Fantasy Football Week 7 Tight End Start/Sit: Hunter Henry, Dalton Kincaid, Tucker Kraft and More

Three tight ends to start and three to consider benching in Week 7.

Tight end might be the position you spend the least time thinking about each week, and it’s also often the most frustrating on game day. The top scorers each week often come down to who catches a touchdown. The best fantasy players don’t separate themselves until they’ve played a longer stretch of time.

That doesn’t mean it’s not worth putting effort into the position, but it’s important to remember that performances are often very similar, with TDs the only difference. That also means it’s better to save your waiver priority and/or FAAB budgets for other positions with less depending on random events.

Let’s look at three tight ends to start and three to sit in Week 7. I used NFL’s defensive stats and our FantasySP defensive fantasy rankings to help determine the best and worst teams to target. I will reference those numbers often.

Start

Hunter Henry, New England Patriots vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (in London)

I am high on Henry’s new quarterback this week (Drake Maye), so why not maybe the QB's most reliable pass catcher? It starts with Jacksonville’s lack of pass defense: they have been the worst fantasy defense against quarterbacks and have allowed the second-most passing yards per attempt.

They have been a little better against tight ends, sitting in the middle, but that’s a very tight pack, with only a few points separating the middle from third place. A team that allows a lot of passing production is susceptible to being beaten by any pass catching position.

In Maye’s first start last week, he targeted Henry the second most on the team (five, while receiver Demario Douglas had nine targets). We colloquially say that young quarterbacks rely on their tight ends more, and while that’s not always the case, the veteran Henry stands out among New England’s young pass catchers.

He’s only a mid-level streamer, but Henry has a good matchup on a week when both Cole Kmet and Jake Ferguson are out on the bye.

Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Baltimore Ravens

Another quarterback/tight end combo who could excel this week, the Ravens have been one of the worst pass defenses in the league, making Otton and his QB Baker Mayfield good fantasy options. Baltimore has allowed the most passing yards through six weeks and the third-most yards per attempt.

Specific to Otton, they have given up the fifth-most fantasy points per game to tight ends. It looked like Otton might be in line for a good game last week; his team scored 51 points, but the tight end caught just two passes for 15 yards. One of those was a touchdown, saving his fantasy day, but more is expected on such a big day for the offense (325 passing yards).

Otton will always be a complementary option to the great wide receiver duo of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, keeping his value down a little. With a good matchup and possibly a situation in which the team will have to throw to keep up with Baltimore, there’s a decent chance Otton can have a good fantasy Week 7.

Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans @ Green Bay Packers

Schultz hasn’t been very productive, but he has become more involved recently. After three targets in each of the first two weeks, Schultz had back-to-back games with five targets before getting six and eight looks over the past two weeks. It’s a positive trend that could play out with a good fantasy Week 7.

The Packers are a little worse than average in yards per pass attempt allowed; they rank third in most fantasy points per game allowed to tight ends. Tight end matchups are funny sometimes, and a decent defense can allow TEs to go crazy even if they perform well elsewhere, something that has played out here through six weeks.

With more looks and a good matchup, Schultz is on the streaming radar this week. I can’t highly recommend him given his lack of production so far (24 yards per game, no touchdowns), but Schultz is an option if you’re searching.

Sit

Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New York Jets

Despite Pittsburgh going 4-2 over the first six weeks of the season, there are rumblings that Russell Wilson could take over the starting role as early as Week 7. That would change the offense, as Fields is one of the best running quarterbacks in the league, and Wilson is more stationary at this point in his career.

An offense with Wilson at the helm is going to focus more on RB runs and play action rather than using the quarterback as a major part of the running game. That might fall more in Freiermuth’s favor, as Wilson can theoretically get the ball to his receivers more efficiently.

New York is a tough defense no matter who is under center, though, leaving Freiermuth as a hard player to trust this week. He’s averaging less than four receptions per game for around 32 yards, scoring two touchdowns. He has only been over 40 yards once.

The Jets have allowed the third-least yards per pass attempt and seventh-least fantasy points per game to tight ends. While the offense tries to figure out if it’s good enough to make a real run, the defense continues playing like one of the best in the league.

With uncertainty around the quarterback position and a tough matchup, Freiermuth is better served on your bench this week.

Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills vs. Tennessee Titans

Man, the Titans have a bad offense. Particularly the passing game. Will Levis threw 27 times last week against the Colts and gained just 95 yards. DeAndre Hopkins had more than half of those yards. Indianapolis has allowed the eighth-most yards per pass attempt, even considering last week.

The defense has been successful, though, especially against the pass. Tennessee has allowed the least yards per pass attempt and the least fantasy points per game to tight ends.

Their opponents haven’t been great, but the Titans also had reason to believe they would improve coming into the season given the additions of several defensive pieces, most notably cornerback L'Jarius Sneed.

Kincaid hasn’t given much reason for big hope, either. He’s averaging 3.5 catches for 36 yards and has only scored once. Buffalo also made a move to solidify their receiving corps, adding Amari Cooper from the Browns in a trade.

Cooper will probably only be moderately involved in Week 7 as he acclimates to the system in Buffalo and learns the playbook, but it’s another mouth to feed in a passing game that hasn’t seen a ton of volume.

The matchup and circumstances are against Kincaid this week, leaving him with a low floor.

Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers vs. Houston Texans

Kraft had big games in Weeks 4 and 5, giving hope that he could be a weekly starter moving forward. Fellow second-year tight end Luke Musgrave was the higher rated player coming into the season, but Kraft has out-snapped and out-played Musgrave.

Kraft came back to Earth last week, recording just two catches and 13 yards in a game in which his quarterback racked up 258 yards and four touchdowns. Kraft played his usual snaps; he just didn’t put up stats against a Cardinals team in the middle against tight ends.

The matchup this week is much tougher, as the Texans have allowed the third-least fantasy points per game to tight ends and the fourth-least yards per pass attempt. Houston has been a dominant defense at times, ranking second in defensive DVOA.

With a tough matchup and a role that might be inconsistent despite the few big games, Kraft is better suited for your bench this week.

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