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Matt's tight end (TE) fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 11 of 2025. His TE lineups advice for Week 11 fantasy football start/sit decisions.
Any given week, a new "stud" tight end could emerge. It happened again last week, just like everyone predicted, as Bills tight end Jackson Hawes posted 9.6 fantasy points and flirted with a top-12 fantasy finish on the week.
What does Week 11 have in store for a fantasy encore? We break it all down this week and decipher which tight ends have the best opportunity to be fantasy difference-makers and which tight ends should be avoided altogether, with playoff implications on the line.
Here are your starts and sits at the tight end position for Week 11 of the fantasy football season.
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Week 11 - Fantasy Football Booms
Pat Freiermuth - TE, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Over the last four games, Pat Freiermuth's fantasy production has been all over the map, which makes him a perfect option this week at a position that has been as difficult as any to predict weekly. Over the latest four-game sample, Freiermuth has posted fantasy production of 28.1, 4.3, 11.7, and 6.3 fantasy points. Do I detect a pattern?
When looking for tight ends to insert into fantasy lineups, streaming has been paying dividends for fantasy managers. Like selecting the best D/ST, finding the best matchups has been the Da Vinci Code to unlocking fantasy production on any given week. One of those code-breaking defenses this season has been the Cincinnati Bengals.
Catch made by Pat Freiermuth to give Pittsburgh the lead following the INT!
INDvsPIT on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/e0DDu5RvX2
— NFL (@NFL) November 2, 2025
Even before trading Logan Wilson to the Dallas Cowboys, the Bengals defense has been victimized by opposing tight ends. Since Week 6, the Bengals have allowed 377 receiving yards on 27 receptions, along with an NFL-high eight touchdown receptions to the position in just four contests. When broken down with fantasy implications, that works out to an NFL-worst 28.2 fantasy points per game.
Oronde Gadsden II - TE, Los Angeles Chargers at Jacksonville Jaguars
This season, Oronde Gadsden II sits seventh in receiving yards among tight ends with 466, despite being a healthy scratch early on in the season. Since Week 6, Gadsden's 15.2 fantasy points per game trails only Trey McBride, Brock Bowers, Tucker Kraft, and Dallas Goedert.
Over the previously mentioned period, no tight end has more receiving yards than Gadsden's 390, while McBride is the only tight end who has caught more passes. Gadsden's 32 targets over the last five games are the third most at the position. With injuries adding up along the Chargers offensive line, Justin Herbert has been getting the ball out of his hands quicker than ever.
Expect Herbert to have more time in the pocket this week as the Jaguars are near the bottom of the league in terms of sacks and pressure, which should allow for the Chargers quarterback to take a few more deep shots this week with Gadsden than he did against the Steelers last week.
That's excellent news, especially when you factor in that only the Bengals are allowing more fantasy points per game to the position since Week 6 than the Jaguars, 26.2 PPR fantasy points per game. Keep an eye on Gadsden throughout the week, as he did take a direct hit to his left knee and is currently listed as day-to-day.
Zach Ertz - TE, Washington Commanders at Miami Dolphins
While the Commanders offense has somewhat sputtered without Jayden Daniels at the helm, it hasn't been terrible. Against the Lions last week, Marcus Mariota threw a pair of touchdowns. With the run game rather pedestrian, the Commanders have a pressing need to throw the ball, which benefits Zach Ertz.
Zach Ertz touchdown!
It's a one-possession game 👀
WASvsGB on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/bsB1ywqGjb— NFL (@NFL) September 12, 2025
Against Detroit, Ertz was targeted on five occasions, coming out of that contest with four receptions, 54 yards receiving, and 9.6 fantasy points. The 22.7% target share Ertz received was tied for the team lead with Deebo Samuel Sr., leading us to believe Ertz will be relied on heavily until Daniels returns.
If Ertz is in line once again for a 20-25% target share, he needs to be in fantasy lineups, as Miami has been one of the friendliest fantasy defenses toward the tight end position in recent weeks.
I mentioned Hawes' 9.6 fantasy points earlier. Well, over the Dolphins' previous five outings, they are allowing 19.7 fantasy points per game, the fourth most. Since Week 6, Miami has conceded 390 receiving yards on 43 receptions, along with four receiving touchdowns.
Week 11 - Fantasy Football Busts
Cade Otton - TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Buffalo Bills
Cade Otton has returned as a focal point of the Buccaneers' passing attack, earning a 22.9% target share in the absence of Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. Since Week 6, Otton has caught 25 of 32 passes thrown in his direction and has produced 238 yards of offense.
As good as Otton has been, in today's tight end landscape, this feels like a trap. Over the Bills' last four games, their defense has been unmatched in terms of defending opposing tight ends. In those four contests, Buffalo has allowed just 12 receptions and 129 receiving yards to the position.
Play Otton at your own risk here, but when facing a defense that allows 6.8 fantasy points per game -- nearly 1.5 fantasy points fewer than the next-closest team -- conventional wisdom would be to seek a player with a better matchup. Perhaps one of the three previously mentioned above?
Sam LaPorta - TE, Detroit Lions at Philadelphia Eagles
Even when facing difficult circumstances, it is hard to sit your studs. However, as good as LaPorta has been, he's still been inconsistent at times. Despite averaging 11.9 fantasy points per game this season, the Lions tight end has also failed to surpass 7.5 fantasy points in four of nine contests this season. Last week, his 7.5 fantasy points were barely enough to come away as TE19 on the week.
In Detroit, one of LaPorta's weekly battles has been internal. There are so many talented playmakers on the Lions offense that someone is going to get left out. We know Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown are going to get theirs, but any given week, we witness LaPorta, Jameson Williams, or David Montgomery taking a backseat.
Could this be the week that LaPorta is rendered irrelevant?
Before entering Monday Night Football's conclusion in Week 10, the Philadelphia Eagles had held opposing tight ends to 8.3 fantasy points per game. Over the course of their previous three contests, the Eagles had only conceded 120 receiving yards on 12 receptions. Four receptions for 40 yards appear to be LaPorta's ceiling this week, and I'm not sure you can trust that in your lineups with other options present.
David Njoku - TE, Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens
As the resident David Njoku truther on staff, I should do everything in my power to promote Njoku as a viable fantasy option. After all, last week, the Browns tight end hooked up with Dillon Gabriel for his third receiving touchdown of the season and second in his previous two games.
Here's the thing: the Baltimore Ravens defense is starting to figure things out. Last season, Baltimore struggled early before returning to its dominant form on defense, and the winds of change have been blowing again in recent weeks.
Since the Ravens returned from their bye week, the defense has surrendered only three touchdowns and allowed 13.5 points per game, while forcing 10 turnovers (including turnovers on downs). Since then, against opposing tight ends, the Ravens have allowed just 10 receptions and 95 receiving yards over those three games and are allowing just 6.5 fantasy points per contest during this stretch.
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