Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Fantasy Football Week 15: Tight Ends - Sleepers, Fades, Matchups, DFS Bargains

As long as Josh Allen starts for Bills, Dawson Knox should be a popular target.

Author:
Michael Fabiano
Updated:
Dec 17, 2021
Original:
Dec 15, 2021

Start ‘Em, Sit 'Em is the ultimate look at the best and worst matchups based on a PPR scoring system in fantasy football. This column will not cover the elite players in the NFL like Patrick Mahomes, Christian McCaffrey, Davante Adams or Travis Kelce. Instead, I'll look at the players you have the most questions about to help you set the most effective starting lineup possible. For all of your final fantasy lineup decisions, be sure to check out my weekly player rankings which will be updated daily throughout the 2021 NFL season.

Week 15 Start ‘Em: Tight Ends

Start of the Week

Dawson Knox vs. Panthers (1 p.m. ET, Fox): Knox doesn’t have a great matchup on paper, as the Panthers have allowed just one tight end to score more than 11.1 fantasy points against them this season. Still, Knox has been targeted at least six times and put up at least 14 fantasy points in three of his last four games. He’s also seen seven red-zone looks in those four contests. As long as Josh Allen starts, Knox is a start ‘em.

Start ‘Em

Mike Gesicki vs. Jets (1 p.m. ET, CBS): Gesicki has been tough to trust, as his stat lines have been inconsistent and unreliable for most of the season. I’d keep the faith this week, though, as the veteran faces a Jets defense that’s allowed the eighth-most fantasy points per game to tight ends since Week 9. Gesicki also beat them for five catches and 10 fantasy points in their first contest of the season, so I’d start him again.

Dallas Goedert vs. Football Team (Tues. 7 p.m. ET, Fox): Goedert’s matchup doesn’t look great on paper, as the Football Team has allowed the third-fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends since Week 9. However, their defense did give up 14.7 points to Gerald Everett in Week 13 and has allowed five tight ends to score double digits on the season. Goedert has also seen at least six targets in four of his last six games.

Zach Ertz at Lions (1 p.m. ET, Fox): The Cardinals will be without DeAndre Hopkins for the rest of the regular season, leaving more targets in the passing game. That makes the veteran tight end an attractive option this weekend against the Lions, who have allowed an average of more than 13 fantasy points a game to the position. In all, nine tight ends have beaten Detroit's defense for double-digit fantasy points this season.

More Starts

Pat Freiermuth vs. Titans (1 p.m. ET, CBS)
Gerald Everett at Rams (Tues. 7 p.m. ET, Fox)
David Njoku vs. Raiders (Mon. 5 p.m. ET, NFL)

DFS Bargains

Mike Gesicki vs. Jets ($5,000)
Tyler Higbee vs. Seahawks ($4,000)
Ricky Seals-Jones at Eagles ($3,400)

Week 15 Sit ‘Em: Tight Ends

Sit of the Week

Kyle Pitts at 49ers (4:05 p.m. ET, Fox): Pitts will be a fantasy starter in most leagues this week, so consider this more of a beware than a firm sit ‘em. He’s failed to score in double digits in five of his last seven games, and this week’s matchup versus the 49ers is a tough one. Their defense has allowed the second-fewest points to tight ends, and just one player at the position has scored more than 12.8 fantasy points against them.

Sit ‘Em

Dalton Schultz at Giants (1 p.m. ET, Fox): Schultz was one of the top tight ends in fantasy football earlier in the season, but the healthy return of Michael Gallup hurt his target share. In fact, he’s seen just eight targets in his last two games (one of which saw Amari Cooper get a limited snap count). The matchup against the Giants isn’t bad on paper, but it’s tough to trust Schultz when the Cowboys’ top three wideouts are active.

Noah Fant vs. Bengals (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS): Fant has failed to score double digits in all but one of his last six games, and his targets have been limited to just four in four of his last five. Fant is also losing work to Albert Okwuegbunam, who found the end zone last week against the Lions. This week’s matchup against the Bengals is also great on paper, but that’s due to them giving up big games to George Kittle and Darren Waller.

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Cole Kmet vs. Vikings (Mon. 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN): Kmet took a step back in terms of his fantasy value last week, scoring a mere 4.7 fantasy points against the Packers. He has now failed to score more than 7.1 fantasy points in three of his last four games, and a matchup against the Vikings makes him a fade this week. Their defense is bad against wideouts, but it’s allowed just four touchdowns to opposing tight ends in 2021.

More Sits

C.J. Uzomah at Broncos (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS)
Evan Engram vs. Cowboys (1 p.m. ET, Fox)
Jack Doyle vs. Patriots (Sat. 8:15 p.m. ET, NFL)

DFS Fades

Kyle Pitts at 49ers ($5,500)
Dalton Schultz at Giants ($4,900)
Noah Fant vs. Bengals ($4,400)

Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on Sports Illustrated and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. Click here to read all his articles here on SI Fantasy. You can follow Michael on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram for your late breaking fantasy news and the best analysis in the business!