Week 17 Fantasy Football Tight End Start/Sit: Sam LaPorta, Chig Okonkwo, Jake Ferguson and More
Three tight ends to start and three to sit in Week 17 of the NFL season.
Merry Christmas week! It’s a good week for NFL content, as we have games on five days between Wednesday and next Monday. That means being vigilant in making fantasy lineup decisions for guys playing early in the week, even if you don’t make your final calls until the weekend.
Let’s look at three tight ends to start and three to sit in Week 17 of the NFL season. I used stats from NFL.com and our FantasySP defensive fantasy rankings to help determine the best and worst matchups. I will reference those numbers often.
Start
Juwan Johnson and Foster Moreau, New Orleans Saints vs. Las Vegas Raiders
These two play similar snap numbers, with Moreau holding a slight advantage over the full year. Johnson has better stats, with more receptions (38 vs. 25 for Moreau) and yards (402 to 335), though Moreau has four touchdowns to Johnson’s three.
The matchup makes these guys appealing as low-end fantasy streamers: Vegas is right near the middle in yards per pass attempt allowed but has given up the fourth-most fantasy points to tight ends. The Raiders are fighting for draft position, not playing high-level football in any aspect.
Johnson is the better option, but Moreau is also acceptable if you’re desperate and can’t get the former. You can probably find a better player than either; this is more of a filler for those in deep leagues.
Chig Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Okonkwo was listed here last week when he had a nice matchup against the Colts. He responded by leading his team with nine receptions and 81 yards, his best number all season. That followed his previous best game of the year in Week 15, when he had eight catches for 59 yards against Cincinnati.
The Jags allow the most yards per pass attempt and seventh-most fantasy points per game to tight ends. Jacksonville might be the worst pass defense in the league; no matter what you want to say about Trevor Lawrence not playing like a superstar, the defense lets this team down regularly.
Don’t start Okonkwo over your weekly starter, but he can fill in if you’re desperate. His volume the last two weeks with Mason Rudolph at quarterback portends good things with the veteran QB back under center again this week.
Tommy Tremble, Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tremble is a low-use player who was being overtaken by rookie Ja'Tavion Sanders before the latter suffered a scary injury when he landed on his head. Tremble has played more snaps in each of the three games since Sanders returned, a trend that might hold over the final two games.
Tremble’s best game this year was against the Bucs on December 1, when he caught five passes for 77 yards. Tampa has allowed the 12th-most yards per pass attempt and the fifth-most fantasy points to tight ends, offering one of the best matchups for the position.
Don’t start Tremble unless you’re without any other option, but he does at least have the right matchup if you’re desperate. Sometimes, beggars can’t be choosers.
Sit
Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles
This is all about the matchup. Philadelphia might be the best pass defense in the league, having allowed the least yards per pass attempt. They are also tough on tight ends, as the Eagles have given up the fifth-least fantasy points to the position.
Ferguson is down noticeably from last season, mainly because of being without his top quarterback for much of the season. He also missed a few games, bringing down his counting numbers, but his efficiency has suffered: after averaging over four catches and nearly 45 yards per game last season, Ferguson is still at 4.5 receptions but down to 38.7 yards. Most importantly in fantasy, he hasn’t scored a touchdown (five last year).
With a middling floor and ceiling, a backup quarterback, and a horrible matchup, Ferguson is best left on the bench in the final fantasy week (for most).
Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions @ San Francisco 49ers
LaPorta will end up with a noticeable drop in receptions and yards from his rookie year. He has scored six touchdowns, though that’s also down from last year’s 10. He is on a hot run in December (three games): 16 catches, 208 yards, and a touchdown.
The 49ers offer a really tough matchup, though, enough that both LaPorta and his quarterback, Jared Goff, are risky fantasy plays. San Francisco has allowed the third-least yards per pass attempt and the third-least fantasy points to tight ends. It’s hard to expect the Lions to have a bad offensive game, but if it’s going to happen, this could be the week.
Most fantasy owners aren’t benching LaPorta; in the fantasy championship, it’s easy to trust the guys who got you here. With a tough matchup and a down year from 2023, it’s worth seeing if you have a better outlook at tight end.
Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tennessee Titans
Strange had a great matchup against the Raiders last week and was on the “Start” list. He had a quiet game, with just two catches for 22 yards, and he lost a fumble to take away most of his fantasy points. It was a major disappointment coming off a Week 15 game against the Jets in which Strange caught 11 passes for 73 yards.
The matchup is a lot tougher in this one, as the Titans have allowed the sixth-least yards per pass attempt and seventh-fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends. When these teams faced off in Week 14, quarterback Mac Jones had a modest day with 220 yards while his team scored only 10 points (though they won 10-6). Top tight end Evan Engram had just four catches and 33 yards; Strange did sneak loose for a 21-yard reception in that game.
Those 21 yards might represent his ceiling in this one, though. A tough defense against an uneven second-year player with a backup quarterback in the game isn’t a recipe for success.
