we got Trey McBride in the first place. Zach Ertz was the starter, and he was honestly raking in targets. Then he got hurt. And Trey McBride slid right into his spot and the rest was history. Right now, Trey McBride is in concussion protocol which leaves the job open for someone else to step up. Greg Dortch has been dealing with a hamstring issue and they get the Washington Commanders, so the conditions are pretty good here.

Now, we don’t expect Elijah Higgins to just steal Trey McBride’s job the way McBride did to Ertz. But Elijah Higgins is the exact kind of guy we like taking a stab on in these situations. He’s a converted wide receiver so he won’t be blocking - that is Tip Reiman’s job, who only ran 1 route last week. Higgins has caught all four of his targets this year and has even scored a touchdown.

The annoying thing is that FanDuel still has him listed as a WR even though he hasn’t played wide receiver since he was at Stanford. On DraftKings though he’s correctly labeled as a tight end and he’s only $3,100 so he’s absolutely worth a look. Obviously, we only do this if Trey McBride is ruled OUT. 

Hayden Hurst, TE Los Angeles Chargers - DraftKings: $2,800 | FanDuel: $4,800

We’ve tried this one in the dart throw range before and have yet to hit. But that’s how it goes with dart throws - the hits are incredibly rare. If these guys were regularly putting up points, they wouldn’t be priced where they are. And even the expensive tight ends aren’t regularly putting up points, as we know.

The thought process here is simple. Hayden Hurst is running ~74% of the routes. He’s lining up at WR for 70% of those. He hasn’t pass blocked once. He runs double the routes Will Dissly does every week. The Chargers just haven’t had to throw - they are averaging 22 pass attempts a game. That doesn’t work against the Kansas City Chiefs. And the Chiefs have been giving up points to the tight end.

If Hurst does nothing again this week, we’re probably done throwing darts at this. But the matchup is good, and the price is absurdly low. Fellow tight end whisperer Howard Bender is on this one this week as well, so it has the double stamp of approval. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Fades For Week 4

Questionable Tight Ends

Typically, we love that little Q tag on DraftKings. It scares folks off and leaves room for upside for us. But this week the matchups really aren’t that great for a lot of these guys. And the floor of dealing with a soft tissue injury is bad. 

Engram gets the Texans mob defense. Kittle has to face Kyle Dugger. David Njoku has yet to practice all week. If Trey McBride clears concussion protocol, he’s the only one to consider.

Hunter Henry, TE New England Patriots DraftKings: $4,200 | FanDuel: $5,300

I’ve got good news and bad news for Hunter Henry owners in season-long leagues. The good news is that it turns out Hunter Henry had a down week last week because he’s dealing with an ankle injury.  

The bad news is that he’s dealing with an ankle injury. The even worse news is that he gets Fred Warner and the 49ers defense this week. Let’s see how he looks for a week before we come back to Henry. 

Mike Gesicki, TE Cincinnati Bengals - DraftKings: $3,500 | FanDuel: $5,600

Gesicki has been a fine spot start for a couple weeks now. But that was with Tee Higgins out. And the underlying data for Gesicki during that period was not ideal. Not only was he not playing 50% of the snaps but he was only running 50.4% of the routes. He’s essentially a rotational player in the slot as they use Erick All and Drew Sample inline. Which is fine when the team is missing WRs. 

Now that they have Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins up to speed, the team needs to decide whether to play Gesicki at WR for a lot of snaps or Andrei Iosivas. Would not be surprised to see Gesicki settle in as more of a 30-40% snap guy as he is not an inline blocker. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS Week 4 TE Projections