Leading into the NFL DFS Week 7 TE Coach, we have hit the top tight end on the main slate in four of five weeks. 

And Week 6 was an easy one as Trey McBride was our top play and he took the honors finishing with 8 catches on 8 targets for 96 yards. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS Week 7 TE Coach For FanDuel & DraftKings Fantasy

Jake Ferguson let us down (as did all of the Cowboys) but Hunter Henry from the mid-tier also finished top 5 on the main slate with a touchdown. 

Our other mid-tier tight end, Zach Ertz, finished TE8 and even Ja’Tavion Sanders from our value tier returned value just outside the top 10 as he caught 5 of 7 targets for 49. Anytime you can get 7 targets for a $2,600 DraftKings play, that’s a good day.

But enough about last week - we’ve got work to do for our NFL DFS Week 7 TE Coach to keep the good times rolling!

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Top Tier Picks For Week 7

Brock Bowers, TE Las Vegas Raiders - DraftKings: $5,800 | FanDuel: $7,000

George Kittle is going to be appealing to a lot of fantasy gamers at the top because of how he has played and the matchup, but we’ll explain below in the fades section why we aren’t chasing that. We’re willing to put our top TE streak on the line chasing lower ownership and upside.

The matchup for Brock Bowers is just as good, if not better, than the one for Kelce. And now that Davante Adams has been traded to the New York Jets, that threat is out the window. Bowers is the clear top dog, and his 22.2% target share is behind only Trey McBride and Evan Engram who aren’t on the main slate. 

Brock Bowers is not locked in as the star player for this franchise - and the game script recently has shown that. He’s cheaper than both George Kittle and Travis Kelce on both platforms so there’s really not much posturing to be done. If I’m paying up, I’m paying up for Bowers. 

Sam LaPorta, TE Detroit Lions - DraftKings: $5,300 | FanDuel: $6,500

We don’t LOVE LaPorta, but we always like to give multiple options in the high-end range - and there aren’t a lot this week if we are off Kelce and Kittle. LaPorta has a good matchup this week and there’s reason to believe he could be back closer to the guy we saw last year.

According to Dan Campbell, Laporta started slow earlier this year after a hamstring injury. Then he was slowed up by a low ankle sprain after getting rolled up on in the Cardinals game. He bounced back some vs. the Seahawks but he really needed the bye week to get right. Last week he was bailed out by the 50-yard flea flicker but the game script wasn’t conducive to fantasy points.

This week they get the Vikings who have actually been very good vs. the slot which should be a tough task for Amon-Ra St. Brown. I could see them getting LaPorta more involved here and he’s always a threat to score - last year he scored 10 TDs, and no other TE scored more than 6. We still like Bowers but LaPorta is cheaper on both platforms and a decent pivot. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Mid-Tier Picks For NFL Week 7

Kyle Pitts, TE Atlanta Falcons - DraftKings: $4,500 | FanDuel: $5,900

Let’s take a moment to remember what it is we are doing here. We are looking for unparalleled upside. MONSTER games from every player in our lineup. That’s how you get rich. Not by dinking and dunking with guys that run a 4.8 forty.

Kyle Pitts is 6’6” and he runs a 4.49. He is the only tight end with multiple 50+ yard plays this year. He’s the only tight end with multiple 40+ yard plays this year. He’s one of 7 TEs with 3+ end zone targets this year. He has that upside we look for and he's at a mid-tier price.

The Seahawks and Falcons both have a habit of getting themselves into a shootout, so we don’t mind loading up on this game. The Seahawks are also allowing the 4th most points to tight ends this season. Get Kyle Pitts in some lineups this week. 

David Njoku, TE Cleveland Browns, DraftKings: $4,100 | FanDuel: $5,300

Sometimes this really doesn’t have to be hard. The Browns traded away the only guy on the team getting consistent targets in Amari Cooper. They may be giving up in spirit; you still have to play the games. There is a chance David Njoku just gets peppered with targets this week while they figure out who (if anyone) is going to step up. And we can’t afford to miss out on that.

Njoku was eased back in off the injury with a 42% snap share in Week 5. But, in Week 6, that was already up to 74%. We expect him to be a full go here, so we aren’t concerned with any of that.

