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Matt's tight end (TE) fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 14 of 2024. His TE lineups advice for Week 14 fantasy football start/sit decisions.
We learned a few things back in Week 13. One, wherever you have Brock Bowers ranked, it needs to be higher. Second, Taysom Hill suffered what is feared to be a season-ending knee injury, which further complicates matters this week. Third, Jonnu Smith is legit, and I can't wait to see our very own LaQuan Jones dye his hair blonde, courtesy of top-5 tight end Jonnu Smith.
I mentioned that fantasy managers will be without Hill this week. Managers will also have fewer options available due to six teams sitting this week out with their bye week: the Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, and Washington Commanders.
The NFL schedule is messing with managers with six teams on bye two weeks ago. There were none last week. There are six more this week as fantasy managers cling to their postseason hopes. With that in mind, here are your RotoBaller starts and sits at the tight-end position for Week 14.
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Week 14 Starts - Fantasy Football Booms
Cade Otton - TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Las Vegas Raiders
It's true: The last couple of weeks have been difficult on Cade Otton and fantasy managers. Otton has not scored a touchdown in any of his last three contests. In those three games, he has averaged 28.3 receiving yards per game and has failed to produce more than four receptions in two of those three contests.
So, why is there optimism here in Week 14? If you are a Raiders fan, you already know. If not, let's see if I can sum this up nicely. Only the Bengals and the Panthers have allowed more than the seven receiving touchdowns to opposing tight ends that the Raiders have.
Five of those seven touchdown receptions have occurred over the last four weeks, during which Las Vegas allows 27.73 fantasy points per game. No, that wasn't a typo, 27.73 fantasy points. That's more points allowed to the tight-end position than the Jaguars allow opposing quarterbacks (24.23).
Besides, it's not like Otton has turned into Kyle Pitts or anything like that, which we should be worried about. Then again, tight-end roulette is a game we all play every week.
Luke Schoonmaker/Jake Ferguson, TEs, Dallas Cowboys vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Jake Ferguson has missed the last few contests, and Luke Schoonmaker has filled in admirably in his absence. In those three games, Schoonmaker has been afforded an opportunity. He has gone on to post 14 receptions for 144 yards, averaging 11.5 fantasy points per game, solidifying himself as the TE10 over that period, four spots ahead of Travis Kelce.
Cooper Rush to a WIDE OPEN Luke Schoonmaker pic.twitter.com/QwfTLsTLCx
— Tom Downey (@WhatGoingDowney) November 24, 2024
I mentioned the Bengals' woes a little earlier: 72 receptions, 783 receiving yards allowed, eight touchdowns, and 16.55 fantasy points against per game thus far this season. It seems like every week is a "Manic Monday" for these Bengals linebackers and safeties in coverage.
Over the previous four weeks, the Bengals allowed 19.83 fantasy points per game, and last week, it was Pat Freiermuth who finished as a top-5 fantasy tight end with 18 fantasy points. This was thanks to his six-reception, 68-yard performance, in which he also caught a touchdown pass courtesy of Russell Wilson.
Pat Freiermuth - TE, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns
Speaking of Pat Freiermuth, we recommended him last week, and we will keep that train rolling here in Week 14. Before Monday Night Football's Week 13 conclusion, only Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, and Mark Andrews posted better fantasy outings than Freiermuth.
Don't look now, but with 9.5 fantasy points in three of his last four contests, Freiermuth has moved into the top 10 this season in fantasy points by a tight end with 105.2.
Great look at the extended play TD from Russell Wilson to Pat Freiermuth. Muth gets himself uncovered and right in the middle of the triangle. Wilson keeps eyes up after avoiding pressure and gets ball out before getting hit. A++++ efforts. #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/4IdRNFBRXz
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) December 2, 2024
Before the Browns took the field against a tight-end-less Broncos team, Cleveland had surrendered 27.17 fantasy points per game over its last four weeks and allowed 220 receiving yards on 24 receptions over that three-game sample. Only a couple of weeks ago, the Steelers' second-leading pass-catcher hauled in all four of his targets for 59 yards against this same Browns defensive unit.
