Fantasy Football Week 1 Tight End Start/Sit: 3 Starts, 3 Sits, Including Kelce and Goedert

Things have already started rough at tight end. It's the toughest offensive fantasy position at which to find production, and now news came down on Wednesday that Brock Bowers will miss the first game or two after meniscus cleanup surgery. Owners who took the Raider TE in the second or third round are surely flustered, and it weakens a position that already is strained for decent options every week.

There is still some value to be found, though, and really, you might just be looking to get lucky enough to choose the guy who falls into the end zone. That's the best we can hope for at TE some weeks.

Let's look at three tight ends to start and three to sit in Week 1 of the NFL season. This won't include any obvious calls; you don't need me to tell you to start Trey McBride. Instead, we have six guys below who are worth starting some weeks but might be better kept on the bench other times. Most stats are from NFL.com, and previous fantasy points/rankings are from FantasyPros.

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Start

Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Gesicki had a decent year in 2024, catching 65 passes for 665 yards, but that's the only time since 2021 that he was over 32 receptions or 362 yards. There is intrigue given some of his past exploits, but it's hard to trust a player who hasn't consistently put up numbers in nearly a half-decade. There is also buzz around Erick All Jr., a 2024 fourth-round pick who had an anonymous rookie season then missed all of 2025. I'm not ready to count on All, but his presence could take away from Gesicki.

Instead of Gesicki, this is more about the matchup. The Bucs allowed the sixth-most yards per pass attempt and the fifth-most fantasy points per game to tight ends last season. They made possible upgrades at linebacker by signing Alex Anzalone and drafting Josiah Trotter in the second round, and that could improve the defense against TEs, but until we see it, Tampa might be vulnerable to the position once again.

Gesicki is more of a low-end streaming option. You can probably find a better player in Week 1, but if you're in a deep league or find yourself desperate on Saturday night/Sunday morning, you could do worse than this matchup.

Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Commanders

Washington has a similar outlook to Tampa Bay: they allowed the third-most yards per pass attempt and the fourth-most fantasy points per game to tight ends last season. Also like the Bucs, the Commanders made a few defensive additions that could help specifically against the position, signing safety Nick Cross away from the Colts and drafting linebacker Sonny Styles seventh overall. I'm still intrigued in going after Washington, but there is reason to think that they will be better defensively.

Goedert had a major outlier year in 2025, catching 11 touchdowns after previously never topping five. Though his 60 catches and 591 yards were mostly in line with his career numbers, Goedert finished as TE2 in standard and less than 10 points from TE3 in PPR. There's no way to project him to come close to that TD number again, and that will likely make Goedert a middling fantasy player, but with the matchup possibly in his favor here, he has a decent outlook in Week 1 if you don't have a solid option at the position.

Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Cincinnati Bengals

Otton has been pretty consistent in his career, averaging around 52 receptions, 505 yards, and three touchdowns per year. He has never been more than 10 catches, 114 yards, or two scores from those numbers, always finishing in the same range. It makes sense to expect more of the same, and that leaves us with a player who isn't highly desirable in fantasy but can be a lower-level streamer in the right matchups. As we're about to see, this is the right matchup…

Cincinnati was by far the worst defense against tight ends last season. On top of giving up the most fantasy points to the position by a wide margin, they also allowed the fourth-most yards per pass attempt. The Bengals have been rough defensively for a while, and I want to see them do anything positive before I start believing that they can shut down anyone, particularly at tight end.

You might have a better option than Otton in Week 1, but if you just realized that you lost Bowers for a few weeks or have a guy with a rough matchup, then this situation could create some value to open the season.

Sit

Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos

The Broncos had a devastating pass defense last season, allowing the second-fewest yards per pass attempt. That wasn't a new phenomenon either, as they were fifth best in the same category the year prior. They weren't quite as staunch against tight ends, sitting in the middle in fantasy points allowed to the position, but Denver is a team that has held down opponents on offense for several years and doesn't present a great matchup for anyone.

Kelce is back again, about to turn 37 but coming off a fairly productive season by tight end standards. He didn't live up to his own lofty play from his best years, but Kelce's 76 catches, 851 yards, and five touchdowns made him a top-five TE in both standard and PPR. We expect more of a fall off this season because that's just what happens to players as they age, but Kelce is likely to have some good games and some quiet games, like most tight ends.

He might be a tough player to bench given his name recognition, but if he doesn't find the end zone, it could be a slow start to the season for the future Hall of Famer.

Chig Okonkwo, Washington Commanders @ Philadelphia Eagles

Okonkwo spent several years as an expected breakout player in Tennessee, but that never came to fruition, as Okonkwo topped out at 56 receptions, 560 yards, and three touchdowns in any season (and not all in the same year). His last three years have been remarkably consistent, with between 52-56 catches, 479-560 yards, and one or two touchdowns, but that kept him outside the top-20 tight ends every season in both formats, and something similar can be expected again this year.

Philadelphia allowed the fifth-fewest yards per pass attempt last season and gave up the fewest fantasy points to tight ends. The Eagles have had a stout defense for the past few years and bring back many of their best players. They are probably going to be among the best defensive teams again, and with the way they shut down TEs last season, I don't want to test them with any player at the position outside of the top guys.

Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans vs. Buffalo Bills

Buffalo is another team that has been strong defensively for the past few years and is expected to have another top unit this season. They gave up the fourth-fewest yards per pass attempt and the second-fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends in 2025, showing both overall dominance and the ability to shut down this position.

Schultz set a career high with 82 catches last season and was just under his previous high with 777 yards. That left him as TE10 in PPR and TE12 in standard, a player who is worth considering for your lineup in the right matchups but isn't a weekly starter. While his numbers might fall back a little, he will probably be the same type of fantasy player this year. With the matchup against him in a big way in this game, it's best to leave Schultz on the bench in Week 1.