We don’t want to jinx anything here. But we’ve now hit the main slate TE1 in 6 of 7 weeks (and at least one of the top two in every week). 

The only time we didn’t have the main slate tight end in the article was the breakout game for Tucker Kraft in Week 4. In every other week, we’ve had them - including this past week with David Njoku. 

 

 

 

We also snuck a top 12 TE from the value tier this past week with Ja'Tavion Sanders who caught 6 of 6 passes at under $3K on DraftKings. We even successfully faded Travis Kelce last week, who finished as the TE29. Not too shabby.

NFL DFS Week 8 TE Coach For FanDuel & DraftKings Fantasy

This NFL DFS Week 8 TE Coach is a different beast though. There are ZERO NFL bye weeks. So it’s a big test. Not only that but National Tight End Day is this Sunday. 

Let’s see if we can keep the good times rolling at the top and generate value from the lower tiers with this NFL DFS Week 8 TE Coach!

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Top Tier Picks For Week 8

Brock Bowers, TE Las Vegas Raiders - DraftKings: $6,100 | FanDuel: $7,400

With no bye weeks, there are naturally a ton of great options this week at the tight end position. So, if we are going to pay up, let’s pay all the way up. Travis Kelce and Trey McBride kind of have tricky matchups here. And David Njoku will be playing with Jameis Winston, the master of mixed results. So let’s go with the young superstar.

Brock Bowers is basically stronger Jordy Nelson. He’s big, he’s fast, and he’s oddly agile. He has 8, 9, and 10 receptions in his last three games without Davante Adams. And that’s come against a variety of matchups include tough Steelers and Broncos defenses. 

Now he faces the Kansas City Chiefs who have actually given up the most points to tight ends this year. Even with Brandon Aiyuk hurt and Deebo Samuel sick with all the attention on him, George Kittle had 92 yards against them last week.

Bowers is the most expensive tight end on DraftKings but his price really isn’t juiced up the way prime Kelce’s used to be at $7,000 or even $8,000 at times. And George Kittle is actually more expensive than Bowers on FanDuel. We are riding with the beast until they make that price ridiculous. 

Evan Engram, TE Jacksonville Jaguars - DraftKings: $5,000 | FanDuel: $6,200

As we mentioned, this is a tricky slate to navigate at the top with so many high end options in great matchups. So our strategy is going to be pretty simple here. We’re either paying up for the top guy in Bowers with a great matchup. Or we’re going to take the discount down to the best guy in that tier that has a good matchup as well. That’s Evan Engram.

Engram only had 5 targets last week but the Jaguars only attempted 20 passes. So that’s actually right in line with his 25% target share for this season. David Njoku had 13 of the 52 targets for the the Cleveland Browns which is ALSO a 25% target share. 

This week the Jaguars will be forced to throw against the Green Bay Packers who have not been good against the TE since DeVondre Campbell left. It’s Engram’s turn to potentially have a 10-target game again, like he did in Week 6.

Of Brock Bowers, Travis Kelce, Trey McBride, David Njoku, and Evan Engram, Engram is the cheapest on DraftKings and FanDuel. The guys below him in Sam LaPorta, Tucker Kraft, Dalton Kincaid etc. have been too inconsistent for our liking. 

Engram is the sweet spot for what we are looking for. Unless we are told different, don’t worry about limited practice reps with the hamstring. They have him on a program where his practices are limited but he’s played in full the last two weeks. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Mid-Tier Picks For NFL Week 8

Kyle Pitts, TE Atlanta Falcons - DraftKings: $4,500 | FanDuel: $5,700

Kylte Pitts has gotten into a groove here with 65, 70, and 88 yards over his last three games. He hasn’t found paydirt since Week 1 though he SHOULD have had a touchdown against the Chiefs (he was blatantly interfered with at the end of the game which wasn’t called).

The process is simple with a guy like this. There are only so many players his size that run a ~4.5 forty. George Kittle is one and he leads all tight ends in 40+ yard plays the last 7 years. Kyle Pitts has two plays of 50+ yards this year. 

Last week he didn’t break anything off so he caught 7 of his 9 targets with the longest being 13 yards. The big one is coming at some point and, when that happens, he’s going to pay multiple X back on his price.

