NFL DFS Wild Card Round TE Coach: Hunter Henry, Dalton Schultz, Oronde Gadsden

I’m going to be real honest with you here, folks. This is probably the last great DFS slate of the year. Next week, we will only have four games and even fewer as we move along. We have six games for this weekend, with all of them meaningful and all of these teams at least good enough to qualify for the postseason. So it’s now or never.

And, unlike past years, this is a weird one at tight end. We are used to having guys like prime Travis Kelce or Mark Andrews at our disposal, but they aren’t in the playoffs here. In fact, the top six scoring tight ends from the regular season didn’t make it. So we’re going to do the best we can with what’s left - and there is plenty left to work with. 

NFL DFS TE Top Tier Pick For Divisional Round

Hunter Henry TE New England Patriots - DraftKings: $4,500 | FanDuel: $5,500

Some folks might be scared about this impending matchup with Derwin James. But the truth here is that the Chargers really don’t use man-to-man coverage all that often, like other teams. They don’t necessarily just take James and say, “Okay, you are going to blanket their tight end the entire time”. Not even against Travis Kelce. 

In fact, sources like Fantasy Points Data Suite and Sumer Sports show that the Chargers actually play zone ~85% which is among the top in the league. And Hunter Henry happens to have the fourth-most yards against zone while being tied for the third-most touchdowns. He’s been good vs. man as well, especially in the red area, but I think Henry is in a pretty good spot this week. 

Colston Loveland TE Chicago Bears - DraftKings: $4,400 | FanDuel: $5,400

Yes, Rome Odunze is expected back. But, at risk of using a cliche that Howard Bender hates, I’m not sure Rome Odunze goes completely back into the bottle here. He’s had back-to-back games of double-digit targets here with 90+ yards in both. And he’s scored in both games as well. Why would they turn and go away from such a reliable target now? We’re willing to bet that the first round talent can keep the good times rolling. 

NFL DFS TE Mid-Tier Picks For NFL Divisional Round

Dalton Schultz TE Houston Texans - DraftKings: $4,000 | FanDuel: $5,200

We said it in the intro - it’s an oddly thin slate at tight end for the playoffs here. There are not really great combinations of good players with good matchups here. Dalton Schultz might not be the flashiest guy in a vacuum, but at least he has a good matchup here with PIT, which has been a bottom-three team in points allowed to the tight end.

The good news for Schultz is that he routinely is second on the team in routes run to Nico Collins. They’ve been hesitant to commit to anyone as the clear WR2, and that’s allowed Schultz to quietly have six different games with eight or more targets on the season. A spike week is possible this week for Schultz if the targets are there, but at the very least, he has a solid floor for cash games.

Dalton Kinciad TE Buffalo Bills - DraftKings: $3,800 | FanDuel: $5,100

The Bills rested some starters last week. But they made a point to keep Dalton Kincaid out there to get some work in. He’s dealt with some injury issues that have limited him at times, so it was promising to see him out there running around in a meaningless game, even if it was only for a short while.

And, despite only playing 10 snaps and running 6 routes, Kincaid caught all three of his targets for 48 yards. The Bills have struggled noticeably without Kincaid, which is likely why they wanted to see him out there moving around. The Jaguars have not been great against the tight end, so it’s not a bad matchup. And Kincaid is quietly one of only four tight ends to have multiple 100+ yard games this year (along with Trey McBride, Brock Bowers, and Tucker Kraft). 

NFL DFS TE Value Picks For NFL Divisional Round

Oronde Gadsden Jr TE Los Angeles Chargers - DraftKings: $3,400 | FanDuel: $5,000

The Chargers have not been leaning on Oronde Gadsden Jr lately - at least not like they did at the mid-point of the year. But he has had a couple of games over the last few weeks with 5-6 targets. And we know he’s capable of big things - he dropped a game with 164 yards earlier this year on the Colts. 

The Patriots have struggled this year against the tight end - and I think part of that is by design. They moved on from guys like Jabrill Peppers and Kyle Dugger, as they were more of in-box guys and not great scheme fits. The Patriots have had a bit of a “bend, don’t break” attitude, which has left them open over the middle, and the Chargers might lean into that. 

Tommy Tremble TE Carolina Panthers - DraftKings: $2,800 | FanDuel: $4,700

This is not our favorite tight end. We’ve been rooting all year for Ja’Tavion Sanders to get more work, as he’s a better pass-catching tight end in comparison. But on the first snap of Week 17, Ja’Tavion Sanders suffered a broken ankle that saw his season end. That has elevated Tommy Tremble to the point that he played 90% of the snaps and ran 84% of the routes this week. It’s not the best matchup this week vs. the Rams, but the price is good enough that it’s worth a stab. On DraftKings, the bare minimum price is $2,500, and he’s just above that. 

NFL DFS TE Fades For Divisional Round

George Kittle TE San Francisco 49ers - DraftKings: $6,200 | FanDuel: $6,300

Fading Kittle alone is a big move. He’s clearly the best tight end left in the NFL playoffs. But we really do not like this matchup with the Eagles. Guys like Zach Baun and Cooper DeJean are prowling around in that short to intermediate area over the middle, which has been tough on tight ends. DVOA over at FTN Fantasy, which attempts to grade with strength of schedule and gamescript factored in, actually has the Eagles as far and away the most difficult matchup for tight ends. Just fading Kittle alone this week is enough to make your portfolio different than most, and I think it’s a savvy move.