Tight End Start 'Em, Sit 'Em For Fantasy Football Week 5

Michael Fabiano | Oct 4, 2025

Mark Andrews is a sit in fantasy football week 5. / Sports Illustrate

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 Josh Allen, Bijan Robinson or Ja’Marr Chase. Instead, I'll look at the players who could exceed or fail to meet expectations at each position. For all of your final fantasy lineup decisions, be sure to check out my weekly player rankings, which will be updated daily throughout the 2025 NFL season.

Fab's Top 10 Fantasy Tight End Rankings Week 5

1. Trey McBride vs. Titans
2. Jake Ferguson at Jets
3. Tyler Warren vs. Raiders
4. Sam LaPorta at Bengals
5. Travis Kelce at Jaguars (Mon.)
6. Zach Ertz at Chargers
7. Juwan Johnson vs. Giants
8. Dallas Goedert vs. Broncos
9. Dalton Kincaid vs. Patriots
10. T.J. Hockenson at Browns (London)

Complete Week 5 tight end rankings

Byes: Bears, Falcons, Packers, Steelers

All Positions: QBs | RBs | WRs | DEFs & Ks

Week 5 Start ‘Em: Tight Ends

Start of the Week

Sam LaPorta at Bengals (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox): LaPorta has struggled over the last three weeks, scoring a combined 19.8 fantasy points on just 12 targets. Still, it’s tough to sit a player like LaPorta during the bye weeks, and a matchup against the Bengals is positive. Their defense has allowed two tight ends to beat them for 13-plus points in their first four games, and this could be a high-scoring affair.

Start ‘Em

Dallas Goedert vs. Broncos (1 p.m. ET, CBS): Goedert has quietly put up great totals this season, scoring a combined 41.4 fantasy points in his first three games. I’d keep him in lineups this week too, as he faces a Broncos defense that’s allowed 9.6 or more points to tight ends in two of their last three games. That doesn’t sound like much, but you’ll take that sort of total at what is a thin position.

Dalton Kincaid vs. Patriots (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC): Kincaid only caught one pass last week, but it went for a 28-yard touchdown and was good enough to score 9.8 PPR points. He has averaged 12.5 points on the year, and while his snaps have gone down in four straight games, I’d keep him in starting lineups against the Patriots. Three tight ends have beaten them for 11-plus points in the first four weeks.

Juwan Johnson vs. Giants (1 p.m. ET, CBS): Johnson’s streak of double-digit fantasy games ended last week, as he scored just 5.8 points against the Bills. Still, he’s averaging 12.1 points for the season, which ranks in the top 12, and he’s third in terms of targets at the position. The Giants aren’t bad against tight ends, but enemy offenses have targeted them 38 times (tied for second most) in 2025.

More Starts

• Jake Tonges at Rams (Thurs. 8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video)
• Dalton Schultz at Ravens (1 p.m. ET, CBS)
• Zach Ertz at Chargers (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox)

Week 5 Sit ‘Em: Tight Ends

Sit of the Week

Mark Andrews vs. Texans (1 p.m. ET, CBS): Andrews had just 30 yards in last week’s loss to the Chiefs, making it three times in four games where he’d been held to 30 or fewer yards. He also saw his snap count drop with the return of Isaiah Likely. He will be without Lamar Jackson (hamstring) too. Andrews also faces a Texans team that has allowed just 32 yards per game to tight ends in 2025.

Sit ‘Em

Hunter Henry at Bills (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC): Henry is on a nice hot streak, scoring 40.9 combined points in his last two games. However, he’s been targeted three or fewer times in two of those three games, and he’s averaged just 6.5 points in eight career games against the Bills. What’s more, Buffalo has allowed just one tight end to beat them for 11.3 or more points in their last 10 home games.

David Njoku vs. Vikings (9:30 a.m. ET, NFL Network): Njoku is no longer the featured tight end in Cleveland, as Harold Fannin Jr. has played more snaps and seen more targets after four weeks. And while it’s still tough to sit Njoku at a thin position, he’s no longer a reliable fantasy option. Also, the Vikings have allowed just two tight ends to score double digits against them since Week 14 2024.

Brenton Strange vs. Chiefs (Mon. 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC): Strange has been solid to start the season, scoring at least 9.9 points in three of his first four games. He does have a tough matchup this week though, as he faces a Chiefs defense that’s allowed just 7.1 points per game to tight ends this season. What’s more, only one has scored more than 11 points against them since Week 14 2024.

More Sits

• David Njoku vs. Vikings (9:30 a.m. ET, NFL Network)
• Evan Engram at Eagles (1 p.m. ET, CBS)
• Cade Otton at Seahawks (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS)