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Matt's tight end (TE) fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 12 of 2025. His TE lineups advice for Week 12 fantasy football start/sit decisions.
It's Week 12, and there is a good chance you have lineup questions, with the tight end position likely occupying more of your thought process than one would care to admit.
Three of the worst teams since Week 7 in defending against the tight end position head into their bye as matchups against Denver (18.3), Miami (18.3), Washington (17.4), and the Los Angeles Chargers are off the table for fantasy managers to exploit.
Here are your starts and sits at the tight end position for Week 12 of the fantasy football season.
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Week 12 - Fantasy Football Booms
Hunter Henry - TE, New England Patriots at Cincinnati Bengals
Last week, I was wrong about Pat Freiermuth, but not about the matchup, as an offensive lineman masquerading as a tight end would end up hauling in four passes for 67 yards. That's right, Darnell Washington, the 6'7", 265-pound tight end, had his best game of the season as those 67 receiving yards against the Bengals account for 32% of his season total.
Hunter Henry has been a serviceable fantasy tight end once again this season, averaging a respectable 9.1 fantasy points per game, finishing with 7.5 or more fantasy points in four of his last five contests. Not enough to win a week for fantasy managers, but not enough to lose a week (except Week 10; that wasn't good).
This week, Henry faces a Bengals team that has been allowing 28.2 fantasy points per game dating back to Week 7. In the four contests preceding this week, the Bengals have allowed 29 receptions on 44 targets, along with seven touchdown receptions.
If you are hesitant about plugging Henry into your fantasy lineups, I get it. Henry has failed to top 10 PPR points in a single game since Week 4, but this is as good a matchup for a tight end as any. If willing to take that chance, it should pay off nicely.
Gunnar Helm - TE, Tennessee Titans vs. Seattle Seahawks
In Week 11, the Tennessee Titans once again lost Calvin Ridley, this time to a season-ending leg injury (fibula). Look, the tight end position is a barren wasteland for fantasy production. Last week, Chig Okonkwo's 8.6 fantasy points were only two more fantasy points than his seasonal average. Still, that was also enough to insert himself as a TE1 on the week, while Gunnar Helm contributed an additional 6.9 fantasy points.
In other words, the tight end position is a complete crapshoot in fantasy. With the way the season has been shaping up, the best course of action is to exploit the matchups, and Helm and Okonkwo have one of the more favorable ones on this week's docket.
While Okonkwo had the more productive week, 38 of his team-high 56 yards came on one play. Conversely, Helm's four receptions were one behind Tyjae Spears for the team lead, while his five targets were second only to Van Jefferson's seven.
That's TUFF @gunnar_helm 💪
📺: #TENvsATL on @WKRN & NFL+ pic.twitter.com/DyA4JpiSQ1
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) August 16, 2025
Helm and Okonkwo are not likely to be at the top of fantasy managers' wish lists. Still, they are potentially sitting on the waiver wire and offer potential upside this week, facing a Seattle team that has allowed 18.9 fantasy points per game to the position since the start of Week 7.
Opposing tight ends have averaged 9.13 yards per target over the Seahawks' previous four contests (fifth most) and have produced 437 receiving yards on 29 receptions over that four-game sample.
Travis Kelce - TE, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Indianapolis Colts
Why does it feel like Travis Kelce is not an elite option at the tight end position? Have we as a society grown numb to everything the future Hall of Famer does on and off the field at this point? His 13.9 fantasy points per game are the quietest 13 fantasy points per game of all time. In fact, the 139.1 fantasy points he has produced this season are the second most at the position this season.
Travis Kelce has set the Chiefs franchise TD record with his 84th. pic.twitter.com/7rMFCqqZgm
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 17, 2025
In two of Kelce's last three contests, the Chiefs' all-time leader in regular-season touchdowns (84) has produced 20 or more fantasy points. In Kelce's previous three games, he has seen a target share of 23%, a first-read target share of 20.8%, accounted for an air yards share of 17.8%, and has a first down per route run rate of 0.135, easily the highest rate among the tight end position over that period.
Kelce's fall from fantasy grace may have been premature.
Heading into Week 12, Kelce will certainly improve upon his fantasy stats. He faces a Colts defense that, over the previous four contests, has surrendered a league-worst 10.75 yards per target to opposing tight ends. Since Week 7, Indianapolis has allowed 387 receiving yards, 26 receptions, three touchdown receptions, and the third-most fantasy points per game at 20.8.
Second-best tight end in fantasy meets the third-friendliest defense, need I say more?
Week 12 - Fantasy Football Busts
Jake Ferguson - TE, Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles
CeeDee Lamb returned to action in Week 7. And since then, we have seen a dip in fantasy production from Jake Ferguson, which was to be expected.
From Weeks 1-6, Ferguson was the overall TE1 in fantasy, averaging 16.6 fantasy points per game. In the three games since, Ferguson has reverted to the TE22, averaging 10 fantasy points per game. Take just the last two games, and Ferguson drops all the way down to TE51 with an average of four fantasy points per contest.
He's not even the highest-rated Ferguson, as Terrance Ferguson has outproduced him over those last two contests.
Further complicating matters this week is the date with the Philadelphia Eagles, who have yielded just 124 receiving yards on 16 receptions over their last four contests. Assuming Ferguson gets the full complement of that production and Luke Schoonmaker is a non-factor, four receptions for 31 receiving yards won't cut it for fantasy managers expecting more.
T.J. Hockenson - TE, Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers
Through 11 weeks, we have more than enough data to suggest that T.J. Hockenson is no longer the tight end for fantasy that he once was. Part of the blame could be put on Carson Wentz, some on J.J. McCarthy, but the truth of the matter is that Hockenson hasn't been productive.
Hockenson's 7.4 fantasy points per game this season have him sitting as the TE28 in fantasy, and since Week 8, he has averaged 5.9 fantasy points per contest (TE31). Tight ends who have been more productive over the last four weeks include Davis Allen, Colby Parkinson, AJ Barner, and the Titans duo of Okonkwo and Helm.
Hockenson has yet to top 50 receiving yards this season, and the Green Bay Packers have allowed an average of 28.5 receiving yards per game and 6.1 fantasy points per game to the tight end position over their previous four contests.
Mason Taylor - TE, New York Jets at Baltimore Ravens
Sticking with the matchups, things get a little better for Mason Taylor with the insertion of Tyrod Taylor back into the starting lineup as the Jets decided to bench Justin Fields after the stagnant passing attack that was on display last week. While Taylor gets a slight uptick in the quarterback swap, it's not enough to plug him into your lineups this week against the Ravens.
During the Ravens' recent four-game stretch, they have been particularly tough on opposing tight ends. In those four contests, Kyle Hamilton, among others, has stymied production to 13 receptions on 20 targets for 128 yards.
Let's work the math out here. That equates to 3.25 receptions on four targets per game, resulting in 32 receiving yards. Since Baltimore hasn't conceded a touchdown in those four contests, that's 6.5 fantasy points per game. With the fantasy football playoffs closing in and playoff positioning up for grabs, it's best to leave Taylor on the bench this week.
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