This week we only have two bye weeks. And they happen to be the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers, who aren’t super appealing in the DFS tight end department these days anyway. So this slate is about as loaded as they make it at this stage in the NFL season.

That means we really need to pick and choose our spots. Last week, we were in a position to kind of fill out the rest of our lineups and then let the tight end competition come to us. This week we’ve got a few more specific options in each tier and at each price point that we are looking at. So let’s dive in!

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Top Tier Picks For Week 9

Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders

DraftKings: $7,900 | FanDuel: $8,000

Until another TE steps up, we’re basically stuck choosing between Brock Bowers and Trey McBride each week at the very top. They are in a tier of their own, and they are priced in a tier of their own. Sometimes we need to dive deep into the data to make that call, but this week it really doesn’t need to be that hard. McBride has a worse matchup with the Seahawks, and there’s not much of a discount to use him. We don’t love the matchup for Bowers either, but it’s definitively better.  

George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

DraftKings: $6,000 | FanDuel: $5,600

The real star of this tier is Mr. George Kittle. I say “tier,” but at $1,700 cheaper than Trey McBride on DraftKings (who is cheaper than Brock Bowers), you are getting a meaningful discount here. Even at $1,000 less on FanDuel, it’s a big upgrade at other positions. But George Kittle absolutely is in the same tier of the rankings as these guys, considering how much better his matchup is compared to theirs.

As often happens with these situations, the only question is whether George Kittle will be TOO chalky or not. He’s a good cash game option if you are spending up and, even though he will probably be pretty highly utilized in GPPs as well, sometimes you just need to make the right play even if everyone is doing it. This week Kittle might be one of those plays.

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Mid-Tier Picks For Week 9

Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions

DraftKings: $5,100 | FanDuel: $5,700

Sam LaPorta is starting to make us pretty nervous in redraft. I mean, he has only four total catches over the last two weeks. Even worse, everyone else is doing just fine. Amon-Ra St. Brown was always going to lead in targets, and Jahmyr Gibbs also deserved 90-100 as well. That pits LaPorta vs. Jameson Williams, which is a battle that Williams has been winning lately.

But, in DFS, we can use that to our favor. Of those last two matchups, not only are the Vikings a well-known tough matchup for tight ends but Green Bay is quickly becoming a tough one as well, with guys like Evan Williams, Xavier McKinney, and Javon Bullard in coverage. LaPorta was in our fades section last week for a reason. The Miami Dolphins are arguably the easiest matchup for tight ends so it could be a nice bounce-back week with low rostership numbers.

Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts

DraftKings: $4,600 | FanDuel: $5,400

Here’s the thing - a lot of tight ends we use in fantasy are on bad teams. Good ones, in fact. I mean, the top two tight ends in fantasy have been playing for the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders for the last couple of years. Even if your team stinks, you still need to play the games.

The shocking collapse for the Indianapolis Colts gives you the feeling that all hope is lost and everyone is dust. But they do still need to play the games. And Tyler Warren, all season long when healthy, has actually gotten great deployment for a fantasy tight end. Last week, before garbage time, he played 91% of the snaps and got 10 targets. So he could easily have a great week vs. the Cowboys for fantasy even if the Colts aren’t going to win.

 

NFL DFS TE Value Picks For Week 9

Eli Raridon, New England Patriots

DraftKings: $3,500 | FanDuel: $4,500

This play is a classic “contingent” play for us. We don’t really love this matchup vs. Green Bay for tight ends. So we won’t use Raridon if Hunter Henry plays. But Hunter Henry left last week’s game after only eight snaps. That led to Raridon playing 55 of 60 snaps in the game. Any tight end getting that kind of deployment playing with a QB like Drake Maye is worth this price tag even if the matchup isn’t great.  On FanDuel, Raridon is especially cheap but on DraftKings, we like this next play. 

Greg Dulcich, Miami Dolphins

DraftKings: $3,100 | FanDuel: $4,900

Don’t look now, but Greg Dulcich has quietly snuck onto the fantasy radar. For three straight weeks now, he’s run over 70% of the routes, and he’s gotten at least five targets. In fact, if you can look past the Vikings game where the Dolphins got completely blanked and only ran 39 offensive plays, he also ran over 70% of the routes and got five or more targets in that game too.

So Dulcich was already a guy we would have considered at this price, and that’s before the matchup. The Lions will almost certainly be without linebacker Jack Campbell, which is a big plus. But they could also be missing Brian Branch, who is in concussion protocol, and/or Kerby Joseph, who has yet to play a game all year. Conditions are looking pretty good for Dulcich to finally score a touchdown (he does have a two-point conversion). 

 

NFL DFS TE Fades For Week 9

Isaiah Likely, New York Giants

DraftKings: $5,000 | FanDuel: $5,400

We are a bit nervous about Isaiah Likely. Last game, before the bye, he had the worst game of his season. Which normally would not bother us, but it also coincided with a switch at quarterback, which is a red flag. The Eagles might be struggling overall, but Cooper DeJean and company are still rough on tight ends. So we will take a pass here.

Harold Fannin, Cleveland Browns

DraftKings: $4,700 | FanDuel: $5,600

Harold Fannin has had good deployment all year - he just had a couple of down games, which happens. That’s why we weren’t scared to use him last week, when he had a decent game. But we are scared to use him if Shedeur Sanders is going to be the QB. Which is a shame because they typically would be a good matchup.