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Rob's tight end fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 7 of the 2024 season. Who should I start at tight end for fantasy football in Week 7 lineups?
The tight-end position finally got some life this past weekend! The return of Evan Engram and David Njoku gave the position some juice. The trade of Davante Adams also makes Brock Bowers more appealing for the rest of the season. Trey McBride's peripherals continue to look very strong.
Fantasy managers should have some cautious optimism that the position will continue to get stronger in future weeks. Travis Kelce, due to the Rashee Rice injury, will look more and more like the player fantasy managers thought he was when they were drafting him. Jake Ferguson should also see some positive regression. It was ugly early, as was the entire state of the NFL's passing offense, but things have picked up in recent weeks, and several tight ends have benefited.
This week, we'll be looking at some advanced statistics to get a better read on how to value certain players. These stats are courtesy of FantasyPoints Data Suite, which can be found here. To take advantage of our great premium tools and save yourself some money, please use promo code "BOOM" to receive a 10% discount.
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Total Routes Run Leaders
| Rank | Player | Total Routes |
| 1 | Tyler Conklin | 183 |
| 2 | Noah Fant | 180 |
| 3 | Dalton Schultz | 176 |
| 4 | Brock Bowers | 162 |
| 5 | Theo Johnson | 158 |
| 6 | Cade Otton | 156 |
| 7 | Hunter Henry | 155 |
| 8 | Colby Parkinson | 153 |
| 9 | Zach Ertz | 153 |
| 10 | Kyle Pitts | 152 |
| 11 | Jake Ferguson | 152 |
| 12 | Pat Freiermuth | 144 |
| 13 | George Kittle | 138 |
| 14 | Trey McBride | 137 |
| 15 | Travis Kelce | 134 |
| 16 | Tucker Kraft | 129 |
| 17 | Cole Kmet | 128 |
| 18 | Dalton Kincaid | 124 |
| 19 | Dallas Goedert | 120 |
| 20 | Mark Andrews | 111 |
We were buying Tyler Conklin. We were. His placement on this rankings is impressive. He's been running a lot of routes. He's involved. The target competition in New York was nonexistent. That is no longer the case. Now, Conklin is fighting an impossible uphill climb. With Davante Adams in New York, along with Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard, Conklin can be ignored entirely.
Despite his impressive spot on this list, Fant is nothing more than a streamer. His situation is similar to Conklin's. He's competing for targets with DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Tyler Lockett. That is a losing battle. However, with Seattle operating with one of the most neutral pass-heavy offenses, he can hit on the right week.
Theo Johnson can also be ignored. Malik Nabers and Wan'Dale Robinson command a large portion of the target share. With the Adams trade, Bowers should be viewed as the clear No. 1 tight end for the rest of the season. He's looking like one of, possibly the only difference-making, tight end.
Kelce is trending up with the Rashee Rice injury. Dalton Kincaid is trending down with the Amari Cooper trade. While we shouldn't expect his role to change, the target competition has gotten stiffer. Ferguson and McBride are great buy-low targets. Both of them are very high on this list despite having missed time.
Route Participation Leaders
| Rank | Player | Route Participation Rate |
| 1 | Trey McBride | 80.6% |
| 2 | Colby Parkinson | 79.7% |
| 3 | George Kittle | 77.1% |
| 4 | Travis Kelce | 73.6% |
| 5 | Pat Freiermuth | 73.5% |
| 6 | Tyler Conklin | 73.2% |
| 7 | Hunter Henry | 72.4% |
| 8 | Jake Ferguson | 71.7% |
| 9 | Zach Ertz | 71.2% |
| 10 | Cade Otton | 70.6% |
| 11 | Dalton Schultz | 69.8% |
| 12 | Kyle Pitts | 69.4% |
| 13 | Evan Engram | 69.1% |
| 14 | Brock Bowers | 68.4% |
| 15 | Dalton Kincaid | 66.7% |
| 16 | Dallas Goedert | 65.9% |
| 17 | Sam LaPorta | 65.7% |
| 18 | Theo Johnson | 65.0% |
| 19 | Tucker Kraft | 64.8% |
| 20 | Noah Fant | 64.5% |
Again, McBride and Ferguson show up as two massive buy-lows. Engram is another player to buy into fully. He's going to be another PPR monster this season. David Njoku doesn't show up because an 18-target minimum was used. With Amari Cooper now in Buffalo, Njoku becomes Cleveland's undisputed No. 1 target earner. While that may not have meant anything for Cooper, the bar for fantasy relevancy at tight end is much lower.
