We’ve made it through Bye-mageddon. But we’re not out of the woods yet. There are still four teams on bye this week. And injuries are always lurking. Lucky for us, there are still a ton of great options every single week at every price point. No matter how bleak it gets for us in redraft or dynasty, our old friend DFS is there to light the way. 

 This week is an interesting one because of the pricing on the top platforms. There are a lot of good plays, but the pricing is not in sync between the different places to play. That has us using a very specific strategy depending on which platform we are using, especially in the top and mid tiers. So make sure to make note of that. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Top Tier Picks For Week 9

Tucker Kraft, TE, Green Bay Packers, DraftKings: $5,700 | FanDuel: $6,200

The Carolina Panthers have quietly gotten a little better against the run as the season has moved along. Where they have not improved is against the tight end. In fact, if we are to believe what the DVOA stat from FTN Fantasy is telling us, a stat that attempts to adjust for level of competition, the Panthers are the worst team against the tight end this season by a wide margin. That’s after being the second-worst team against the tight end last year. 

On top of that, Tucker Kraft himself has been awesome. His ability to break off big plays allows him to do “more with less” in terms of targets. He’s heir apparent to George Kittle in that sense, with his 2.46 yards per route run, second only to part-time tight end Dalton Kincaid. That makes him a great option on the half PPR FanDuel, and it just so happens that he’s actually the only the fourth most expensive tight end (on DraftKings, he’s the most expensive). On DraftKings, we’re going to use this next guy.

Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas Raiders - DraftKings: $5,000 | FanDuel: $6,800

We’ve said time and time again, Tyler Warren is a guy we want to have some exposure to, as, at some point, he’s going to score some gadget TDs either on the ground or throwing. But we just can’t pass up the chance to use Brock Bowers at this price. Reports are that he’s fully healthy coming out of the bye week, and if he’s back to his old self, his price will only go up from here.

Despite the small sample size, Bowers technically has the second-highest target share on the year, besides only Trey McBride. And he had a yards per route run of nearly 2 despite the bum knee. He was catching passes vs. man to man, catching passes on screens - the shades of elite upside were there. He’s the most expensive tight end on FanDuel, but he’s the fourth most expensive on DraftKings, which is actually his best format. 

So that’s how we are handling the elite tier. Tucker Kraft on FanDuel, Brock Bowers on DraftKings, and sprinkling a little Tyler Warren if possible. 


 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Mid-Tier Picks For NFL Week 9

Kyle Pitts, TE, Atlanta Falcons - DraftKings: $4,200 | FanDuel: $5,100

Don’t look now, but Kyle Pitts is top five in a ton of important tight end stats. And not just surface-level ones like receptions. He’s top five in route participation, target share, pass block rate, screens, targets vs. man to man, broken tackles, etc. And a lot of those are counting stats even though he’s already had his bye week.

We’re willing to use him this week at this price, whether or not Drake London plays. He was limited on Wednesday with an ankle, so we’ll monitor that, but this feels like a classic veteran day off. The Patriots have struggled against the tight end, and they just traded away their third safety, Kyle Dugger, so they could be a bit thin there if the injury issues for Jaylin Hawkins resurface. Pitts is a solid option in that mid-tier range this week for sure, and, for some strange reason, he’s cheaper than our next choice over on FanDuel. So he’s our FanDuel pick for sure. 

Theo Johnson, TE, New York Giants - DraftKings: $3,500 | FanDuel: $5,300

You could not make up a tougher stretch for a tight end than Eagles, Broncos, Eagles, 49ers. The only thing that bailed Johnson out during the first three games was a fluke tip drill ball that he took for a 41-yard touchdown. But the 49ers are no longer the tough defense of old for tight ends. Talanoa Hufanga left this offense (which is partially why the Broncos are a tough matchup), and Fred Warner is out for the season.

Johnson’s role this year is much better than in past years as he’s playing a full-time snap share. He does pass block a little more than we like, but we can live with that. With Daniel Bellinger out, the heat will be on him, and the Giants are already missing star players Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo. We’re hoping Johnson can provide us with a couple of decent weeks before his price gets bumped up. Because of the price of Pitts on FanDuel, we are only using this play on DraftKings. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Value Picks For NFL Week 9

Juwan Johnson, TE, New Orleans Saints - DraftKings: $3,200 | FanDuel: $5,100

Colston Loveland would have been on the menu for us in this range, but Cole Kmet returned to practice. Keep an eye on that just in case. Juwan Johnson is an option we like just as much, however, as his price dropped drastically from where it started this year. And there’s a reason for that.

In the Week 4 games against the Bills, Johnson hurt his ankle. Including that game, he had three straight down games, maxing out at three targets. Since then, however, he’s been off the injury report and has put together back-to-back games of 7 and 8 targets. There’s some risk here with the new quarterback, Tyler Shough 

Gunnar Helm, TE, Tennessee Titans - DraftKings: $2,900 | FanDuel: $4,600

This one is a bit of a dart throw here, but under $3,000 on DraftKings, they all are. The Titans have already entered the era where they are giving the young kids a shot. We saw it at wide receiver this week, where Tyler Lockett was granted his release and Chimere Dike got a much bigger role. That’s quietly been happening at tight end, too. 

Helm started primarily as a blocking tight end with Chig Okonkwo running routes. Over the first four weeks, he never surpasses 3 targets. Over the last two weeks, he’s actually played over 50% of the snaps, however, and hasn’t gotten fewer than three targets in any of those three games. Chig is now dealing with a foot issue (and is possibly on the trade block), so Helm is a guy that gets a few targets and could find the endzone (like he did last week). At this price, that’s all you can ask for. 

 

 

 

Bonus TE Dart Throw For Week 9

Tanner Hudson, TE, Cincinnati Bengals - DraftKings: $2,500 | FanDuel: $4,200

People often want to front-load their lineups with WRs and RBs. So they often ask me if there is a bare minimum TE play with ANY hope. Usually, there is not. This week, however, Tanner Hudson does offer a slight glimmer of something.

He only played 11 snaps. Which is scary. But on those 11 snaps, he ran 10 routes and got two targets. The other tight ends, Noah Fant (16 routes), and Drew Sample (11 routes), really aren’t doing that much more. In fact, Tanner Hudson primarily gets the snaps on third downs and mostly lines up at WR (8 of 11 snaps), just like Mike Gesicki was before him. So basically, what we have here is super-discount Mike Gesicki for a bare minimum price going up against the Chicago Bears, one of the worst pass defenses. Do with that what you will. 

NFL DFS TE Fades For Week 9

Oronde Gadsden Jr, TE, Los Angeles Chargers - DraftKings: $5,300 | FanDuel: $6,400

I love Oronde Gadsden. We’ve been talking about his potential upside all offseason, both for dynasty and redraft. But I’m just not quite sure this matchup is all that great. Tennessee has not only been a top 10 team in points allowed to the tight end, but they are grading out as the 6th best team against the tight end. This is a super hyped pick, and he’s now the third most expensive tight end on both platforms. So we’re not going to go overboard on the Gadsden this week. If he does well AGAIN with a tough matchup, he’ll be on the menu most weeks for us moving forward. 

Hunter Henry, TE, New England Patriots - DraftKings: $3,700 | FanDuel: $5,300

Yes, Divine Deablo is out - whoever JD Bertrand is covering should be in line for some success based on what we saw against the Dolphins. But Deablo was out for the 49ers game as well, and safeties Jessie Bates and September Defensive Rookie of the Month Xavier Watts held George Kittle to zero catches. So even though Henry is our guy and could bail himself in any week with a touchdown, the upside isn’t there this time around at his price.