Even with George Kittle, Jake Ferguson, and Pat Freiermuth all off of the main slate, Pitts still isn’t priced within the top 10 tight ends. Guys we typically look to in this range like Zach Ertz, Hunter Henry, and Mark Andrews are still viable plays but they face tougher matchups with the Bears, Browns, and Jets. 

Tampa Bay is in the lower 10 in points allowed to the tight end position so we’ll go with Pitts in this range. He’s paid off his price in each of the last three weeks, even without scoring.

Cade Otton, TE Tampa Bay Buccaneers - DraftKings: $3,500 | FanDuel: $5,200

Sometimes we don’t even like when they do this. Chris Godwin is done for the season. Mike Evans is likely out for multiple weeks. Yet the price for Otton has barely gone up. After he caught 8 balls on 10 targets for 100 yards. 

He’s likely a top 10-12 option moving forward but is the 20th most expensive tight end on the main slate on DraftKings, a slate that doesn’t include the guys we mentioned above in the Pitts section. 

In games last year where Chris Godwin was dealing with a neck issue during the season and knee issue in the playoffs, Otton got 8, 9, and 11 targets. At this price he’s going to be fairly highly rostered, and we’ll need to mix in a couple Otton lineups to make sure we have exposure to what is pretty good chalk.  

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Value Picks For NFL Week 8

Lucas Krull, TE Denver Broncos - DraftKings: $2,700 | FanDuel: $4,600

The Warrior King was not available to us last week as he played on Thursday and was not on the main slate. He logged four targets for the second straight week which is not something that guys do when their price is $2,700 on DraftKings and $4,600 on FanDuel.

The fact of the matter here is that we’ve got a 6’6” 260 pound guy that lined up for more of his snaps at WR (18) than he did inline (11) last week. There is no other team that has their top pass-catching tight end this cheap on the main slate. He’s $200 over the bare minimum on DraftKings.

The Denver Broncos also have one of the most uncertain target pecking orders - many of these tight ends are stuck behind two or even three stud wide receivers. Not here. And, on top of all that, the Broncos play the Carolina Panthers who are a bottom five team against the tight end this year. You have to make at least one Krull lineup this week. You HAVE to.

Stone Smart, TE Los Angeles Chargers - DraftKings: $2,500 | FanDuel: $4,000

***UPDATE*** Monitor Hayden Hurst as he returned to practice on a limited basis on Thursday. If Hurst is a full go that ruins our fun with Stone Smart but Hurst probably becomes the better play at $2,900.

Stone Cole Smart. Yes, that is the real name of the former quarterback turned wide receiver turned tight end. You might remember him from this article last year in Week 11 when Gerald Everett and Donald Parham were banged up and he scored a 51 yard touchdown. Well guess what? He’s back. Well, kind of.

Hayden Hurst is out with a groin issue. Stone Smartt is easily the most athletic tight end in that room yet they insisted on using Will Dissly, a guy who has suffered a torn patellar tendon, ruptured Achilles, and a broken leg that Pete Carroll described as “one he had never seen”. 

Now Will Dissly is on the injury report. In fact, on Wednesday, Quentin Johnson, Will Dissly, Hayden Hurst, and Derius Davis were all missing. Maybe it’s time for Stone Smartt to get some extra work. 

He already has gotten a LITTLE extra work. He caught one pass for 10 yards in Week 6 and one pass for 31 yards last week. The Chargers are incredibly flat in terms of pass-catching options so it’s time to let Stone Smartt hit them with the Stone Cole Stunna. He’s literally the bare minimum price on both DraftKings and FanDuel so, if he does nothing, at least we tried. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Fades For Week 8

Trey McBride, TE Arizona Cardinals - DraftKings: $5,500 | FanDuel: $6,700

Not a lot has gone right for the Miami Dolphins. But Jordan Poyer and company have been oddly good against the tight end this year. 

They held Evan Engram to one catch, Hunter Henry to two, and they limited Dalton Kincaid to 33 yards (Knox to zero). McBride is going to be fine but we don’t want “fine” at that price point - at that price we need him to be the TE1 overall on the slate.  

Jake Ferguson, TE Dallas Cowboys - DraftKings: N/A | FanDuel: $6,100

The 49ers already had Fred Warner. Then they brought in DeVondre Campbell who has been a hired gun tight end cover guy for the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals, and the Atlanta Falcons. 

They just held Travis Kelce to four catches for 17. Ferguson will tempt some folks on FanDuel where the main slate is included - don’t get fooled. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS Week 8 TE Projections