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Matt's tight end (TE) fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 9 of 2025. His TE lineups advice for Week 9 fantasy football start/sit decisions.
Once again, the tight end position played out in Week 8 just as we all predicted. Oronde Gadsden dropped 18.7 fantasy points, and Gunnar Helm produced a career-high 10.3 fantasy points. Meanwhile, Jake Ferguson was held without a catch and saw just one target. For the record, we had him on the "Sit List" last week, just saying.
Every week, a new tight end cracks the top 10-12 in fantasy that no one anticipated. Well, it's our job to predict the unpredictable, and we have a couple of deeper options that fantasy managers should consider this week.
Here are your starts and sits at the tight end position for Week 9 of the fantasy football season.
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Week 9 - Fantasy Football Booms
Tyler Warren - TE, Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers
Tyler Warren is an automatic start this week after watching Tucker Kraft go off for 143 yards and a pair of touchdowns on seven receptions against the Steelers. Chances are you are starting the rookie every week, but if, for whatever reason, some uncertainty has crept into your mind, let me remind you that it is highly probable that Warren finishes Week 9 as the overall TE1 and possibly tops all pass catchers this week.
Ja'Tavion Sanders - TE Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers
Okay, the first start was a gimme. Now it's time to dig deeper for these next two and earn my money this week.
First, I am interested in Ja'Tavion Sanders even after coming off a three-catch, 19-yard receiving performance last week. No? Let's not be too quick to dismiss Sanders, after all, he does happen to have one of the best fantasy matchups for tight ends this week.
Things change slightly with Andy Dalton back under center, but we like to remain positive. Sanders can take advantage of this week's matchup with Bryce Young returning—again, not a doctor. While Jonnu Smith and Pat Freiermuth didn't blow fantasy up last week, they did manage to catch five passes for 30 yards, which is a respectable eight fantasy points. This was well below the Packers' seasonal average of 17.9 fantasy points per game allotted to the tight end position, the third-most.
Sanders really doesn't warrant a start. He's averaging just 2.2 fantasy points per game. With no Harold Fannin Jr., David Njoku, Mason Taylor, Cade Otton, or Dallas Goedert available to stream, it's time to play the matchups. This season, the Packers' defense has allowed 405 receiving yards and five touchdowns on 55 receptions, with 112 receiving yards and three touchdowns coming in weeks five through seven (23.6 fantasy points per game).
Colston Loveland - TE, Chicago Bears at Cincinnati Bengals
If there was a week in which Colston Loveland would break out, this is the week. Loveland is coming off a three-catch, 38-yard performance against the Ravens, and he faces a Bengals team that allowed Taylor to haul in five catches, 34 yards, and a touchdown.
In fact, Taylor's 9.4 fantasy performance, suitable for TE7 heading into Monday Night Football and the conclusion of Week 8, was one of the Bengals' better games against opposing tight ends this season. Cincinnati has surrendered the second-most receptions (50), targets (78), receiving yards (594), and receiving touchdowns (10), which has led to the most fantasy points conceded, 21.7 per game.
Not many TE’s can run like this and block like that. Colston Loveland is a unicorn. Hes gonna be JUST fine. #DaBears #Bears pic.twitter.com/reA7XIFVlQ
— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) October 19, 2025
Loveland's 38 yards last week account for 48.7% of his receiving yardage this season. Without Cole Kmet, Loveland saw a modest uptick in target share, going up to 13.2% from 12.7% over the previous two contests, but the Bears seem to trust the rookie more in terms of blocking, which will, in turn, lend itself to a greater snap share moving forward. Diving deeper into the data, we saw that somewhat in Lovelands' route participation, which was a season-high 78% on Williams's drop-backs.
Week 9 - Fantasy Football Busts
Dalton Kincaid- TE, Buffalo Bills vs Kansas City Chiefs
Even before Zach Ertz steps on the field against the Chiefs to conclude Week 8 of the fantasy football season, I am putting Dalton Kincaid on the weekly sit list. In a game in which the Bills dropped 40 points against the clawless Panthers, Kincaid caught just one pass for 23 yards.
Carolina has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season, 15.1, as they have allowed 67.9 yards per game and 5.7 receptions, and their DVOA of 46.9% was the worst in the NFL. This week, Kincaid and the Bills face a Chiefs defense that, before their matchup against the Commanders, had allowed just 25 receptions for 232 yards and an average of 7.8 fantasy points per game to the position, the third-fewest.
I'm sorry, but if you can't produce against one of the easier matchups on the slate, you can not be trusted in arguably the toughest matchup on this week's docket. It's that simple.
Kincaid has been good this season for fantasy managers, averaging 11.7 fantasy points per week. Half of his games resulted in 14 or more fantasy points. But, is it all a facade? Heading into Week 8, Kincaid's route participation rate was 55.5%, 31st among tight ends. It's all about risk mitigation, and Kincaid is a risk I'm not willing to take this week.
Hunter Henry - TE, New England Patriots vs Atlanta Falcons
Last week, the Falcons were plucked, but the Miami Dolphins were in their own stadium. Heading out on the road has come at the perfect time. As bad as the Falcons' defense was a week ago, it wasn't because of the tight end position. Then again, Tanner Conner isn't going to be mistaken for Kraft or even Jake Tonges anytime soon.
Happy National Tight Ends Day to you too, Hunter Henry.
CLEvsNE on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/9BCvTaJYN4
— NFL (@NFL) October 26, 2025
Hunter Henry is the ultimate "Best Ball" tight end, as his touchdowns have become strictly matchup-dependent. Henry ranks 11th in receiving yards (317), but 15th in fantasy points per game (10.7), further illustrating the point.
This week, he faces a Falcons defense that has allowed just one touchdown and 36 receiving yards to the tight end position over their previous three contests. For fantasy, that works out to 4.5 fantasy points per game.
Theo Johnson- TE, New York Giants vs San Francisco 49ers
Last week, against the Eagles, Theo Johnson caught three passes for 20 yards, averaging 6.7 yards per reception. While we are short a few good men this week at tight end, Johnson appeared to be more of a trick than a treat. Johnson averages 8.5 fantasy points per game and has three double-digit fantasy performances in his last five contests, so some may gravitate to starting the Giants' pass catcher.
Since Week 5, only the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons, and the San Francisco 49ers have allowed fewer than 10 fantasy points per game to the tight end position. San Francisco has yielded 182 receiving yards in the last four contests on 17 receptions, and the 49ers have not allowed a single touchdown reception, which is a significant reason why they have held opposing tight ends to 8.8 fantasy points per game.
Johnson has four touchdown receptions over his last five games, including two in a game back in Week 5, but if I were a betting man, I'd have to place my money on the 49ers defense once again.
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