LaPorta's role isn't nearly as strong as it was last year. Henry is a tight end who fantasy managers should consider adding to their roster. Drake Maye looked very good in his first start. There were ups and downs, but he brought an upside to the New England passing game that hadn't been present before. He has a strong role inside the offense. His utilization numbers are strong, and the target competition is weak.
Total Target Leaders
| Rank | Player | Total Targets |
| 1 | Brock Bowers | 47 |
| 2 | Trey McBride | 38 |
| 3 | George Kittle | 34 |
| 4 | Jake Ferguson | 34 |
| 5 | Colby Parkinson | 31 |
| 6 | Dalton Kincaid | 30 |
| 7 | Travis Kelce | 30 |
| 8 | Dallas Goedert | 29 |
| 9 | Cole Kmet | 29 |
| 10 | Dalton Schultz | 29 |
| 11 | Cade Otton | 29 |
| 12 | Tyler Conklin | 28 |
| 13 | Zach Ertz | 27 |
| 14 | Hunter Henry | 26 |
| 15 | Kyle Pitts | 26 |
| 16 | Isaiah Likely | 25 |
| 17 | Pat Freiermuth | 25 |
| 18 | Noah Fant | 24 |
| 19 | Tucker Kraft | 24 |
| 20 | Mike Gesicki | 21 |
Buy McBride and Ferguson. They're top four in total targets, and they've missed time. You won't be disappointed. The fantasy points are coming. Fantasy managers should also buy Kmet and Dalton Schultz for at least the next three weeks. Kmet seems to have established himself as one of Caleb Williams's top 2-3 target earners. With the Chicago offense starting to click and the team having several plus matchups in the future, he's worth starting the next few weeks.
With Nico Collins out, Schultz is also worth a spot in your starting roster until he's back. Freiermuth could get a boost if the team moves to Russell Wilson. Justin Fields has played well because of what he can do with his legs, but his passing game still has limitations. He's another one to buy or at least add and stash.
Target Share Leaders
| Rank | Player | Target Share |
| 1 | Trey McBride | 25.7% |
| 2 | Evan Engram | 24.6% |
| 3 | Brock Bowers | 22.2% |
| 4 | George Kittle | 21.9% |
| 5 | Dalton Kincaid | 18.9% |
| 6 | Travis Kelce | 18.8% |
| 7 | Dallas Goedert | 18.5% |
| 8 | Colby Parkinson | 17.6% |
| 9 | Jake Ferguson | 17.3% |
| 10 | Zach Ertz | 16.6% |
| 11 | Pat Freiermuth | 15.5% |
| 12 | Cade Otton | 15.3% |
| 13 | Hunter Henry | 14.8% |
| 14 | Cole Kmet | 14.6% |
| 15 | Isaiah Likely | 14.1% |
| 16 | David Njoku | 13.4% |
| 17 | Tucker Kraft | 13.3% |
| 18 | Dalton Schultz | 13.1% |
| 19 | Jonnu Smith | 13.0% |
| 20 | Kyle Pitts | 12.5% |
Once again, Trey McBride. It is coming. I promise. Engram is going to have a repeat of last season, especially if Christian Kirk were to be moved before the deadline. He's a buy. Kincaid's target share looks strong, but it's fair to wonder what happens with Amari Cooper in Buffalo. His value has undoubtedly dropped with the trade, so there's nothing to do but hold and hope he still maintains some value.
Parkinson looks good in all these tables, but we have to ask, is he good? Realistically, the answer is probably not. That limits his ceiling despite being one of the best roles for any fantasy football tight end. He'll pop a few weeks because of the opportunity and because Matthew Stafford is still good, but don't expect top-5 numbers despite him having the role for it.
Fantasy managers are overreacting to Kraft and Likely. This is especially true for Likely. Ignore the two-touchdown performance from the other week. Njoku's target share should skyrocket with Cooper now in Buffalo.
