Fantasy Football Week 10 TE Start/Sit: Matchup Outlooks for Bowers, Waller, and More

There were rumors around several tight ends possibly getting moved at the trade deadline, but none of those came to fruition, leaving guys like Dallas Goedert stuck in low-ceiling, low-floor situations. We selfishly want a lot of moves as fans because it brings excitement, and fantasy owners have an extra incentive of getting more useful players, but unfortunately, we're stuck with an underwhelming tight end landscape.

Let's look at three tight ends to start and three to sit (plus a bonus) in Week 10 of the fantasy football season. Most stats are from NFL.com, and fantasy points and rankings are from FantasyPros.

Use FantasySP's start/sit tool to compare players and help make your toughest lineup decisions each week!

Start

AJ Barner, Seattle Seahawks @ Las Vegas Raiders

Barner was also listed here as a player to start last week against the Cardinals, and I noted that he isn't used much but had a fantastic matchup and a little extra benefit from running the Tush Push, which could gain him a rushing touchdown. Well, Barner ended up with both a receiving touchdown and a rushing touchdown, though he only caught two passes for seven yards as Seattle's defense dominated Arizona.

The matchup might be even better this week: Las Vegas has allowed the fifth-most yards per pass attempt and the fifth-most fantasy points per game to tight ends. They have given up eight touchdowns to the position and at least four catches and 40 yards in six of nine games (and eight catches for 38 yards in another). There are very few teams more giving to tight ends.

Barner has a low floor; he's only averaging 2.6 receptions and 23.3 yards per game. With a great matchup and the added benefit again of a possible Tush Push score, Barner is a feasible low-level streamer this week against the Raiders.

Hunter Henry and Eli Raridon, New England Patriots @ Detroit Lions

There's always a worry when considering two players at the same position, as they inevitably take away from each other. A third-round rookie, Raridon started with more limited snaps but has been playing just a little less than Henry in most games since Week 4. Henry left Week 8 with an injury early, and Raridon out-snapped him 36-31 last week after Henry was limited in practice. It's reasonable to think they will play close to the same amount again in Week 10.

The matchup is the reason that we are mentioning these guys. The Lions are right in the middle in terms of yards per pass attempt allowed, but they have given up by far the most fantasy points per game to tight ends this season. Tight end groups are averaging eight receptions and 88 yards per game against Detroit while scoring 11 touchdowns in eight games.

I prefer Henry because he's the veteran player, but he is still dealing with that foot injury, so Raridon deserves consideration. Both guys have nice ceilings with floors a little lower than we'd like, but I would feel fine with either player in my lineup (especially Henry).

Darren Waller, Carolina Panthers @ New Orleans Saints

Waller had his best game of the season on Sunday, catching eight passes for 90 yards and a touchdown. That came against a Broncos team that has been good against the pass but struggled against tight ends, and Waller took advantage of that positive matchup.

This is another strong matchup, as the Saints have given up the ninth-most yards per pass attempt and the seventh-most fantasy points per game to tight ends. Seven of eight teams got over 40 yards from their tight ends against New Orleans so far, and five of them reached at least 50. The Saints are a team we will keep targeting with this position whenever we can.

Waller generally plays less than 60% of the snaps, but he is a target in the red zone, and he has shown that he can succeed on any given week. While I don't want to trust him every game, Waller has a chance to put together another good performance in this one.

Sit

Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders vs. Seattle Seahawks

Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Rams

Let's get this out of the way up front: most owners will never consider benching either of these guys. I completely get it. They are both superstars at their position and the de facto WR1 for their respective teams. I'm not even saying that you should necessarily consider leaving either guy out of your lineup, but I want to talk about their outlooks this week with rookie quarterbacks making their first starts in bad matchups.

Fernando Mendoza was the first overall pick, but he is playing a Seahawks team that has allowed the fewest yards per pass attempt and the fifth-fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends. Carson Beck was drafted in the third round, and less is expected out of him than Mendoza; he faces the Rams, who have given up the third-fewest yards per attempt and eighth-fewest fantasy points to TEs.

There's a chance that both Bowers and McBride could disappoint this week. If you have another strong option and don't mind taking a risk, this could be one of the only times you would bench either player. I'm not suggesting that you actually do leave either guy out, but it's worth considering.

T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings @ Green Bay Packers

Hockenson has a brand-new quarterback who is expected to look much better than the previous guys, so all should be good, right? Well, I'm not so sure. Hockenson has mostly been middling or worse this season, and he is dealing with a few minor injuries. Kirk Cousins brings a bigger ceiling and floor, but there's another issue here.

Green Bay has allowed the fourth-fewest yards per pass attempt and the second-fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends. The Packers were a little uneven to start the season, but the defense has clamped down and shut down the tight end position, only giving up 40 yards four times in nine games with two touchdowns.

Hockenson actually scored a TD in Week 1 when these teams played, but he only had 36 yards on four catches. While the floor is higher this time, I'm not expecting him to put up big numbers, and he'll have to score again to put up a decent fantasy score.

Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings

Let's look at the other side of the Green Bay-Minnesota matchup, where the other defense has been even better. The Vikings have given up the eighth-fewest yards per pass attempt and the fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends. They have only given up more than 40 yards three times to the position and didn't allow a touchdown to a TE until last week against the Bills on a scramble drill where Josh Allen simply made a great play (as he does).

Kraft is another guy who has been middling most of the season, averaging four catches and 39 yards per game with three touchdowns. There have been a few good games, but Kraft has mostly been inefficient while his wide receiver teammates get shots down the field, and it has left him around TE10 while not yet having his bye. Most owners who drafted him were surely expecting more.

With a tough matchup and a guy who hasn't been great, this is probably a week in which it's better to look for another option. Kraft did have three catches and 65 yards in Week 1 against the Vikings, but I'm not looking for him to put up a good score unless he can find the end zone.