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Week 9 fantasy football TE start-sit: Kincaid, Dulcich, Pitts, Goedert
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- Week 9 fantasy football TE start-sit: Kincaid, Dulcich, Pitts, Goedert
Miami Dolphins tight end Greg Dulcichand Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts Sr.are Week 9 fantasy football start 'em picks because Detroit and Cincinnati have allowed the most and second-most receiving yards to tight ends this season.
Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaidand Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedertare sits. Minnesota has allowed a league-low 5.5 half-PPR points per game to tight ends without a touchdown, and the Giants have given up just two scores to the position.
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Dulcich is my TE13 for Week 9 , and Pitts is TE15. Goedert ranks TE14, and Kincaid is TE19. Goedert's ranking reflects the 80% snap share he still holds in Philadelphia, but Pitts faces a defense that has allowed nearly twice as many yards to tight ends as New York.
MORE: Week 9 fantasy football PPR rankings: Burrow, Gibbs, Smith-Njigba lead
How did Week 8's TE start-sit go?
Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson (87) runs during the second quarter against the Miami Dolphins | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
The starts split. Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson caught four of five targets for 58 yards and a touchdown in a 19-15 loss at Detroit, the 11th touchdown the Lions have allowed to a tight end this season.
New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry caught all three of his targets for 30 yards in a 24-19 win at Miami. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye threw only 20 passes as New England ran 36 times.
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The sits split, too. Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta caught three of five targets for 33 yards against Minnesota, which still hasn't allowed a touchdown to a tight end.
Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland caught seven of nine targets for 65 yards in a 34-17 win at Seattle and outscored both LaPorta and Henry. He tied Luther Burden III for the team lead with nine targets, but he also lost a fourth-quarter fumble that set up a Seattle touchdown.
MORE: Week 9 fantasy football QB start-sit: Willis, Shough, Darnold, Stroud
Week 9 TE start 'em: Greg Dulcich, Dolphins
Miami Dolphins tight end Greg Dulcich (85) takes the field to face the Cincinnati Bengals | Rich Storry-Imagn Images
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Week 9: vs. Detroit, 23.6 FP/game to TEs (32nd)
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Week 8: vs. New England, 4 rec. for 43 yds on 6 targets
Detroit has allowed 61 catches, 684 yards and 11 touchdowns to tight ends in seven games. No other defense has given up more than 17.9 half-PPR points per game to the position, and Hockenson scored on the Lions on Sunday.
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Dulcich has nine catches for 129 yards on 11 targets over his last two games. He caught all five of his targets for 86 yards in Miami's first win of the season against the Jets in Week 7. Then he tied for the team lead with six targets against New England after an ankle injury limited him in practice.
Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis plays in a run-first offense, which caps Dulcich's volume. Still, the UCLA product hasn't scored a touchdown this season, and no defense gives him a better chance to find the end zone than Detroit, which makes him a TE1 this week.
MORE: NFC power rankings Week 9: 49ers reclaim No. 1 after Vikings' first loss
Week 9 TE start 'em: Kyle Pitts Sr., Falcons
Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. (8) celebrates his touchdown catch during the third quarter against the San Francisco 49ers | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
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Week 9: vs. Cincinnati (Madrid), 12.4 FP/game to TEs (23rd)
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Week 8: at Tampa Bay, 2 rec. for 6 yds on 5 targets
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Pitts' Week 8 line came in a rain-soaked 16-0 loss at Tampa Bay. Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. completed eight of 24 passes for 125 yards with four interceptions, and he overthrew a wide-open Pitts on a third-and-2 play-action throw.
Penix had nine touchdowns and one interception before Sunday, and he said afterward he'd " never thrown four picks in a game."
Cincinnati has allowed 621 yards to tight ends, second-most behind Detroit, though it hasn't allowed a touchdown to the position. The Bengals also beat Tennessee 43-36 in overtime Sunday, with quarterback Joe Burrow throwing for 462 yards and five touchdowns, so Atlanta may need to throw often in Madrid.
Pitts entered Week 8 with touchdowns in three straight games. The Florida product's yardage floor against Cincinnati keeps him a TE1 even if the Bengals keep him out of the end zone.
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Week 9 TE sit 'em: Dalton Kincaid, Bills
Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid (86) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
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Week 9: at Minnesota, 5.5 FP/game to TEs (1st)
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Week 8: vs. Baltimore, 4 rec. for 86 yds, 1 TD on 6 targets
Kincaid played through a chest injury that made him questionable against Baltimore and finished as Josh Allen's top target in a 36-10 win. He set up a fourth-quarter drive with a 40-yard catch and finished it with a 23-yard touchdown.
That came after one catch in each of Weeks 4 and 5. Kincaid's targets swing from week to week because Bills quarterback Josh Allen spreads the ball among DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Dawson Knox and Jackson Hawes.
Minnesota has allowed 22 catches, 273 yards and no touchdowns to tight ends in seven games, and that catch total is the lowest in the league. The Vikings held LaPorta to 33 yards on Sunday.
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The Utah product is a TE2 against Minnesota, and managers with Dulcich or Pitts on the bench should start either one over him.
Week 9 TE sit 'em: Dallas Goedert, Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert (88) during action during the first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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Week 9: vs. New York Giants, 9.1 FP/game to TEs (9th)
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Week 8: at Washington, 4 rec. for 30 yds on 4 targets
Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee made his third straight start with Jalen Hurts sidelined by blood clots, and Philadelphia lost 27-10 at Washington for its sixth straight loss. McKee was sacked five times, and 10 of his 23 completions came behind the line of scrimmage.
Philadelphia ranks 29th in points per game and 32nd in yards per play in McKee's three starts. Goedert still played 80% of the snaps, but rookie tight end Eli Stowers caught three passes for 53 yards on 13 snaps and could earn more work as the losses pile up.
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The Giants have allowed 41 catches, 313 yards and two touchdowns to tight ends in seven games. Goedert caught six passes against both Carolina and Jacksonville earlier this season, so the South Dakota State product has a catch floor, but Dulcich and Pitts have the better matchups and are the stronger starts in Week 9.
MORE: Week 9 waiver wire FAAB: Mike Washington Jr., Tyler Allgeier top fantasy adds
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