This rookie tight end class was supposed to be a special one. We thought that had a lot to do with Dalton Kincaid and Michael Mayer, but Sam LaPorta and Luke Musgrave have done the heavy lifting so far. As bad as the guys we drafted to be top 12 have been so far, we're inclined to believe that LaPorta and Musgrave are here to stay. First, let's talk about a few of the struggles.
Pat Freiermuth ranks at TE16 despite scoring two touchdowns in three weeks. Kyle Pitts is TE23 while leading his team in both target and air yards share. Dallas Goedert is TE28 despite having the same number of catches as the TE2, Travis Kelce. David Njoku is TE30 despite ... well there's no real positive for Njoku. Same for Dalton Schultz, who currently ranks as TE43 and is the No. 4 option on his own team. I'm ready to give up on Njoku and Schultz, but I am still holding out hope for the rest.
As for the rookies, they could go a long way towards cementing their status as must-start options on Thursday night. LaPorta is much closer and only needs to maintain his role and target share, we won't ding him for bad stats. Musgrave is more interesting because we are expecting both Christian Watson and Aaron Jones to return in Week 4. If they do, and they don't ding Musgrave's target share, we may have a pair of rookies in the top 10 by next week.
Here's everything else you need to know about tight end in Week 4:
Week 4 TE Preview
Who's Out
Numbers to Know
Matchups That Matter
Waiver Wire Targets
DFS Plays
Projections
The following players are not being projected to play Week 4 at this time. Here's what it means:
TE Preview
Numbers to Know
- 5 -- Sam LaPorta is the first tight end in NFL history with at least five catches in each of his first three NFL games.
- 4.2 -- Dallas Goedert is averaging 4.2 yards per target this season. The past two years he's averaged more than 10 yards per target. Regression is coming.
- 42.8% -- Donald Parham has scored a touchdown on 42.8% of his targets. Regression is coming.
- 29.3% -- Nearly 30% of Sam Howell's passes have gone to a tight end. Washington is not a bad place to look for a desperation streamer.
- 15 -- The 49ers and Cowboys have surrendered a combined 15 PPR FPPG to TEs this year. Better days are ahead for Darren Waller.
TE Preview
Matchups that matter
TE Preview
Waiver Wire Targets
Week 4 Streamers (TE Preview)
Projections powered by
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Projections powered by
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TE Preview
Heath's Projections
My full set of Week 4 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 4. Projected stats for all starting tight ends are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections over at SportsLine.