Anytime Touchdown Scorer prop bets on National Tight Ends Day

The fourth Sunday of October brings us to one of the most exciting times of the year. While it’s not quite Halloween and the turkey is still thawing for Thanksgiving, it’s time to celebrate National Tight Ends Day! Get ready to hear the unofficial holiday mentioned repeatedly on Sunday, and if you’re going to have to listen to it, you might as well enjoy some of the benefits! Let’s look at some anytime touchdown prop bets that make sense from the tight end market on this Sunday’s slate.

Here are my two best bets and two long-shot bets for Sunday’s Week 7 action on National Tight Ends Day. In addition to the anytime touchdown market, be sure to check out the entire section on DraftKings Sportsbook totally dedicated to National Tight Ends Day props.

Best Bets

George Kittle (+115)

Kittle gets lots of credit for popularizing National Tight Ends Day, turning it into a team motto after QB Jimmy Garoppolo jokingly asked, “What is it, like National Tight Ends Day?” during Week 2 of the 2018 NFL season, when San Francisco 49ers Garrett Celek scored a touchdown. Kittle helped popularize or declare the observance of National Tight Ends Day, and the celebration took off over the last few years, finding its home on the fourth Sunday of October.

Kittle had a touchdown against the Texans last year on the holiday. In 2024, he had six catches, 128 yards, and a touchdown on Sunday Night Football against the Cowboys. While he didn’t score in 2023 on the holiday, he faced Travis Kelce and the Chiefs in a marquee tight end matchup in 2022, finishing with six catches for 98 yards and a touchdown in a 44-23 loss. The holiday may or may not be a real thing, but it’s definitely a real thing to Kittle, who could be extra motivated to get into the end zone this week.

With how well he’s been playing and how large his role has been, it’s not like he needs the extra boost! Kittle has scored five touchdowns in his last five games and set a season-high with eight targets against the Commanders on Monday. He has at least four catches in five straight games, and there is plenty of volume available for him with Mike Evans (ribs, Achilles) battling through multiple issues with Deebo Samuel Sr. (hamstring), Demarcus Robinson (ankle) and De’Zhaun Stribling (ankle) all out.

He is in a great spot to find the end zone once again this week in Atlanta, and he usually celebrates his holiday in style.

Tyler Higbee (+195)

Higbee has also had to pick up more work with multiple injuries thinning out his team’s pass-catchers. He only has one touchdown this year, which came in Week 3 against the Broncos. He posted a massive fantasy line with eight catches on 11 targets for 62 receiving yards in that contest, and he has at least four catches in each of his last four games dating back to that breakthrough.

The veteran is a trusted part of the team’s offense, and Matthew Stafford could look his way even more this week with Davante Adams (hamstring) out and Puka Nacua (calf) also dealing with an injury. Higbee’s increased role in the offense has come with Terrance Ferguson (ankle) also on IR, and without Ferguson and Adams, Higbee has a good chance to get plenty of volume and opportunities on Sunday against the Raiders.

The Raiders have allowed six touchdowns to tight ends in their six games this season, so it should be a favorable matchup for Higbee to deliver at around 2:1 odds on Sunday in Vegas.

Long Shots

Juwan Johnson (+310)

Johnson and the Saints will kick off National Tight Ends Day with a matchup in Paris against the Steelers. Johnson is a long shot at over +300 since he didn’t have a single catch last week against the Giants in the Saints’ win. However, he was involved enough in earlier games this season to like his chances for a nice bounce-back against Pittsburgh.

In his first three games of the season, Johnson had three touchdown catches, including two against the Raiders. He had at least three catches in every game until last week, when he came up empty for the first time since Week 3 of the 2024 season.

The Steelers have allowed two tight end touchdowns this season, and they also gave up 100 yards on 10 catches to the Colts’ tight ends in Week 5. Johnson is a long play, but he could pay off, making a croissant and a TE touchdown a great way to kick off National Tight Ends Day from France

Josh Cuevas (+1000)

To really swing for the fences, I’m taking Ravens backup tight end Josh Cuevas at +1000 for the final play in my tight end anytime touchdown picks. Cuevas has seven catches for 84 yards on the season and scored his first NFL touchdown last week against the Browns.

The fifth-round rookie from Alabama played a career-high 23 snaps (40%) and caught multiple passes for the second straight week. He’s high-risk for fantasy with Mark Andrews still playing ahead of him and getting most of the TE1 work, but the Ravens do go with multiple tight ends near the goal line, setting up Cuevas as one of the best anytime touchdown plays from the second tight end options on the board.

The Ravens will not get Lamar Jackson (ankle) back this week, so Cuevas will work again with Tyler Huntley. Huntley is the QB who threw Cuevas his touchdown last week, so even though the offense may not be quite as aggressive as it would be with Lamar, Cuevas still has the potential to catch a touchdown even if it is more conservative play-calling overall.