George Kittle Is Out: Here Is the Only Elite Tight End Left Standing

Building a fantasy lineup becomes tougher as the playoffs progress because we have fewer players to choose from. At a position like quarterback, there are always going to be strong fantasy guys, but it's not so simple at tight end.

It's hard to find impact TEs any time during the season, but that's especially true now that we are down to eight teams. As you'll see below, the pickings are slim at the top of the position.

Let's look at three tight ends who are worth considering and three who are better left out of your fantasy lineup in the Divisional Round (plus the clear top player remaining at the position). Most stats are from NFL.com.

Use FantasySP's weekly projections to compare players and help make your toughest lineup decisions!

Start

Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears vs. Los Angeles Rams

I just want to quickly touch on Loveland before getting into it because he's the only potential fantasy star left after George Kittle's injury last week. The Rams present an OK matchup, a little better than average in yards per pass attempt allowed and right in the middle in fantasy points given up to tight ends.

Loveland emerged as a strong fantasy player after the first month, and he announced his presence with authority last week, catching eight passes for 137 yards in a tough matchup with the Packers. Loveland is the Start of the Week, and the guys below are better to consider if you want a cheaper DFS option.

AJ Barner, Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers

Barner showed flashes this season but is just a middling player overall. He averaged around three catches and 30 yards per game while catching six touchdowns, ranking as TE14 in both standard and PPR while playing all 17 games.

In the two games against San Francisco, Barner combined for just three receptions and 14 yards. He has a low floor and recent history showing that he struggles in this matchup; Barner isn't a great option.

His matchup is one of the best remaining, though, the reason for his inclusion here. The 49ers finished right in the middle in yards per pass attempt allowed, and they gave up the sixth-most fantasy points to tight ends. The position averaged close to six receptions and 55 yards per game against San Francisco with 11 touchdowns.

I'm not expecting big things out of Barner, and we have seen him fail against this team, but the matchup is right, particularly considering that we're in the postseason. He's an OK low-cost bet.

Colby Parkinson, Los Angeles Rams @ Chicago Bears

All season, Parkinson's fantasy appeal came through scoring touchdowns. He put up modest numbers (three catches and 27 yards per game) but scored all eight of his touchdowns in his final nine games, finding the end zone in six different contests. The pattern continued last week, as Parkinson caught two passes for 34 yards and a TD.

The Bears might be the team that is more vulnerable than the 49ers, as they were worse against the pass (seventh-most yards per pass attempt allowed) but better against tight ends (right in the middle in fantasy points given up to TEs). The position averaged around 5.5 catches and 50 yards per game but scored just six touchdowns, explaining the better fantasy performance.

I love Matthew Stafford's chances of succeeding this week, and his pass catchers would be beneficiaries. You won't get much volume out of Parkinson, but he is dangerous near the end zone. While there is a low floor if he doesn't score, there are much worse options than Parkinson this week.

Jake Tonges, San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks

Kittle's Achilles injury might put him out for all of next season as well, and it just adds to a brutal season in terms of players getting hurt. Kittle missed six full games and played less than one-third of the snaps in another. He will be 33 before he returns from this injury, so there are serious questions about what Kittle will be for the rest of his career.

In the seven games that Kittle either missed or only played sparingly, Tonges averaged 4.6 receptions and 40.6 yards per game with four touchdowns. Over a full season, that would work out to just under 80 catches, 700 yards, and 10 touchdowns.

The Seahawks were fantastic against the pass, allowing the fewest yards per pass attempt of any team. They weren't as good against tight ends, allowing the 12th-most fantasy points to the position. That was more a product of volume (6.2 catches and 63.5 yards per game) and not just touchdowns (six).

It's tough to trust a bench player like Tonges when we get this deep into the year, but without many great options, he's actually one of the best low-cost DFS tight ends. San Francisco always puts up numbers (aside from the Week 18 matchup between these teams), and with their pass-catching group in flux, Tonges could again get volume and be a red zone threat.

Sit

Evan Engram, Denver Broncos vs. Buffalo Bills

Engram never emerged as a real weapon this season, averaging 3.1 catches and 28.8 yards per game with just one touchdown. There were high hopes, but this performance will keep Engram from being drafted in fantasy next season if he's back in Denver.

The matchup is also tough, as the Bills allowed the fourth-fewest yards per pass attempt and the second-fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends. Travis Kelce had 66 yards against Buffalo this year and Mike Gesicki 86 and a touchdown in one of the most random performances of the season, but no other TE reached 50 yards, and only three others got to 30 yards.

There's just no upside here. Engram's only hope of fantasy relevance is scoring a touchdown, and that's risky to count on this time of year.

Hunter Henry, New England Patriots vs. Houston Texans

Henry was also listed as a player to sit last week against the Chargers. He ended up with a good line, gaining 64 yards and scoring a touchdown, but that came on just three catches; it could have easily been a slow game.

I'm going back to the well and recommending that you leave Henry on the bench again, as he might be facing the best defense in football in this game. Houston allowed the seventh-fewest yards per pass attempt and the 11th-fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends.

Those numbers don't truly show the Texans' impact, as they gave up the second-fewest points this season, just three more than Seattle. They held Pittsburgh to six points last week, and this could be another low-scoring contest. Every New England player is at risk of a slow fantasy game.

Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills @ Denver Broncos

Kincaid was another guy listed as a “Sit” last week who makes his second appearance of the postseason. Like Henry, he also caught a touchdown, though he had just 28 yards on three receptions.

Denver is one of the few teams that could argue with Houston for having the best defense; it's the unit that drove the team to the top seed in the AFC. They gave up the second-fewest yards per pass attempt, though they are in the middle in fantasy points allowed to tight ends.

Kincaid, Dawson Knox, and rookie Jackson Hawes all get involved for the Bills, taking away from Kincaid versus if he were the clear top guy. It makes sense to think that he will eventually emerge as the clear best of the group (he might have already), but Kincaid has looked more like a good player through his first three years than the first-round pick that he was.

With a tougher matchup, I'm staying away from Kincaid this week. I prefer Loveland if you don't mind spending or one of the low-cost guys listed in the “Start” section.