Since Week 8, Freiermuth has missed only one target, and that was last week when he caught six of the seven balls thrown in his direction. That's a catch rate of 94.4%. Freiermuth has caught 41 of 47 targets on the season, so if Wilson is throwing it in Freiermuth's direction, there's a good chance it will be caught.
Week 14 Sits - Fantasy Football Busts
Travis Kelce - TE, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers
I am excited for this one. Travis Kelce versus Derwin James Jr. I still remember the old spinebuster from September 15, 2022. As good as Kelce has been, the matchup isn't the greatest this week.
Throughout the 2024 season, Los Angeles has held opposing tight ends to 546 receiving yards and allowed just one touchdown in 12 games. The 10.46 fantasy points per game has been the eighth-fewest in the league, improving to 9.63 over the last four weeks.
DERWIN JAMES SPINEBUSTER ON TRAVIS KELCE. @brgridiron
OH MY 😳
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/ZU7Y6Lwn8U
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 16, 2022
You aren't sitting Kelce this week, but depending on the league scoring, you may want to consider it. In standard leagues, Kelce is the TE9, averaging 7.3 fantasy points per game, finishing with eight or fewer fantasy points in five of seven contests.
In PPR leagues, sitting Kelce is hard. As Kelce has just two touchdowns this season, he has been targeted 70 times in the last seven games, but only once in the previous three games has he been targeted more than eight times.
It's unlikely you have a better option available, especially with the loss of Taysom Hill due to injury and Zach Ertz unavailable due to the Commanders' bye.
Kyle Pitts - TE, Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings
Sometimes, you have to realize something may not be as good as you thought it was. I remember hyping Kyle Pitts coming out of Florida. We hadn't seen traits like his from a prospect at the tight-end position. We are now in Season 4, and we are here making excuses for him weekly, holding out hope we can catch a glimpse of what made him unique in his rookie season.
Those days may be nothing more than a memory at this point. In Pitts' last two contests, he has seen just five targets, catching one for nine yards. That's 1.9 fantasy points in the previous two weeks. Last week was the second time this season in which Pitts laid a fantasy goose egg.
Kirk Cousins threw 39 passes today.
Kyle Pitts finished with ZERO receptions pic.twitter.com/6mwgOydOS3
— Rise Up Reader (@RiseUpReader) December 1, 2024
If you want to see the glass half full, I suggest that the last time he finished with zero fantasy points, he came back the following week with 88 yards receiving on seven receptions. See, I'm not all doom and gloom here. I should also remind fantasy managers that Minnesota has yet to allow a receiving touchdown to a tight end over the last four weeks and has limited the position to 10.45 fantasy points per game, the ninth-fewest.
We like to look at comparables because that's what we want to do. According to PPR scoring, Pitts has accumulated 491.9 fantasy points through 56 career games. Through Noah Fant's first 56 contests, he accounted for 479.5 fantasy points. I'm not saying Pitts is Fant, but I'm not saying it isn't true, either.
Noah Fant - TE, Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals
Noah Fant is coming off a three-catch, four-target performance last week in New York, in which he turned those opportunities into 26 receiving yards. Now, a Seahawks tight end did manage to find the end zone; however, that tight end was rookie AJ Barner.
Fantasy opportunities will be limited once again this week, as the Seahawks face their NFC West division rivals, the Arizona Cardinals. Yes, Puka Nacua, both the Seahawks and the Cardinals are in the NFC West. Arizona ranks sixth this season in fantasy points allowed to the tight-end position, allowing 10.38 per game. Arizona has allowed just two touchdown receptions and 534 yards on 57 receptions this season.
Over the last four weeks, only San Francisco and New York have allowed fewer than the 5.73 fantasy points per game that the Cardinals defense has allowed. The numbers over the last four weeks? 10 receptions, 72 yards receiving, zero touchdowns.
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