Tight Ends Start 'Em, Sit 'Em and Fantasy Football Trends for Week 12 (2025)

Rob's tight end fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 12 of the 2025 season. Who should I start at tight end for fantasy football in Week 12 lineups?

After years of not scoring touchdowns, Trey McBride now seemingly cannot stop. He's absolutely running away from the other tight ends and is now the clear and undisputed TE1. Jake Ferguson is the TE6 on the season. Kyle Pitts Sr. is the TE21. Ferguson's half-PPR PPG average is closer to Pitts's than it is to McBride's.

There are 10 tight ends averaging 10.0 half-PPR PPG this season. One of them is Tucker Kraft, who is out for the year. Another is Darren Waller, who is on IR, but who may have found his way to the waiver wire in your league. Be sure to look for him and add him if you're in need of a starting tight end. He scored more than 8.0 half-PPR points in all three games he appeared in this year.

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Can We Trust Mark Andrews?

Lamar Jackson missed three full games and parts of a fourth. Since the team's Week 7 bye, Andrews is the TE9 with a 10.9 half-PPR PPG average. This includes four total games in which he scored 8.9 half-PPR points or more, including three of them. The only game Andrews did not score 8.9 half-PPR points since the team's bye was in Week 8, when Jackson was still out.

Isaiah Likely missed the first four games of the season. Once he returned, Jackson was injured. We have three games in which both players were active: Weeks 9-11. During that time, Andrews had a 59.3% route share. That's far too low for any consistent fantasy production, but his elite 24% target rate is keeping his head afloat. He has a 16.9% target share but is averaging only 4.3 targets per game due to low passing volume.

Mark Andrews running a fake tush push for a 35-yard TD on 4th down is the definition of electric 🔥 @Wingstop pic.twitter.com/luH4OCn3kr

— NFL (@NFL) November 20, 2025

While he's averaging 12.9 half-PPR PPG over the last three games, his expected half-PPR PPG average is just 10.0, indicating he's slightly overperforming. This shouldn't come as a surprise after his rushing touchdown in their Week 11 game. While much of his fantasy production has come via touchdowns, he does have four end zone targets in three games.

He's a clear priority for the offense, and Jackson is once they get near the end zone. This elite-scoring role will continue to allow Andrews to overperform, but despite this, Andrews will remain a difficult player to trust moving forward.

Kyle Pitts Sr. with Kirk Cousins

From Weeks 1-15 last season, Pitts averaged 4.6 targets, 2.9 receptions, 38.3 yards, and 0.2 touchdowns per game with Cousins as the starter. In his 13 games with Michael Penix Jr. dating back to the final three games of the 2024 season, Pitts has averaged 5.8 targets, 4.3 receptions, 40.5 yards, and 0.2 touchdowns with Penix. Not much difference between the two quarterbacks for Pitts.

Since 2022, there have been two games that Pitts played and Drake London did not. He's most likely out for Week 12, and his Week 13 status is unknown. In those two games, Pitts averaged 7.0 targets, 6.5 receptions, 57.5 yards, and 0.0 touchdowns per game. If we include Pitts' rookie season when London was still in college, those averages go to 6.5 targets, 4.2 receptions, 60.0, and 0.05 touchdowns per game over 19 games.

London being out appears to be a positive for Pitts's fantasy value, and the quarterback change, at least historically, does not indicate fantasy managers should expect a drastic drop-off in performance. The biggest concern could come from the significant changes the loss of Penix and London will bring. Losing your starting quarterback and your best pass-catcher will undoubtedly hurt the offense.

While Pitts has performed as a mid-TE2, the anticipated uptick in targets during London's absence could give Pitts a short-term boost, assuming Cousins can be passable. However, once London returns, the floor is now seemingly lower.

Theo Johnson's Breakout

Johnson is in the midst of a breakout season. When he was drafted out of Penn State, Johnson was viewed as an elite athlete. He scored a perfect 10.0 RAS (relative athletic score). However, after an up-and-down rookie season plagued by injuries and subpar quarterback play, there was little fanfare going into his second season. Truth be told, it looked like he was on his way towards another disappointing season until superstar receiver Malik Nabers was injured early in Week 4.

Since that time, Johnson has played like one of the better tight ends in the NFL. His development has helped Jaxson Dart play as well as he has. The table below shows Johnson's stats since Week 4. While he hasn't been as efficient as others, Johnson has had to deal with an inefficient offense and, most recently, a coaching change.

His 76.6% route share would rank ninth among tight ends on the season. Even more impressive, his 22.2% first-read target share would rank fifth, just barely behind Tyler Warren (third, 22.5%) and Ferguson (fourth, 22.3%). His 18.6% target share would rank seventh. His utilization has been excellent. His 5.6 target per game average would be 10th, ahead of Dallas Goedert and Sam LaPorta.

