DFS Roundtable: Tight End Matchups

JAMES BRIMACOMBE

Strong Matchups

49ers – If George Kittle is healthy in this prime matchup against the Cardinals I want to be heavily invested in him. It is hard to find a better tight end in the game right now and this is also the best matchup possible.
Saints – Jared Cook is intriguing especially as there is not really a WR2 type of player on the Saints so his targets increased to 10 against the Falcons last week.
Lions – I just want to be looking at Golladay/Jones on the Lions right now, so Hockenson won’t be an option for me.
Bengals – Outside of my slim exposure to Joe Mixon I really don’t want much to do with the Bengals offense and predicting if one of their tight ends has a breakout game is not the route I want to go.

Weak Matchups

JASON WOOD

George Kittle's status is vital, to the 49ers offense as a whole and how you approach the position in DFS builds this week. If Kittle is okay, I wouldn't worry about the matchup. If he's not healthy, you can pass on the position unless you're building 100+ GPP lineups and want to throw a dart at Ross Dwelley.

The other teams are punt-worthy this week, although I wouldn't avoid Jared Cook, per se.

With Austin Hooper out, it's hard to avoid Mark Andrews and Zach Ertz in multi-entry builds. Darren Waller will be the chalk, justifiably, but neither Andrews nor Ertz should be avoided based on the matchup. The Cardinals and Dolphins are easy fades.

PHIL ALEXANDER

Strong Matchups

• 49ers - If George Kittle plays, you'll want some tournament exposure. But if he doesn't, which appears more likely as of this writing, don't be afraid to punt with Ross Dwelley. Dwelley didn't flash in the box score, but he played on 90% of the snaps and ran 43 pass routes in Kittle's absence on Monday Night Football. No other 49ers' tight end even went out for a pass against Seattle. And even though Dwelley isn't very good, the Cardinals defense doesn't discriminate when it comes to tight ends.
• Saints - Cook appears mispriced (DraftKings) relative to his involvement in the Saints offense over his last three healthy games. He's essentially operating as the team's WR2 behind Michael Thomas.

• Cardinals - What even is a Cardinals' tight end?
• Dolphins - Mike Gesicki chalk week went about as well as expected. Stay away from any Dolphins player whose name isn't Kalen this week.
• Ravens - Matchups matter a lot less than game-environment when it comes to tight ends, and Houston vs. Baltimore should be high-scoring. Mark Andrews is still one of the top plays at the position.
• Eagles - Tight end isn't a deep enough position to fade talented, heavily-targeted players. Ertz looks like he's back to operating as the Eagles' de facto WR1 and his price on DraftKings remains suppressed. He's in play for cash games and GPPs.

DAN HINDERY