Pricing wise, he’s cheaper than Pitts on both platforms so it’s not really a matter of using one here or one there. It’s a matter of building a couple lineups with each guy and using the extra money you save on Njoku for minor upgrades at other positions in those lineups. As we always do. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Value Picks For NFL Week 7

Colby Parkinson, TE Los Angeles Rams - DraftKings: $3,800 | FanDuel: $5,100

Colby Parkinson has 20 targets over the last two games. Do we expect him to get 13 targets here? No. Do we even expect him to get 7? Probably not. Can he get 5-6? I think so. And that’s all we need at this price.

There are three tight ends that have gotten five end zone targets - George Kittle, Isaiah Likely, and… Brenton Strange. Colby Parkinson is tied with a few players for the second most with 3 although he has not caught any of them. Cooper Kupp is back but they are still missing Puka Nacua which leaves the door open. Colby Parkinson has the second highest route participation behind only Trey McBride, so we at least know he’ll be out there running around.  

Parkinson isn’t even cheap on FanDuel - he’s only $100 less than Njoku. So, we aren’t using him over there. But he’s only $3,800 on DraftKings which makes him one of the few truly viable options in the sub $4,000 range. Especially since he’s a better PPR guy and DK is PPR. 

Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE Carolina Panthers - DraftKings: $2,900 | FanDuel: $4,900

No major price change here so we’re willing to go back to the well on this one. Tommy Tremble suffered a serious head injury in the Week 5 game - one that he was actually fined for because he initiated the contact. I discourage you from watching the video, but Tremble went into the “fencing pose” after which is typical indicative of a serious concussion.

He has yet to clear concussion protocol, and, in his place, Sanders looked good catching 5 of 7 targets. We liked the rookie coming out of the draft, so we’d love for him to just run away with the job regardless of the status for Tremble or Ian Thomas. But that is yet to be seen.

One thing I can say is that there are very few guys under $3,000 on DK that are capable of even 3+ targets in a game, let alone 7. So, we’ll sprinkle in some Sanders again as a way to save money for the other positions. 

BONUS DART THROW: Harrison Bryant, TE Las Vegas Raiders - DraftKings: $2,500 | FanDuel: $4,400

People always ask me “is there a BARE MINIMUM tight end play this week we can use?”. And the answer is usually no. But this week Harrison Bryant is the bare minimum price, and he actually is (just barely) viable. The Raiders were running a lot of 2 TE sets with Michael Mayer and Brock Bowers, but Mayer is on the IR with personal issues. 

Bryant has taken over that role and actually got five targets last week from Aiden O’Connell. No one else in this price range is getting looks at all or is any more than just a random TD dart throw.

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Fades For Week 7

Travis Kelce, TE Kansas City Chiefs - DraftKings: $6,300 | FanDuel: $7,100

Obviously, you start Travis Kelce in your seasonal leagues. That’s no question. But this is DFS where we can start anyone we want. And there are things like prices and rostership to consider. 

I really don’t like starting tight ends against Fred Warner and De’Vondre Campbell if I can avoid it. I think Kelce will be fine. But will he have the monster game needed to justify paying for the top tight end?

George Kittle, TE San Francisco 49ers - DraftKings: $6,000 | FanDuel: $7,500

This one could shock some folks considering how solid Kittle has been. And people will be enticed by that big green “32nd” next to the Kansas City Chiefs that suggests they are the worst team vs. the tight end. But when you dig into the numbers, has it really been THAT bad?

Week 1 they bracketed Mark Andrews allowing a secondary TE, Isaiah Likely, to have a monster game. Mike Gesicki then caught some passes out of the slot, but he didn’t really play tight end - only 4 TE snaps. Kyle Pitts only had 2 catches, one just happened to be 50 yards. Then you’ve got a random Foster Moreau TD. I don’t think the Chiefs are as bad against the TE as people think. 

And just when you think you know what Kyle Shanahan is going to do, he does something totally different. One game it’s Kittle, the next it’s Deebo Samuel, then it’s Brandon Aiyuk and so on. So, he might not be the slam dunk he seems at face value. He’s also going to be heavily owned.

Grant Calcatera, TE Philadelphia Eagles - DraftKings: $3,200 | FanDuel: $5,100

We don’t really even like starting Dallas Goedert when AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith are healthy. So now we’re going to start Grant Calcatera? I just don't really see the appeal of running Calcatera out there considering last week was the first time he’s ever done anything. 

That was his best game in three seasons - 4 catches. His first two seasons he had 5 catches then 4 catches. Total, for the season. No thank you.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Week 7 TE Projections