NFL DFS Week 11 TE Coach: Top DraftKings & FanDuel Picks

Published: Nov 16, 2023

Last week was another good NFL DFS slate for tight ends, anchored by the high-end play of T.J. Hockenson and the value play of Trey McBride who finished as TE1 and TE2 on DraftKings. NFL Week 11 is an interesting one because the values from different platforms don’t necessarily match up, so it’s a great week to price shop. Make sure you check the actual write-ups to not only see who you should play but also where – on DraftKings or FanDuel! Let's now dive into the top NFL DFS picks, values, and fades at tight end for NFL Week 11.

Be sure to check out the rest of the NFL DFS Coaches and DFS Watch List throughout the week!

As a reminder, here is how we separate the groups here. We do it this way so that you have an option no matter how much (or how little) money you have available to spend on tight end.

Top Tier: the safest and most expensive guys available if you want to pay up

Mid Tier: affordable players that offer the best bang for your buck

Value Tier: the bargain bin players that are risky by nature but can have the huge upside in terms of value created

Fades: The guys we feel are the worst value proposition that you should actively avoid

NFL DFS Week 11 TE Top-Tier Picks

Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions

Sam LaPorta is our big pay-up option this week with both Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews off the main slate. And we’ll explain below in the fades section why we don’t love Kittle. LaPorta had a down week last week in the box score but everything behind the scenes was normal. He’s still playing a ton of snaps, running a ton of routes, and he’s tight end four in both targets and receptions. If you think about some of these matchups for the Bears, Gerald Everett missed the Chargers game and the Panthers don’t really utilize the tight ends much. Even with dud games like that, the Panthers are 20th against the position so LaPorta should be just fine. LaPorta is fairly evenly priced across the board at 12% of your budget on Yahoo, 11.6% on DK, and 11.17% on FanDuel but FanDuel never gives us discounts on cheap guys so I’m using LaPorta if I play over there.

Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans

This one should be fairly popular given his stretch of games lately and we are a little worried about the return of Nico Collins but Noah Brown also popped up on the injury report. This is another one where, on paper, the Cardinals look like they are pretty good vs the tight end ranked 8th against the position but have they REALLY been that good? David Njoku scored on them. Mark Andrews scored. Waller had six for 76 on a bum hammy. Then look at the other games. Kittle didn’t do much but that was because CMC scored at will with three touchdowns. Irv Smith Jr missed the Bengals game but that didn’t matter because Ja'Marr Chase scored 3 TDs too. The Seahawks' tight ends don’t do much. The Cardinals are more of just a bad defense where you can do whatever you want. Schultz is actually more expensive than LaPorta on FanDuel so we definitely aren’t using him there. On DraftKings he’s 10% which isn’t bad and on Yahoo he’s 9.5% but we have a Yahoo play we like better in the next section.

NFL DFS Week 11 TE Mid-Tier Picks

Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills

Kincaid has been playing so well that catching five of six targets actually DROPPED him completion percentage (which still leads all tight ends at 88.2%. The pass he dropped could have been caught but it was an absolute LASER from like five yards out by Josh Allen. Since Dawson Knox has been out, Kincaid has been the TE3 in scoring and this matchup plays right into his skillset. The Jets defense plays zone about 70% of the time and DJ Reed and Sauce Gardner stay outside the whole game. So this is one where Kincaid could dink and dunk his way to a lot of receptions. Kincaid is affordable on all three platforms where he is 9.8% on DraftKings and 9.67% on FanDuel but on Yahoo he’s actually has six tight ends priced ahead of him for some reason at 8.5%. You can use him on all three platforms since he’s great for full PPR on DK and on FanDuel we pay up for guys like this but on Yahoo he’s an absolute steal if you play there.

Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals

This stuff always confuses me. Trey McBride was good with Joshua Dobbs. Then he was bad with Clayton Tune vs the top tight end defense. Then he was GREAT with Kyler Murray catching 8 of 9 for 131 yards. The matchups vs. the Texans is a good one and this game has the highest over/under of any this week so why wouldn’t Trey McBride crush again? FanDuel and Yahoo bumped him up to 9.83% and 9.5% respectively which is still a good price but, at 8.8% on DraftKings as the 6th most expensive tight end, we are getting him in there. Especially since it’s full PPR over there and that is his best format.

NFL DFS Week 11 TE Value Tier Picks

Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers

This one is going to be crazy popular but sometimes you just have to take advantage of the chalk. FanDuel and Yahoo are paying attention to where he is priced at 7.5% to 8.5% of your budget. DraftKings is not where they left him at the bare minimum price of $2,500 which is 5% of your budget. I don’t care if it’s his first game back against the number one defense vs. tight ends. Bare minimum tight ends don’t have to do much to return value. The bare minimum price for wide receivers is $3,000 and we’re $500 cheaper than that.

Stone Smartt, Los Angeles Chargers

We’ve tried this before. And it failed spectacularly. But the premise is still there. When Gerald Everett is out, Donald Parham and Stone Smartt split routes. As of now, it’s not looking good for Everett to play. Donald Parham is also dealing with a hip injury of his own. With Mike Williams out for the year, Joshua Palmer on IR, and Keenan Allen battling an AC joint issue, the Chargers are running out of bodies to get the ball too. Stone Smartt is the son of two all-conference basketball players who played quarterback then converted to wide receiver and then to tight end. He’s the bare minimum price on all three platforms this week so all he has to do is catch a couple of balls (or a TD) to return value. Oh, and his middle name is Cole. Stone Cole Smartt. Wouldn’t it be awesome to win a million dollars with THAT guy in the lineup?

NOTE - If Pat Freiermuth is out or Gerald Everett is active, I will update with some other value options so make sure to check in again Sunday morning.

NFL DFS Week 11 TE Fades

George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

I don’t care that he snuck out and scored a wide-open long TD last week. I don’t care that he scored three times on three catches against the Cowboys. I don’t care that it’s a solid matchup with Tampa Bay. George Kittle has not had more than three catches in any game this year when Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, and Christian McCaffrey are all healthy. And they are all healthy this week. I’m not paying for the most expensive tight end on the slate with that in mind.

Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Evan Engram. But the truth is that he’s been living on screens all year. Which is fine in full PPR on DraftKings. But he really has not been a red-zone threat at all. This week is a big test for the Tennessee Titans. On one hand, they have been a top-two defense vs. the tight end. On the other, they did trade away safety Kevin Byard. But last week they shut down Cade Otton who was on a hot stream. I’m intrigued to see what happens here because it has a huge effect on Dalton Schultz (who faces TEN, CLE, TEN, in the fantasy playoffs). But I’m not throwing money at this situation in DFS when I don’t have to.

Be sure to check out the rest of the NFL DFS Coaches and DFS Watch List throughout the week!