Three weeks into the NFL season, it is difficult to get a handle on some players, and that might make it a little trickier to set your fantasy football lineups. Could someone just have been hot or facing easy opponents to start the year?
At the same time could they have been cold or facing extremely difficult opponents, leading to bad numbers?
So, who should be getting the call to your starting lineup in Week 4 and who should be riding the bench? Right now we will be looking at three different tight ends for each category.
Of course, before we start it is important to point out that the obvious choices will not be here. You probably don't need to be told to start Travis Kelce or bench Virgil Green.
TEs to Start in Week 4
Noah Fant, Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are facing off with the New York Jets in Week 4. That's all you really need to know.
Sure, Denver is 0-3 on the year just like New York is. No team has looked as completely lost as the Jets have though. They appear confused every time they touch the field.
The Broncos are dealing with some quarterback issues at the moment, but through it all Fant has been really solid. He's had two great fantasy football games and a pretty solid one. Now he's being given a dreadful defense on which to feast.
Fant already has 14 receptions for 184 yards and two touchdowns on the year. He has had at least four receptions and at least 46 yards in each game. He's also yet to have a week where he did not score at least nine points in a PPR league.
So there is a lot of consistency there. That alone makes him a start, as it is hard to imagine the Jets will be shutting him down. Fant is a matchup nightmare and could absolutely see another five-plus receptions and 50-plus yards game. Throw in a touchdown and not only was he a safe start but he put up massive numbers.
Not only is the ceiling high for Fant this week, the floor is as well.
Mike Gesicki, Miami Dolphins
This is not a fun matchup for the Miami Dolphins in Week 4. They are coming off their first win of the season, but now have the 3-0 Seattle Seahawks ahead of them.
Yes, the Seahawks have a good defense that could cause some serious problems. That might help tight end Mike Gesicki, though.
Let's be honest, Miami is not winning this game. In fact, they'll probably be fighting from behind the entire time.
That means we're going to get a lot of pass attempts. Gesicki should be one of the main targets.
Through three games, Gesicki has 12 receptions for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Last week was discouraging with just one reception on three targets for 15 yards. However, it was also for a touchdown.
This week, he should get more targets, and his Week 2 performance of eight receptions on 11 targets for 130 yards and a touchdown still looms large in our minds. Just like that week against the Buffalo Bills, Miami is going to need to throw the ball a lot as they fight from a deficit.
Gesicki does not have a high floor like Fant does, but he is a definitely a high-risk, high-reward start. If you don't have a sure thing, he should be your starter, as he has one of the highest point potentials of the week at the tight end position.
Logan Thomas, Washington Football Team
Logan Thomas has been sneaky fantastic for fantasy football this year. The Washington Football Team is in a tough spot this week.
They have looked really bad over the last two weeks and now face off with the Baltimore Ravens. A 2-1 team that is likely a little angry after their Week 3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
With that in mind, there's a chance we see the same thing we have with Gesicki. Washington will likely be playing from behind. That means a lot of passing attempts. Thomas will be one of the top targets.
Just look at what Mike Clay of ESPN has to say about the tight end.
Logan Thomas among tight ends:
4th in routes (nice)
2nd in targets (wow!)
3rd in end zone targets (omg!)
10th in receptions (umm)
20th in yards (wait what is happening)
17th in fantasy points (you've got to be kidding me)— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) September 28, 2020
That's insanity. Thomas has 12 receptions for 94 yards and one touchdowns. Nothing crazy, but it's all solid. He's already been targeted 24 times this year and his massive size does make him a good red zone option.
Dwayne Haskins is looking to bounce back in Week 4. The quarterback seems to love his tight end. So Thomas could get a lot of work against the Ravens. Keep that in mind if you need a starter.
TEs to Sit in Week 4
Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
This is the inverse to Thomas. The Ravens will likely take a lead against Washington early; they might not need to pass it much after that.
Even if Washington stays in the fight, though, Andrews has been struggling. He had a fantastic Week 1, reeling in five receptions for 58 yards and two touchdowns.
Since then though, the tight end has just four receptions for 51 yards and no touchdowns in the other two games combined. That has been marred with a lot of drops, not exactly helping his fantasy football stock.
Due to that, going against a solid defense (but at the same time a team they should beat handily) might not be the perfect recipe for Andrews.
Lamar Jackson and the running backs might just run the ball a heavy majority of the time, and when he is throwing, Jackson could be going to receivers to try and pick on the weak Washington secondary.
A touchdown catch might save him this week, as Baltimore will likely be in the red zone quite a bit. But that's risky.
Andrews has likely already made you question his spot in your starting lineup a bit lately. This might be a good week to try someone else out.
Greg Olsen, Seattle Seahawks
Okay, I won't lie. There is not much diversity here. This is the second matchup I've included. First we had Andrews and Thomas for Baltimore versus Washington—and now we're finishing off Gesicki and Olsen for Miami versus Seattle.
It is simple when you think about it, though. The reason Gesicki is an exciting choice is because the Dolphins will be down and passing a lot.
Seattle not so much. They should run away with the game, and if they do indeed do that, Russell Wilson probably won't throw as much.
Yes, he's still liable to throw three or more touchdown passes, but he has not really shown that he's going to throw to Olsen much.
The tight end has nine receptions on just 11 targets in three games so far. Those nine receptions have led to a decent 85 yards and one touchdown. Not bad by any stretch of the imagination.
But now think about Olsen in a blowout. He was not getting the ball all that much in the three close(ish) games that Seattle has been in this year. It's hard to assume he'll be getting it much in a blowout.
Olsen's a great tight end and will likely have some solid games in fantasy football this year. Keep away from him in a game like this, though.
Mo Alie-Cox, Indianapolis Colts
Mo Alie-Cox is likely a hot start this week. The Colts tight end is coming off back-to-back good games and is impressing a lot of people.
In three games so far this year, Cox has 10 receptions on just 11 targets for 181 yards and one touchdown. Eight of those receptions for 161 of those yards and the one touchdown have come in the last two weeks.
So clearly, he's getting more work, but there are two big things going against Alie-Cox at the moment.
First of all, it's not like he has dominated the targets. 11 targets in three weeks is not very encouraging. If he doesn't haul in one-or-two in a week it doesn't seem like he'll get many more chances that game.
Oh, and the Colts are facing the 3-0 Chicago Bears. That defense is not perfect, but it's very, very good. Alie-Cox might suddenly not be the big factor a lot of people seem to think he is in fantasy football.
There is still a chance Alie-Cox gets a rise in his targets and does indeed put up good numbers. It is risky though. Alie-Cox should only be your starter if you have very few other options.
Do not insert him into your lineup when you have another good tight end just because you are high on his last two games.
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