His yards per game and yards per route run average are discouraging, but some of that can be attributed to a struggling offense. His volume has been excellent, and it's helped him produce a 9.4 half-PPR PPG average. This would be good for TE11 on the season. He's been excellent since Nabers went down and should be a weekly feature in most starting lineups.

Who Are the Best Weekly Streamers in Week 12?

We'll define "streamer" as any tight end with a rostered percentage below 65%, based on ESPN.

1. Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Los Angeles Rams

The Rams have allowed the 12th-most fantasy points to tight ends. They've been borderline impossible to run on, however. With Bucky Irving's availability still up in the air, the Buccaneers may need to lean exclusively on the passing game to move the ball against the Rams. The Rams are also playing like the best team in the NFL and could put Tampa Bay behind on the scoreboard early.

The game script could be a positive one for Otton and the Tampa passing attack. Chris Godwin has been limited, but it's unclear if he'll return to the field. Even if he is, his role will likely be limited. Otton has generally been heavily targeted in games where Godwin and Mike Evans are inactive. This is a solid matchup, with the game script likely in his favor.

2. Theo Johnson, New York Giants at Detroit Lions

Detroit has been fairly stingy against tight ends this season, allowing just the 21st-most points to tight ends at 10.2 half-PPR PPG. However, Dart is expected to return, which should be a boon for Johnson and the entire offense. While the matchup is not ideal, Detroit's offense is elite.

The Giants' defense will not be able to keep Detroit from scoring. That'll put the Giants in catch-up mode, a situation in which they'll need to lean on their passing attack. The increased volume is another positive despite the tough matchup.

3. Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons

Johnson has seven games with 7.5 half-PPR points or more this season. That includes five games in which he's scored in double digits. He has five games with seven or more targets and five games with five or more receptions. He has six games with 49 yards or more. He's been very consistent this season and is coming off his best game of the season, scoring 17.2 half-PPR points against the Panthers.

This was the team's first game without Rashid Shaheed, who was traded to the Seahawks. Johnson posted season-highs in yards and fantasy points. Without Shaheed, Johnson should be locked in as the team's No. 2 target-earner behind Chris Olave.

Unfortunately, the matchup is dreadful. The Falcons have allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to tight ends this season. That's the sole reason Johnson doesn't find himself inside the top-10. For the year, he finds himself as the TE12 with an 8.7 half-PPR PPG average. Despite a brutal matchup, his anticipated volume keeps him as a strong streamer.

4. Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans vs Buffalo Bills

The Bills have allowed the fewest points to tight ends this season. They're also 22nd in fantasy points allowed to receivers and 29th in points allowed to fantasy quarterbacks. They have been a run-funnel defense, but their pass defense has been elite. That's the downside to Schultz, and it's a fairly big one.

However, Houston doesn't really have a running game, so even though that's the way they should attack this defense, they may not have the goods to do so. Davis Mills will be under center again this week, and Schultz posted a season-high in fantasy points in Week 10 with Mills as the starter, scoring 14.8 half-PPR PPG.

Schultz has averaged 11.45 half-PPR PPG with Mills as the starter. He's averaging 10 targets, 6.5 receptions, and 52 yards per game during Mills' two-game stretch as the starter. He's been the undisputed and most reliable pass-catcher behind Nico Collins.

The Bills are heavy favorites here and should be expected to run away with this one. If that happens, the Houston offense will be forced to air it out. Even though the matchup is dreadful, the volume should help carry Schultz to a decent fantasy performance.

Week 12 Rankings

1. Trey McBride vs Jaguars

2. George Kittle vs Panthers

3. Brock Bowers vs Browns

4. Tyler Warren at Chiefs

5. Travis Kelce vs Colts

6. Mark Andrews vs Jets

7. Dallas Goedert at Cowboys

8. Jake Ferguson vs Eagles

9. Cade Otton at Rams

10. Hunter Henry at Bengals

11. Theo Johnson at Lions

12. Kyle Pitts Sr. at Saints

13. Juwan Johnson vs Falcons

14. Dalton Schultz vs Bills

15. Colston Loveland vs Steelers

16. Harold Fannin Jr., at Raiders

17. Brenton Strange at Cardinals

18. A.J. Barner at Titans

19. Noah Fant vs Patriots

20. Luke Musgrave vs Vikings

21. Mason Taylor at Ravens

22. T.J. Hockenson at Packers

23. Isaiah Likely vs Jets

24. Chig Okonkwo vs Seahawks

25. Pat Freiermuth at Bears

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