Fantasy Football Week 8 Tight End Who Should I Start? Mark Andrews, Kyle Pitts, and More
Comparing Mark Andrews to three tight ends who he has been matched up with often on the FantasySP start/sit tool.
It's tough to let go of big names in fantasy football, and that's why fantasy owners are struggling with Mark Andrews this season. His name still means something, but the player who was a fantasy stud just isn't there right now.
Owners are scrambling to decide whether Andrews will find his form or if this might be a lost fantasy cause. Nearly halfway through the season, we're running out of time to decide.
Andrews has been showing up all over our FantasySP start/sit tool in the lead up to Sunday's games. Let's look at the Baltimore tight end and three players who he has been matched up with often on the start/sit tool. Most stats are from NFL.com.
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Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens vs. Chicago Bears
Andrews only had one truly good game this season, when he caught six passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns in Week 3. There as another game in which he caught seven passes but gained only 30 yards, and he has otherwise topped out at four receptions and 24 yards in any other game.
Lamar Jackson is out for the third straight game, leaving a lower ceiling and floor for every Baltimore pass catcher. Tyler Huntley will start after Cooper Rush failed to get anything going the past two games; that just doesn't inspire confidence.
The Bears have allowed the eighth-most yards per pass attempt, and they sit right in the middle in fantasy points given up to tight ends. Chicago has looked very vulnerable against the pass at times, but TEs haven't been the ones doing the most damage, leaving it as a decent matchup but not a great one.
With his outlook somewhere in the middle and a backup quarterback in the game, I don't feel good about counting on Andrews. He has struggled to be effective all season, and there's a good chance he fails to excel again in this one.
Harold Fannin, Cleveland Browns @ New England Patriots
Fannin has been an important piece for the Browns, who are mostly bereft of pass-catching talent. The rookie tight end leads the team in receptions and receiving yards while ranking second in targets and receiving touchdowns. The problem is that Cleveland has a low-level passing game, so there's generally a ceiling on Fannin's performance, leaving him somewhere in the middle.
The Patriots have allowed the third-most yards per pass attempt, but they are better against tight ends, sitting in the middle in fantasy points allowed to the position. New England has only given up two touchdowns to tight ends all season, and they both came in a Week 4 when they were blowing out the Panthers.
Advice: Start Harold Fannin over Mark Andrews. Despite his lower ceiling, Fannin has actually kept a nice floor most weeks. The matchup is just OK for his position, but New England has allowed a lot of passing success, and Fannin is one of the main pieces in the passing game, so he's sure to be heavily involved.
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots vs. Cleveland Browns
Opposing Fannin is Henry, who had a few big games in the first month of the season but has slowed down since that time, putting up more modest numbers. Over the past three weeks, Henry is averaging just three catches and 35.3 yards per game without scoring a touchdown.
The Browns have a good defense, but their numbers are right around the middle. They have given up the 13th-fewest yards per pass attempt and the 13th-fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends, just a hair better than average in both areas. I'm not looking to go after Cleveland often, but they are a little vulnerable at times.
Advice: Start Mark Andrews over Hunter Henry. Both players have been putting up nothing more than modest numbers lately, and Andrews has the better matchup this week.
Kyle Pitts Sr., Atlanta Falcons vs. Miami Dolphins
If we're talking about good matchups, Pitts might have the best one of any tight end this week. The Dolphins have allowed the fourth-most yards per pass attempt and the 11th-most fantasy points per week to tight ends.
Miami is one of the worst teams in the league, and that extends to their defense. On top of a few injuries, there just isn't much talent on the Dolphins' roster, leaving them struggling to keep up with talented offenses. Miami has given up 29.3 points per game, the fourth-most of any team.
Pitts has been productive this season but more in terms of volume than efficiency. He is on pace to set a new career high in receptions with his second-most yards in any season, but Pitts has also only scored one touchdown, an issue he has dealt with his whole career.
He might actually get a boost this week from his starter missing the game, as Kirk Cousins will start in place of Michael Penix. Penix is the hopeful future in Atlanta, but Cousins has a higher floor and ceiling right now, and that could help the whole Atlanta passing game have a big day against the moribund Miami defense.
Advice: Start Kyle Pitts Sr. over Mark Andrews.
