Week 7 Start ’Em, Sit ’Em: QB | RB | WR | TE | Team D/K

Start ’Em, Sit ’Em is the ultimate look at the best and worst matchups in fantasy football leagues based on a full-point PPR scoring system. This column will not cover elite NFL players like Josh Allen, Bijan Robinson, Ja’Marr Chase or Trey McBride. Instead, it will focus on players who could exceed or fall short of their statistical expectations at each position. For all your final lineup decisions, check out my weekly player rankings, which are updated daily. 

Note: Streamers listed are players started in fewer than 50% of Sleeper fantasy leagues.

Byes: Bills, Chargers, Commanders, Jaguars

Fabs’s Top 10 Fantasy Tight End Rankings For Week 7 

1. Trey McBride vs. Broncos
2. Isaiah Likely at Texans 
3. Brock Bowers vs. Rams 
4. George Kittle at Falcons 
5. Sam LaPorta vs. Packers 
6. Tucker Kraft at Lions 
7. Tyler Warren at Vikings 
8. Colston Loveland vs. Patriots (Thurs.)
9. Dallas Goedert vs. Cowboys
10. Kyle Pitts Sr. vs. 49ers

Week 7 Start ’Em Tight Ends

Start of the Week

Tucker Kraft at Lions (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox): Kraft has begun to wake up after a slow start in the stat sheets for the Packers, scoring 36.8 fantasy points over his last three games. I’d keep him active this week, as he faces a Lions defense that has been vulnerable to tight ends. In fact, they already have allowed seven tight ends to score 13-plus points, and no team in the league has allowed more points or a higher EPA per target per game than the Lions. Kraft is a virtual must-start player.

Tucker Kraft adds 6 more to the board 🧀@GBvsTB on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/TGA6Rj6TOv

— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2026

Start ’Em

Dallas Goedert vs. Cowboys (Mon. 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN): Goedert has quietly had a nice start to the year for the Eagles, scoring at least 9.8 fantasy points three times while averaging nearly 12 points per game. He also has seen at least eight targets in two straight games, including last week’s loss to the Panthers with Tanner McKee under center. The Cowboys defense is in the middle of the pack against tight ends, but Goedert’s volume alone makes him an attractive fantasy option.

Tyler Higbee at Raiders (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox): Higbee was held to just 4.2 fantasy points in the Rams; loss last week to the Cardinals, but he did play 84.2% of the offensive snaps. His role should rise moving forward too, as the Rams will be without Davante Adams for the next six to 10 weeks. The offense isn’t shy about using multiple tight-end sets either, so Higbee and Colby Parkinson should both see enough work to be startable against a vulnerable Raiders defense. 

Pat Freiermuth at Saints (Paris 9:30 a.m. ET, NFL Network): Freiermuth didn’t produce high totals last week, as Steelers teammate Darnell Washington scored a touchdown in a win over the Buccaneers. That is always a risk when starting Freiermuth (Washington taking targets), but he’s still a viable play nonetheless in a plus matchup against the Saints. Their defense has allowed two tight ends to score 23-plus points, and it has given up the fifth-highest EPA per target to the position.

More Starts

• Colston Loveland vs. Patriots (Thurs. 8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video)
• Juwan Johnson vs. Steelers (Paris 9:30 a.m. ET, NFL Network)
• AJ Barner vs. Chiefs (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC)

Tight End Streamers

• Darren Waller vs. Buccaneers (12%): Waller's numbers have not been great in his last two games, but the matchup against Tampa Bay is favorable for those in desperate need.
• Kenyon Sadiq vs. Dolphins (9%): Sadiq has been a fantasy failure lately, but he faces a Miami defense that has allowed four different tight ends to sore 10-plus points.
• Colby Parkinson at Raiders (1%): With Davante Adams out, the Rams should run more 12- and 13-personnel. That makes Parkinson a viable streamer this weekend.

Week 7 Sit ’Em Tight Ends

Sit of the Week 

Mark Andrews vs. Bengals (1 p.m. ET, CBS): Andrews has become almost impossible to trust in fantasy lineups, as he has scored in single digits in two straight games and four of six contests this season. This week’s opponent, the Bengals, have allowed the eighth-most points per game to tight ends, but most of that damage was done by Dalton Schultz, who scored 26 points against them in Week 2. So unless you’re desperate, Andrews is better left on the fantasy bench. 

Sit ’Em

Travis Kelce at Seahawks (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC): Kelce had a fast start to the season, scoring 49.1 fantasy points over his first three games. Since then, however, he has been held to just 12.8 points on nine targets for the Chiefs. Chances are you’ll still have to play him as a thin position, but I would temper expectations against the Seahawks. Just one tight end has beaten them for more than 8.8 points, and they’ve allowed the fourth-lowest EPA per target to the position in 2026.

Jake Ferguson at Eagles (Mon. 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN): Ferguson has scored in double digits in just one of his first six games, and he’s started to lose playing time to Brevyn Spann-Ford in Dallas. In fact, Ferguson played just 53.2% of snaps last week, while Spann-Ford played 46.8%. In Week 5, Ferguson played 83.1% of the snaps … that’s a massive decline. The Eagles aren’t a brutal matchup for tight ends, but I simply can’t trust Ferguson given his recent snap count.

Dalton Schultz vs. Giants (1 p.m. ET, Fox): Remember when Schultz had 26 fantasy points back in Week 2? Since then, he has produced a combined 22.2 points and has seen just 15 targets in the last four games. With Nico Collins and Jaylin Noel in the mix and the Texans bringing in Marvin Harrison Jr., Schultz simply won’t see enough targets to be worth starting in fantasy. So even against the Giants, it’s difficult to play Schultz with any confidence.

More Sits

• Harold Fannin Jr. at Titans (1 p.m. ET, CBS)
• Mike Gesicki at Ravens (1 p.m. ET, CBS)
• Michael Mayer vs. Rams (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox)