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Matt's tight end (TE) fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 7 of 2026. His TE lineups advice for Week 7 fantasy football start/sit decisions.
Michael Mayer is a tight end masquerading as a TE1 in Las Vegas, and fantasy managers need to start paying attention. Even with Brock Bowers commanding attention in the Raiders' passing game, Mayer is carving out a valuable role with strong efficiency, short-area targets, and recent volume, making him a legitimate Week 7 starter. Meanwhile, Tucker Kraft has a mouthwatering matchup against a Detroit defense that has struggled to contain tight ends. At the same time, Pittsburgh's Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington offer desperate fantasy managers some intriguing streaming options.
But not every tight end is worth trusting this week. Sam LaPorta faces a Green Bay defense that has been stingy against the position, making his recent hot streak tough to sustain. And then there's Kyle Pitts Sr. One monster performance doesn't erase five disappointing weeks, especially when a date with a stingy San Francisco 49ers defense awaits in Week 7.
Let's find the tight ends to start, the names to fade, and the matchups that could make or break your fantasy week in Week 7’s RotoBaller tight end starts and sits.
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Week 7 - Potential Fantasy Football Booms
Michael Mayer - TE, Las Vegas Raiders vs Los Angeles Rams
Mayer enters Week 7 as the TE10 in fantasy, with 60.6 fantasy points and an average of 10.1 fantasy points per contest.
Mayer is a legitimate fantasy start because he can produce alongside Bowers and serve as a short-area target earner. With Bowers on the field, Mayer has averaged an impressive 2.01 yards per route run while earning targets on 21% of his routes. With Bowers off the field, his efficiency drops to 1.08 yards per route run, although his target rate remains strong at 23.5%.
The effort by Michael Mayer to stay in bounds 👏
BUFvsLV on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/SNB1LXE7Yp— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2026
The key is Mayer's role in the passing game: just 43% of Bowers' targets have come on passes traveling fewer than seven air yards, the lowest rate among tight ends with at least 100 routes run. Mayer, meanwhile, ranks second among tight ends at 85.3%, trailing only AJ Barner at 87.5%.
That short-area usage gives Mayer a defined path to consistent targets and makes him an intriguing fantasy starter, even with Bowers commanding attention.
On paper, it’s not a great matchup, but strong recent volume (seven catches for 95 yards on nine targets in Week 6) and 12+ fantasy points in three of his last four with Bowers active suggest otherwise. The Raiders treat Bowers more like a WR1, leaving Mayer as the clear TE1 with negative game-script opportunities. He's a solid streamer or flex play.
Tucker Kraft - TE, Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions
This is one of the best matchups a tight end could ask for. Detroit has been without Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph much of the season, and its secondary has allowed a league-worst 26.8 fantasy points per game to the tight end position.
Kraft has recorded at least four receptions in three straight games and recently posted five catches for 64 yards on a 62% route share. What makes Kraft even more appealing is that he ranks near the top of the TE position in yards after contact, giving him a path to production even without a touchdown.
Full disclosure, Kraft suffered a left knee injury against Dallas on Sunday. He returned to the sideline, but it is possible that Kraft suffered an MCL sprain. He should play here in Week 7, but that’s not a guarantee. Start Kraft only if he practices fully or receives a clear “no restriction” update. The latest news says he returned to the game, but also notes concern about ligament damage.
If active without a meaningful limitation, Kraft is a solid midrange TE1 based on rising involvement, likely passing volume, and touchdown rebound potential. But don’t lock him in before the injury report clears him.
Pat Freiermuth/Darnell Washington - TE, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New Orleans Saints (Paris)
For the most part, one should be fading this international game in Paris, but in today’s tight end economy with four teams on a bye, desperate times call for desperate measures. That’s why you get the two-for-one special here. Freiermuth is the play, but if he is limited, Washington becomes an intriguing sneaky option for fantasy managers.
