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Matt's tight end (TE) fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 3 of 2025. His TE lineups advice for Week 3 fantasy football start/sit decisions.
If you think you know what's happening at the tight end position, think again. Inside the top 12, we have names like Harold Fannin Jr., Juwan Johnson, and Dalton Kincaid.
That shouldn't surprise us, considering how volatile the tight end position has been historically in fantasy. Every year, a top-10 player emerges at this position that was once bound to the waiver wire.
With that all out of the way, here are your starts and sits at the tight end position for Week 3 of the fantasy football season.
Week 3- Fantasy Football Booms
Juwan Johnson - TE, New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks
Right now, Johnson is a league winner in the tight end position. The Saints tight end is over the 90% route participation threshold, is averaging 15.8 fantasy points per game, and averages 10 targets per game (eighth-most in the NFL).
Juwan Johnson snags it for a @Saints TD!
SFvsNO on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/Q52t7zCdXk
— NFL (@NFL) September 14, 2025
In Week 2, Johnson accounted for a 26.5% target share and had a route participation rate of 93%—elite metrics at the tight end position. Among the tight end position, Johnson ranks first in expected fantasy points per game, second in target share (31.6%), second in targets per route run (0.27), second in team yard target share (29.7%), and fifth in yards per game with 62.5.
Factor in the early data and the fact that New Orleans is playing a Seahawks team that has already allowed a pair of receiving touchdowns and 108 yards on 16 receptions through two weeks, and you have all the makings of an incoming TE1 overall performance.
Every year, without fail, a tight end rises from the ashes. This year, it is Johnson, and if he continues to see a 36% first-read target share like he did in Week 2, there's no reason he can't continue to perform at his current level.
Jake Tonges - TE, San Francisco 49ers vs Arizona Cardinals
Speaking of tight ends who come out of nowhere to become productive fantasy starters, how about the story Jake Tonges is currently penning?
In Week 1, Tonges entered the contest after the 49ers ruled George Kittle (hamstring) out. All he did with his opportunity was catch a touchdown pass along with two other balls on his way to a double-digit fantasy debut. Then last week, with a new quarterback under center, Tonges would be targeted on five occasions, hauling in four of those targets for 31 yards.
While he didn't score this week, Mac Jones did manage to find tight end Luke Farrell for a touchdown, providing a potential opportunity for Tonges and the tight ends later on down the road.
Fast forward to Week 3, and the 49ers are facing an Arizona Cardinals defense that has already allowed opposing tight ends to catch 19 passes on 24 targets, both league-highs, resulting in 159 receiving yards and 17.45 fantasy points per game. Some brand-name tight ends may be available this week, but if you like to march to the beat of your drum, Tonges has a nice matchup on the horizon.
T.J. Hockenson - TE, Minnesota Vikings vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Last season, the Bengals allowed 15.18 fantasy points per game to the tight end position, having allowed 10 touchdowns and 1,114 receiving yards. In contests featuring Brenton Strange, David Njoku, and Fannin this season, the Bengals have allowed 117 receiving yards and 12.5 fantasy points per game. Usually, Njoku would make that defensible, but the truth is, he is averaging just 7.4 fantasy points.
As for T.J. Hockenson, the Vikings tight end has thus far been a fantasy afterthought. In two contests, Hockenson has been targeted on seven occasions, resulting in four receptions and 27 yards. With Aaron Jones Sr. (hamstring) likely to miss this contest, Hockenson will have more opportunity to be part of this offense.
Matchups often make all the difference when determining who starts and sits at the tight end position. While Hockenson has the talent, the matchup puts him as a start in Week 3. Maybe Carson Wentz can revive Hockenson's fantasy stock with J.J. McCarthy (ankle) unable to play.
Week 3 Sits - Potential Fantasy Football Busts
Mark Andrews - TE, Baltimore Ravens vs. Detroit Lions
On the sidelines of the Ravens and Lions Showcase, we have Andrews, who is again off to a slow start. Last season, Andrews was recovering from a car accident, which contributed to the insufficient opening in the first six weeks. This season, the only accident Andrews has been a part of is being inserted into fantasy football starting lineups.
In the first two weeks, Andrews has produced fewer than three fantasy points, with Isaiah Likely (foot) sidelined. We are talking two receptions for seven yards. Devontez Walker had as many touchdown receptions last week as Andrews had in two games. If Andrews holds onto that once pass in the endzone, it's a different conversation this week, but at some point, you are what you are.
However, unlike Hockenson, the matchup isn't great. Detroit allowed 8.75 fantasy points per game last season, the fifth-fewest. So far in 2025, it has allowed just 8.70 fantasy points per game and has allowed just 51 yards receiving to the position.
Tucker Kraft - TE, Green Bay Packers at Cleveland Browns
This one will sting a little after leading the hype train last week. Against the Commanders, Tucker Kraft accumulated 24.4 fantasy points after hauling in six of seven targets for 124 yards and a touchdown. Kraft averaged 20.7 yards per reception as the Commanders had no answer for Jordan Love's connection with Kraft.
Things will be a little more difficult this week as Kraft will be a focal point of the Cleveland Browns' defensive meetings ahead of this Week 3 contest. Cleveland hasn't struggled against tight ends, as they faced the Bengals in Week 1 with Mike Gesicki and Noah Fant, and in Week 2, it was the ghost of Mark Andrews.
Credit the Browns; they allow a futile 8.20 fantasy points per game this season.
There is a good chance you are not sitting Kraft this week. However, I won't be doing my job if I don't mention the risk associated with Kraft. If you go ahead with inserting Kraft into those lineups this week, make the conscious decision to add some safe floor payers to help with risk management.
Kyle Pitts Sr. - TE, Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers
Last season, against the Panthers, Kyle Pitts Sr. had eight targets, resulting in five receptions for 85 yards. More importantly, that equates to 6.75 fantasy points per game. While Pitts has been good this season, considering his checkered past, he is still too hard to trust moving forward.
In two games thus far, Pitts has produced 20.6 fantasy points thanks to his 11 receptions on 13 targets, resulting in 8.7 yards per reception and 96 receiving yards. Two games into the 2025 season, Pitts has already accounted for 15.9% of his total receiving from last season. If fantasy football doesn't give you trust issues, are you even doing it right?
Looking at the matchup this week, and while it looks great, Carolina is allowing 18.9 fantasy points per game, it also feels like a trap. In Week 1, Carolina held Brenton Strange to 59 yards on dour receptions, keeping him under 10 fantasy points. In Week 2, Carolina faced Trey McBride, and Pitts is no McBride.
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