Week 5 of the NFL season has arrived! The fantasy tight end landscape has already been turned upside down, so it’s time to take a deeper dive into that position.
Let’s break down my Week 5 start ’em, sit ’em fantasy football TE picks.
Start ‘Em: Pat Freiermuth (Steelers) vs. Cowboys
After three weeks of proving he could maintain a consistent fantasy floor — which is not a high bar this year — Freiermuth finally showcased his ceiling against the Colts, finding the end zone en route to a 16.7 PPR point outing.
Through four games, he sits at standard TE6 and PPR TE5, which was certainly not an expected outcome heading into the season. What’s even more impressive is he’s accomplished that with a dual-threat quarterback under center. It’s worth noting that Justin Fields put together his best performance of the season against Indianapolis, demonstrating a correlation between his production and Freiermuth’s.
I expect both players to keep the positive momentum rolling against a vulnerable Cowboys defense on Sunday night.
Sit ‘Em: Mike Gesicki (Bengals) vs. Ravens
How quickly things change.
After Week 2, Gesicki was nearing must-start territory thanks to his giant target share against the Chiefs. Fast forward a couple games, and the veteran may no longer be on the fantasy radar. Gesicki played only 33% of Cincinnati’s snaps against the Panthers, ceding the TE1 role to rookie Erick All, who was on the field for nearly double the plays.
The return of Tee Higgins — who has assumed a monstrous target share — and emergence of All have rendered Gesicki redundant in this Bengals passing attack. Unless an injury occurs among Cincy’s top receiving threats, leave the 29-year-old on your bench (or waivers).
Check out my full Week 5 start/sit article with picks at each position here!
Start ‘Em: Cade Otton (Buccaneers) at Falcons — THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Otton was the recipient of a ridiculously high snap share last year, it just never translated to production. Two games into the 2024 season, it looked like that may be the case again.
Then, the 25-year-old flipped a switch. Over Weeks 3 and 4, Otton caught 13 of 17 targets for 99 yards. Amidst one of the ugliest fantasy tight end landscapes we’ve seen in years, those numbers make him a virtual must-start this week.
The Falcons allow almost 12 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends, and Baker Mayfield is fresh off another huge game. Now is the time to ride the hot hand.
Sit ‘Em: Mark Andrews AND Isaiah Likely (Ravens) at Bengals
After Week 1, tons of fantasy analysts eagerly wrote up the positive prospects of starting both Andrews and Likely, myself included.
After putting up respectable numbers in his next game, Andrews failed to catch a ball in either of Baltimore’s matchups with Dallas or Buffalo. He only saw two total targets.
It hasn’t been much better for Likely, who caught just four balls over his last three games, never seeing a snap share higher than 62%. At this point, it’s pretty clear how the Ravens are going to utilize their offensive weapons. Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry will pace the team on the ground, with Zay Flowers — and surprisingly, Justice Hill — handling a majority of the receiving work.
Todd Monken’s scheme simply may not feature tight ends the way Greg Roman’s did. Until one of Andrews or Likely carves out a consistent role, they shouldn’t touch your starting lineup.
Fantasy Advice Twitter Takeover
On Sunday from 11-1 ET, Jeff Pratt will be taking over the DraftKings Network X account to answer all of your start/sit questions. Don’t miss out!
Those are my start ’em, sit ’em Week 5 fantasy football tight end picks! Stay tuned for more fantasy advice next week.
All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
