Week 5 Fantasy Football Tight End Start/Sit: Dalton Kincaid, Evan Engram, Mike Gesicki and More

Three tight ends to start and three to consider benching in Week 5.

The lack of big tight end numbers continued in Week 4: Taysom Hill scored the most standard points at the position, but all his production came from running the ball. The big names aren’t producing big games, and a lot of guys who have found success have one big game and three anonymous ones so far.

It can be the toughest position at which to find fantasy production sometimes, and that means streamers can be most important at TE. Matchups mean more than anything, other than guessing who scores a touchdown, which is usually impossible.

Let’s look at three tight ends to start and three to consider sitting in Week 5 of the NFL season. I used defensive passing stats from NFL.com and our defensive fantasy rankings here at FantasySP to determine which teams were the best and worst to target with tight ends.

Start

Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis Colts

Engram has missed the past three games, leaving a chance of reinjury if he does indeed return, which seems likely given reports. If he isn’t ready to go, Brenton Strange will be in the top spot, as he has seen most of the snaps with Engram out.

Strange registered eight catches, 96 yards, and a touchdown in the three weeks Engram has missed; that’s no great production, but Strange was at least involved in the offense. With a good matchup, Strange and/or Engram have a chance at a good fantasy week.

The Colts have allowed the sixth-most passing yards and seventh-most yards per attempt. They have given up the third-most fantasy points to tight ends, most recently letting Pat Freiermuth turn five receptions into 57 yards and a touchdown.

Cole Kmet found the most success against Indy in Week 3, catching 10 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown. Players at this position have been able to find success against the Colts; injuries keep adding up for the defense also, making everything tougher.

If Engram is in the lineup, he’s worth considering as a start given the matchup. There’s a chance he could reaggravate the injury, bringing risk, but that’s all part of the equation. If Engram is still out, Strange would be a low-end streamer.

Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Baltimore Ravens

Gesicki had the least productive day of his career last week: He had gone catch-less before, but Gesicki’s one catch against Carolina lost nine yards. That’s one reception for negative-nine yards. That’s something.

That was coming off two good games, when Gesicki had seven receptions for 91 yards in Week 2 and four catches for 47 yards in Week 3. Gesicki has been inconsistent but shown he can be part of the solution on offense.

Baltimore has allowed the third-most passing yards and ninth-most yards per attempt. They have given up the second-most fantasy points to tight ends. Travis Kelce’s three catches and 34 yards are the least they’ve given up to any tight end, oddly enough.

The other teams they’ve faced have all had at least six catches and 47 yards from tight ends, with two of those teams hitting 100 yards. With Gesicki the next man up with the good matchup, he’s a good tight end streamer in Week 5.

Foster Moreau, New Orleans Saints @ Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City had maybe the best pass defense in the league last season. They won the Super Bowl because the defense dominated more than because of Patrick Mahomes’ magic touch. It hasn’t been as rosy of an outlook this year.

The Chiefs have allowed the 10th-most passing yards and are in the middle of the league in yards per attempt. This has been a different defense from the shutdown unit of 2023. Tight ends have been able to do the most damage.

Kansas City has allowed the most fantasy points to tight ends. Isaiah Likely and Gesicki did major damage in the first two weeks. Kyle Pitts had only two catches in Week 3, but they went for 59 yards. Week 4 was admittedly slow for Chargers’ tight ends, but was anyone really expecting anything from Hayden Hurst and Will Dissly?

Moreau has played the most snaps among New Orleans tight ends. Juwan Johnson played eight more snaps in Week 4 after Moreau led the group in the first three weeks; Hill has been in and out of the lineup.

It’s tough to expect big numbers, but Moreau is worth considering as a streamer. Given the split work with Johnson, the latter could be the guy to benefit from the good matchup, but I prefer Moreau’s status as the player on the field most.

Sit

Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Dallas Cowboys

Freiermuth has had four or five receptions in every game this season. He only reached 40 yards or scored a touchdown last week against the Colts, who we mentioned above as a good matchup to target. Freiermuth’s volume catches haven’t turned into big yardage.

The Cowboys are in the top five against fantasy tight ends, only allowing David Njoku more than one catch (he hit 44 yards, a fine day). The other three teams Dallas faced had their tight ends top out at one catch and six yards, and that included the Likely/Mark Andrews duo in Baltimore.

Dallas just hasn’t allowed opposing tight ends to do anything outside of the modest Week 1, and Freiermuth is coming up against the wrong matchup to expect much fantasy production.

Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills @ Houston Texans

I expected Kincaid to break out in his second season since Buffalo lacked top receivers, but that hasn’t been the case. He has averaged around three catches and 33 yards per game, not topping five catches or 50 yards in any contest. It’s been…middling, as we’d expect from any tight end.

Kincaid is second on the team in targets, receptions, yards, and touchdowns (tied with four other guys with just a single TD). Those numbers have only been modest, though, leaving him as more of a questionable fantasy player week to week rather than a sure starter.

Houston has allowed the third-least fantasy points to tight ends, not allowing anyone more than Kmet’s four catches for 27 yards in Week 2. A defense that became successful last season is continuing that performance this year, and they have shined against TEs.

A tight end who hasn’t taken off is facing a team that has excelled against his position, making Kincaid a player to consider benching in Week 5.

David Njoku, Cleveland Browns @ Washington Commanders

Njoku has missed the past three games with injury, but he is returning to practice and could play in Week 5. There’s always a chance of reinjury, making Njoku a risky player regardless of other circumstances.

He also has a matchup against a Commanders team that has allowed the second-least fantasy points to tight ends. Washington’s pass defense has been bad since last season, but they have done well against this position.

The Commanders brought in multiple new starters at linebacker and safety, the positions that line up against tight ends most, so there is a reason that they would improve against the in-line receivers. That has been the case so far, as Washington has allowed more than five yards to a tight end just once (Gesicki’s four catches for 47 yards in Week 3).

With injury possibly causing him to miss the game anyway, Njoku is a risky player to count on in Week 5. If he doesn’t play, his backups aren’t worth consideration.

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