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Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 8: TE Edition
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- Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 8: TE Edition
If you are desperate for TE production and don't have a consensus top-12 Week 8 fantasy tight end, here are three highly unconventional, solid-upside bargains. Also, if you're planning to start one of those previously referenced top-12 fantasy TEs , these three are riskier than usual.
I hit four of six last week and five of six the week before. I research football 24/7, minus eating, parenting, work, sleep, daily jogs, trips to the grocery store, and most of the rest of the time. But still, it's a lot of research!
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As always, we'll use FantasyPros' Week 8 composite rankings as our guide.
Start - A.J. Barner, Seattle Seahawks (Ranked 24th)
Entering this season, A.J. Barner had 10 TDs on 82 receptions -- a remarkable scoring clip. This year? Zero scores on 19 catches. Can he break through against the Bears , who are middling against opposing tight ends? Ah, but if we dig deeper, we can see Chicago's giving up the eighth-most TE fantasy points per target. Barner is #4 in TE offensive snaps. In this NFC battle, I expect him to get more featured against a beatable Bears defense.
Start - Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys (Ranked 25th)
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Jake Ferguson has hit rock bottom, as Brevyn Spann-Ford has pushed for equal time. So why is Ferguson still on the field? In other words, if fantasy managers believe Ferguson is "worthless," do the Cowboys share this view? I can't simply discard his past three seasons and pretend that his career is finished. Let's give Ferguson one more shot at four catches for 35 yards and two touchdowns.
Start - Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals (Ranked 19th)
While I don't like chasing points, Mike Gesicki has scored in each game where he's seen at least one target. That's five touchdowns in five contests. Without a reliable running game near the end zone, Gesicki adds value to a strong offense, which should be even stronger against the mostly hapless Titans.
Sit - Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs (Ranked 9th)
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As always, recommending sitting a top-12 TE is a tough business. But I'll embrace it once again. I tagged Travis Kelce as overvalued last week, predicting that he was "a good bet for 7+ points but not a great bet for 12+." He finished with 8.4. Now he's going into Denver, and the aged legend is facing more competition than ever from longtime teammate Noah Gray.
Sit - Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions (Ranked 6th)
I also urged managers to fade Sam LaPorta last week, and he did not disappoint. (Well, he did disappoint if you started him.) Now he's facing the league's top defense. The Vikings are giving up the fewest TE fantasy points per game (3.9) and per target (0.61). LaPorta once again is a TD-or-bust option.
Sit - Harold Fannin, Cleveland Browns (Ranked 11th)
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Harold Fannin is hit-or-miss in an overachieving Browns passing attack that features three capable wideouts and a fairly active running game. Fannin has had dismal outputs in three of seven games and will face a storied rival (the Steelers) on the road. Not an ideal combination.
This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 8: TE Edition
