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Matt's tight end (TE) fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 8 of 2025. His TE lineups advice for Week 8 fantasy football start/sit decisions.
Just as we all predicted, Daniel Bellinger, Pat Freiermuth, Noah Fant, and Theo Johnson were all among the weekly leaders in Week 7, proving that the tight end position is just as volatile now as it has ever been.
With several tight end options off the board this week, including Trey McBride, Sam LaPorta, Brock Bowers, and AJ Barner, fantasy managers are left scrambling for bye week and injury replacements, and a position that is becoming more and more like fantasy roulette with each week.
Here are your starts and sits at the tight end position for Week 8 of the fantasy football season.
Week 8 - Fantasy Football Booms
Mason Taylor - TE New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals
Despite a couple of bad weeks derailing a hype train that had been picking up steam the previous two weeks, Mason Taylor is once again in a good spot this week as the Jets head to Cincinnati for a date with the Bengals.
It’s not like Taylor wasn't an option, as his three receptions were tied for the team lead, while his 31 receiving yards and five targets ranked second among Jets pass catchers against the Panthers.
With the way Joe Flacco has the Bengals playing, New York is going to need to throw the ball to stay competitive this week, and with Garrett Wilson (knee) likely sidelined once again, Justin Fields and the Jets could look Taylor’s way this week and exploit one of the Bengals' defensive weaknesses, defending opposing tight ends.
This season, Cincinnati has allowed the second most receptions (50), and the most receiving yards (536), receiving touchdowns (9), and fantasy points to the position (22.27).
Tucker Kraft - TE, Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers
With three straight double-digit performances and four in his last five contests, Tucker Kraft vaulted himself inside the top-5 in fantasy, averaging 13.3 fantasy points per contest this season. Against the Cardinals last week, Kraft would be targeted on 10 occasions, hauling in five of those passes for 58 yards and a touchdown.
In this market, if a tight end is getting a nearly 355 target share, you get him in your lineup.
Since Week 2, Kraft ranks fifth among tight ends in receiving yards (310), 12th in target share (16.9%), 11th in receptions (21), sixth in yards per route run (2.44) and yards per reception (124.76), with a first-read target share of 20.6% (eighth-most). Volume is king, especially at a position with so much instability week in and week out.
Kraft has one of the fantasy-friendly matchups on this week's docket as the Steelers have been allowing an average of 16.75 fantasy points per game this season to the position and have allowed four touchdowns and 403 receiving yards on 30 receptions. Over the previous four weeks, those points per game jumped to a league-high 21.20.
Even Noah Fant had a touchdown and 44 receiving yards on four receptions a week ago.
Oronde Gadsden - TE, Los Angeles Chargers vs. Minnesota Vikings
One of the biggest wildcards at the tight end position this offseason was Oronde Gadsden of the Chargers. Brian, Drake, and I made him a priority for our FPPC squad, and the potential is now transitioning to production after Gadsden's 164 receiving yards last week on seven receptions, which became the third-most single-game total for a rookie tight end in NFL history.
oronde gadsden.
📺 | @nfloncbs pic.twitter.com/zRyZnhEqsv
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 19, 2025
Since Week 3, Gadsden ranks eighth among tight ends with 27 targets, with 17 of those targets coming over the last two weeks, and the Syracuse product has become an integral part of this Chargers offense. Speaking of the last two weeks, that one target trail only McBride, while the 17.2% target share and 0.212 targets per route run rate lend themselves to future fantasy production.
Despite being a healthy scratch early in the season, Gadsden is fourth in yards per reception (14.0), and his 308 receiving yards sit ninth among his position.
The future is now, on Thursday Night Football, where the Chargers host a Vikings defense who have surrendered 18.87 fantasy points per game to the position over the last four weeks, and just three weeks ago conceded 10 receptions on 13 targets to the duo of David Njoku and Harold Fannin Jr.
Week 8 Sits - Potential Fantasy Football Busts
Zach Ertz - TE, Washington Commanders at Kansas City Chiefs
Who knows what to expect in Week 8 with this Washington Commanders offense? Last week, Terry McLaurin (quadriceps) and Deebo Samuel Sr. (heel) were absent due to injury, and heading into Week 8, Jayden Daniels' (hamstring) status is in question.
If Samuel and McLaurin were both to return this week, it would have a significant impact on Zach Ertz’s fantasy forecast, as would the insertion of Marcus Mariota if Daniels were to miss. While Ertz has been a solid option most weeks, his 10.3 fantasy points per game are tied for 15th, along with Barner, making him a borderline TE1 on a good week.
This is not a good week, considering that the Chiefs have yielded just one receiving touchdown to the position this season, along with 232 receiving yards and 25 receptions. The only teams allowing fewer fantasy points to the position than the Chiefs' 7.77 have been the Buffalo Bills (5.55) and the Atlanta Falcons (4.65).
Jake Ferguson - TE, Dallas Cowboys at Denver Broncos
The inclusion of Jake Ferguson feels so wrong; it has to be right, right? We want to have some fantasy debates, and Ferguson being on this list does just that. This season, no tight end is averaging 10 or more fantasy points per game, although Ferguson at 9.9 is about as close as you can get. That said, the tight end position in fantasy has an aura of uncertainty.
Since Week 2, only McBride's 55 targets top Ferguson’s 52; however, it is Ferguson who leads the NFL over that time in receptions with 46. Much of that damage came with CeeDee Lamb being inactive, but with Lamb back in the lineup last week, Ferguson managed to catch all seven of his targets and was the recipient of a pair of touchdown passes.
I’m not really building a strong case against Ferguson here, am I?
Ok, so we know we will have our popcorn ready for Lamb versus Patrick Surtain II, but flying under the radar is the fact that Denver has only allowed 27 receptions this season to the position and has been surrendering 11.70 fantasy points per game this season to the position, the eighth-fewest. Over the last four weeks, they’ve been even stingier, allowing 6.83 fantasy points per game, the third-fewest.
Travis Kelce - TE, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Washington Commanders
Travis Kelce is quietly having a very good season, and people really aren’t talking about it. Kelce's 11.5 fantasy points per game is eighth among tight ends, and that production makes him a more valued fantasy asset than Brian Thomas Jr. (11.0), Tee Higgins (10.5), or DJ Moore (9.2), thus far this season.
Heck, Kelce enters Week 8 leading the Chiefs in receiving yards (375), yards after the catch (207), and first downs (20). However, Patrick Mahomes is going to spread the ball around and get Marquise Brown, Xavier Worthy, and Rashee Rice involved. I’m not sure who opposing defensive coordinators plan on eliminating to slow this Chiefs offense down moving forward.
Rashee Rice in 1st game of sesaon
- 39% snaps (was a blow out and starters pulled)
- 10 targets (no one else had more than 5)
- 7 catches, 42 yds, 2 TDs
- 23.2 fantasy points pic.twitter.com/Zkm6TfWcOV— Michael F. Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) October 19, 2025
Against the Raiders, Kelce had three catches for 54yards, but it was Rice who led the way in receptions (7) and targets (10) while Brown and Worthy each saw four targets.
If Rice's return wasn’t bad enough for Kelce’s outlook this week, Washington has been a challenging force to reckon with in recent weeks, holding opposing tight ends to 9.83 fantasy points per game over the last four weeks prior to Ferguson’s Week 7 performance.
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