Week 10 was a fantastic showing for a pair of young tight ends: Trey McBride of the Arizona Cardinals and Dalton Kincaid of the Buffalo Bills. McBride had eight catches for 131 yards — the fourth-highest yardage total by a tight end in a game this season. Meanwhile, Kincaid recorded his fourth consecutive week with 15+ points in fantasy football.
Kincaid is now a lineup lock and McBride is quickly approaching that territory. With both players on an upward trajectory, which other fantasy football tight ends can be trusted in Week 11? Find out in our Week 11 start 'em, sit 'em: tight ends list.
TEs to Start in Week 11
Cardinals' Trey McBride (vs. Texans)
Arizona Cardinals rookie Trey McBride has come out of nowhere to record at least 20 fantasy points in two of the last three weeks — quickly pushing him toward must-start territory. He receives a favorable matchup this week against a Houston Texans defense that is giving up the second-most fantasy points per game to tight ends and should be in all fantasy football lineups.
Commanders' Lance Thomas (vs. Giants)
Ignoring a Week 6 dud, Lance Thomas is averaging 11.2 fantasy points per game, which would make him the eighth-ranked tight end for the season. He also has at least seven fantasy points in all but that one start. While his breakout games are few and far between, Thomas is a high-floor tight end who can be trusted in any matchup — especially given the success of the Commanders' passing game in recent weeks.
Packers' Luke Musgrave (vs. Chargers)
Low target volume has prevented Luke Musgrave from fully breaking out yet, but the Packers' tight end has been productive with the ball in his hands. The rookie has seven catches of 20 or more yards among his 29 catches — a rate that puts him in elite company alongside George Kittle and Mark Andrews. A matchup against a Los Angeles Chargers secondary that has given up the second-most yards in the league to tight ends indicates a possible breakout game for the 2023 second-round pick.
TEs to Sit in Week 11
Bears' Cole Kmet vs. (Lions)
This matchup does not come down to whether Cole Kmet can be trusted, but rather, can Justin Fields be depended on? Kmet had a strong rapport with Tyson Bagent, averaging 17 fantasy points on 8.3 targets over his last three games with Bagent under center. By comparison, Kmet had 5.3 targets and 11.2 fantasy points per game with Fields starting — a stretch buoyed by an outlier 27.6-point performance. Consider Kmet a high-risk play in Week 11.
Texans' Dalton Schultz (vs. Cardinals)
Dalton Schultz has finally established himself as a consistent target for C.J. Stroud, posting double-digit point totals in five of the last six weeks. Yet in Week 11 he is facing an Arizona Cardinals defense that is one of the stingiest in the league against tight ends. Last week, the Cardinals held the high-flying Atlanta Falcons duo of Kyle Pitts and Jonnu Smith to just 31 yards on four catches. Two weeks before, Arizona limited Baltimore Ravens superstar Mark Andrews to just four catches and 40 yards. There are much better matchups to consider this weekend.
Steelers' Pat Freiermuth (vs. Browns)
To say we are recommending you avoid this matchup would be an understatement. Freiermuth did not get more than four targets in a game when healthy, and he will have to contend with a Cleveland Browns defense that is giving up just 6.0 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends — the best in the NFL. This matchup should not simply be avoided, it should be boycotted, ignored, expunged, and erased — in that order.