Pat Freiermuth rises for his second TD of the night! #HereWeGo @pat_fry5
📺: #CHIvsPIT on ESPN
📱: https://t.co/leKnrGxv9H https://t.co/xzBNltJI43— NFL (@NFL) November 9, 2021
If you want consistency at tight end, Freiermuth has seen five or more targets in four of six contests this season and has produced four touchdowns. Yes, Freiermuth suffered a bit of an injury last week and is worth monitoring, but with the team already down Michael Pittman Jr. and Roman Wilson, these Steelers tight ends are in for an expanded role.
Whether it’s Freiermuth or Washington, this matchup against the Saints is one worth exploiting. New Orleans is allowing more than 18 fantasy points per game to the position, and this defense just allowed six catches for 99 receiving yards and a touchdown (21.9 fantasy points) to Isaiah Likely of the Giants last week. This is arguably one of the top three matchups for tight ends on the docket this week.
Week 7 - Potential Fantasy Football Busts
Sam LaPorta - TE, Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers
Let’s run some math through the fantasy calculator. Green Bay is allowing nearly 30 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs this season, near the bottom of the league, while being stingy against opposing tight ends, limiting them to less than 10 fantasy points per game.
It doesn’t take a fantasy guru or a rocket scientist to see that Detroit will run the ball early and often if they want to succeed against this Packers defense. Heading into Detroit's bye, only four other tight ends have received more run-blocking snaps this season than LaPorta (112).
This may seem bold, given LaPorta has posted back-to-back 17-point fantasy outings and has topped 14 fantasy points in three of the last four games. His recent production may be difficult to repeat. LaPorta has averaged 21.1 fantasy points over the past two games, including five receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown in the most recent game. That is excellent, but it creates a high expectation.
This is all about the matchup and the potential game script.
Isiah Likely- TE, New York Giants vs. Houston Texans
If you thought sitting LaPorta was bold, I’m just warming up. How about we sit the overall TE1 in fantasy? A tight end who has topped 20 fantasy points in three contests and whose 109 fantasy points would earmark him as the WR5 in fantasy ahead of Amon-Ra St. Brown and Malik Nabers.
Look, some like it hot and some sweat when the heat is on, and this week we are cooking with fire, and sitting Likely. You heard me. I’ll either look like a genius or this will 100% blow up in my face, and I shall never hear the end of it. Life is not tried; it is merely survived if you're standing outside the fire. More impressive, two musical references in one paragraph.
Let’s look at this logically: as good as Likely has been, can he keep this pace up? It doesn’t seem possible, and this week's matchup suggests fantasy managers riding this latest wave of fantasy goodness should temper expectations.
Houston is generous to quarterbacks; they give it up to receivers, yet this defense has allowed fewer than 10 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends this season. Despite surrendering 31 points to the Jaguars in London, Brenton Strange produced a modest 9.4 fantasy points on five receptions for 44 yards.
He is likely to produce 10-12 fantasy points and be a viable option at tight end, but another 20-point outing is highly improbable this week.
Kyle Pitts Sr. - TE, Atlanta Falcons vs. San Francisco 49ers
Some still hope for Kyle Pitts' return to the 2025 form fantasy managers long for. We saw it against the Bears. Pitts recorded five catches for 60 yards and two touchdowns while accumulating 23 fantasy points, nearly doubling his fantasy output from the previous five games.
We saw that spike week and thought he was back, but he isn't. While the production has improved in three straight weeks, it’s not hard to surpass expectations when the bar is set low enough. After that Week 6 spike, fantasy managers will expect 15-20 fantasy points again, and they are about to be disappointed.
Kyle Pitts what a play!
CHIvsATL on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/1K7vEntXHI— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2026
Pitts is still not a high-floor tight end. His Week 6 line benefited from a touchdown and a 58-yard reception, but his target share was only 15%. If he falls back to three to four targets, he could post a mediocre score.
While the talent is unquestioned, consistency matters and so do the matchups. This week, Pitts and the Falcons face an uphill battle against a 49ers team that entered Monday Night Football in Week 6 having allowed a league-low 5.6 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends.
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