Who Should I Start for Fantasy Football Week 7? George Kittle, Cade Otton, Darren Waller, Tucker Kraft, Travis Kelce, Sam LaPorta, Dallas Goedert, Hunter Henry, Jake Ferguson, Kyle Pitts, Cole Kmet

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (hamstring), who is currently on Injured Reserve due to a hamstring injury he suffered in the season opener, said he plans to play this Sunday night against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 7.

The Niners designated the 32-year-old to return from IR this week, which means the team now has 21 days to officially activate him. In his return to practice on Wednesday, Kittle was limited, and he maintained that practice status on Thursday. Despite suffering a full tear of his hamstring in Week 1, Kittle is back to full health and is hoping to make his return this weekend.

It's unclear if the coaching staff feels the same way yet, but we should have our answer by Saturday, when the Niners will need to activate Kittle from IR if they intend to play him on Sunday. Despite the layoff, Kittle will be back on the TE1 radar immediately if he returns to action against Atlanta.

With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers facing a rash of injuries at wide receiver, one of the team's answers could be tight end Cade Otton, who is playing an impressive number of snaps and coming off a season high in targets.

Otton has played more than 90% of Tampa's snaps for five weeks in a row and has continued to see more work in the passing game. The fourth-year tight end caught nine of 11 targets for 132 yards during the past two games, and although he's looking for his first touchdown of the season, he figures to be a high-quality fantasy TE2 or bye week fill-in against Detroit in Week 7.

The Bucs' first injury report of the week will be worth watching, however, as receivers Mike Evans (hamstring), Emeka Egbuka (hamstring), and Chris Godwin (leg) are all dealing with injuries.

Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta hauled in a touchdown catch for the second straight week in Week 6 against the Kansas City Chiefs, finishing with five catches for 55 yards and a score on six targets. The 24-year-old has 26 catches for 324 yards and two touchdowns on 33 targets for the season.

He's shown signs of increased usage over the past two weeks, earning 12 targets and recording 10 catches for 143 yards and two scores. LaPorta and Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams appear to be battling to be the second option in Detroit's passing game behind star wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Either way, fantasy managers have to be encouraged by LaPorta's production over his past two games, and he profiles as a must-start tight end heading into a Week 7 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert caught nine of his 11 targets for 110 yards and a touchdown -- all team highs -- during last Thursday night's loss to the New York Giants in Week 6.

While the Eagles came up short, Goedert had his best game of the season. In fact, he has quietly emerged as one of the top tight ends in fantasy football, scoring double-digit points (PPR) in all five of his games. He has four consecutive games with a touchdown, finding the end zone a total of five times during that span.

As players like A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith continue to deal with inconsistent roles, Goedert has emerged as one of Jalen Hurts' favorite targets. He's a solid mid-range TE1 option heading into Week 7 against Minnesota.

Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. underwhelmed in Monday's 24-14 win over the Bills, catching three of four targets for just 18 yards and no scores. It was easily his lowest fantasy output so far this season, but it was somewhat expected against a Buffalo defense that had been one of the toughest units in the NFL for opposing tight ends to produce against thus far in 2025.

On the bright side, the 6-foot-6 tight end has 23 catches on 28 targets through the team's first five games, compared to 15 catches on 23 targets through the first five games of 2024, so he's certainly been more involved in the offense. The 25-year-old will look to get back on track in Week 7 against a San Francisco defense that has been middle of the pack against opposing TEs.

Worth noting, however, is that he'll face seven of the most TE-friendly matchups around over his next ten games, so fantasy managers could see him really take off in the coming weeks.