Target Rate Leaders
| Rank | Player | Target Rate |
| 1 | Brock Bowers | 29% |
| 2 | Trey McBride | 28% |
| 3 | Jonnu Smith | 27% |
| 4 | George Kittle | 25% |
| 5 | Dalton Kincaid | 24% |
| 6 | Dallas Goedert | 24% |
| 7 | Isaiah Likely | 23% |
| 8 | Cole Kmet | 23% |
| 9 | Travis Kelce | 22% |
| 10 | Jake Ferguson | 22% |
| 11 | Colby Parkinson | 20% |
| 12 | Mike Gesicki | 19% |
| 13 | Tucker Kraft | 19% |
| 14 | Cade Otton | 19% |
| 15 | Zach Ertz | 18% |
| 16 | Pat Freiermuth | 17% |
| 17 | Kyle Pitts | 17% |
| 18 | Hunter Henry | 17% |
| 19 | Dalton Schultz | 16% |
| 20 | Mark Andrews | 16% |
Don't overrate Jonnu Smith's placement on this list; at least not use Tua Tagovailoa, which is back under the center. Bowers, McBride, Ferguson, Kittle, Kelce, Njoku, and Engram are your clear top-7 tight ends for the rest of the season. There's a significant drop-off after these players. And no, LaPorta is not a part of that group.
Yards Per Route Run Leaders
| Rank | Player | YPRR |
| 1 | Dallas Goedert | 2.51 |
| 2 | Brock Bowers | 2.37 |
| 3 | Cole Kmet | 2.26 |
| 4 | George Kittle | 2.05 |
| 5 | Trey McBride | 1.98 |
| 6 | Isaiah Likely | 1.90 |
| 7 | Jonnu Smith | 1.79 |
| 8 | Tucker Kraft | 1.79 |
| 9 | Dalton Kincaid | 1.75 |
| 10 | Kyle Pitts | 1.73 |
| 11 | Travis Kelce | 1.70 |
| 12 | Mark Andrews | 1.68 |
| 13 | Mike Gesicki | 1.62 |
| 14 | Jake Ferguson | 1.58 |
| 15 | Zach Ertz | 1.49 |
| 16 | Hunter Henry | 1.43 |
| 17 | Pat Freiermuth | 1.36 |
| 18 | Noah Fant | 1.10 |
| 19 | Colby Parkinson | 1.08 |
| 20 | Cade Otton | 1.04 |
Parkinson and Otton are probably not good, and they won't be able to take advantage of their fantasy-friendly role.
Expected Half-PPR PPG Leaders
| Rank | Player | Expected Half-PPR PPG | Half-PPR PPG | Difference |
| 1 | George Kittle | 14.1 | 14.5 | 0.4 |
| 2 | Brock Bowers | 13.4 | 10.7 | -2.7 |
| 3 | Trey McBride | 12.2 | 9.4 | -2.8 |
| 4 | Jake Ferguson | 12 | 7.3 | -4.7 |
| 5 | Evan Engram | 11.3 | 7.1 | -4.2 |
| 6 | Colby Parkinson | 10.9 | 5.2 | -5.7 |
| 7 | Travis Kelce | 10.4 | 7.0 | -3.4 |
| 8 | Zach Ertz | 9.6 | 5.9 | -3.7 |
| 9 | Dallas Goedert | 9.1 | 8.4 | -0.7 |
| 10 | Cole Kmet | 9.0 | 10.0 | 1.0 |
| 11 | Dalton Kincaid | 8.7 | 6.4 | -2.3 |
| 12 | Dalton Schultz | 8.5 | 3.9 | -4.6 |
| 13 | Cade Otton | 8.1 | 4.9 | -3.2 |
| 14 | Tyler Conklin | 7.9 | 4.8 | -3.1 |
| 15 | Kyle Pitts | 7.8 | 6.9 | -0.9 |
| 16 | Isaiah Likely | 7.3 | 8.0 | 0.7 |
| 17 | Hunter Henry | 7.1 | 6.3 | -0.8 |
| 18 | Noah Fant | 7.0 | 5.0 | -2.0 |
| 19 | Pat Freiermuth | 6.7 | 5.9 | -0.8 |
| 20 | Tucker Kraft | 6.7 | 8.4 | 1.7 |
| 21 | Jonnu Smith | 6.4 | 4.2 | -2.2 |
| 22 | Sam LaPorta | 5.3 | 6.5 | 1.2 |
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