Week 3 Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Kyle Pitts vs. Tucker Kraft

The two TE1s who will be in action on Thursday night, Green Bay Packers TE Tucker Kraft and Atlanta Falcons TE Kyle Pitts, are both coming off bad fantasy football outings in Week 2. Kraft had two receptions for 15 yards, and Pitts had one reception for 15 yards. Here is a breakdown of who is more likely to bounce back and be the better fantasy start in Week 3.

Kyle Pitts

While Pitts' lack of production to start the 2026 season has been drastic, fantasy managers should not yet fully hit the panic button. Through the first two games, the Falcons have been starting veteran QB Cooper Rush. He has been one of the worst QBs so far in 2026, throwing for a combined 229 yards and having a 1-4 TD-to-INT ratio. For Thursday, Atlanta will be rolling out a new starting signal caller, Michael Penix Jr.

Having Penix Jr. over Rush should boost the ceiling of Pitts somewhat—it can not be worse. But fantasy managers should not jump to the conclusion that he will get back to posting the fantasy numbers he had in the latter half of the 2025 season. In the nine games Penix Jr. appeared in as Pitts' QB in 2025, Pitts recorded 38 receptions for 375 yards and one TD. In the 10 games Kirk Cousins appeared in, Pitts had 56 receptions, 606 yards, and four TDs.

In regard to the defense the Falcons will be taking on in Week 3, the Packers’ defense, through two games they have not yet played an upper-tier fantasy TE going based on where their ADPs were a month ago. They have done well at limiting receiving yards to the opposing TE1s they have played, giving up 17 yards on two receptions in Week 2 to New York Jets Kenyon Sadiq and 36 yards on four receptions to Minnesota Vikings in Week 1. However, Hockenson did find the end zone one time, which allowed him to put forth a solid fantasy outing.

Also notable, in 2025 Green Bay allowed the 10th fewest PPR fantasy points to opposing TEs. With that and their small sample size in 2026, they should be viewed as a well above average defense for Pitts to go against in fantasy.

Tucker Kraft

Kraft, despite having more pass-catching opportunities in 2026, with Green Bay’s receiving yards leader now being on the New England Patriots (Romeo Doubs), has yet to post any sort of elite fantasy points total. That could change in Week 3, with Kraft having even more opportunity, as WR Jayden Reed is out for the game with an injury.

The Falcons in 2025 allowed the third-fewest PPR fantasy points to opposing TEs in the NFL. However, this season that same level of defense has not been present. In Week 1, Pittsburgh Steelers TE1, Pat Freiermuth, had five receptions for 46 yards and a TD against them. In Week 2, Carolina Panthers TE Darren Waller had three receptions for 33 yards and two TDs against them. Both Freiermuth and Waller finished inside the top six of highest-scoring TEs in PPR fantasy formats the week they faced Atlanta.

Final Verdict

When it comes to who should start and who should sit in fantasy football in Week 3 between Pitts and Kraft, Pitts should sit, and Kraft should start.

Kraft has a way better matchup. Then, taking into account the added target share he will get with Reed out, makes him a better fantasy play than Pitts. That is especially true with Pitts subpar production in 2025 while Penix Jr. was his starting QB.

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