Only nine tight ends have averaged more than 10 PPR Fantasy points per game this season. One of them (Will Dissly) is on IR. Another, (Austin Hooper) probably should be. George Kittle and Evan Engram are going to come back this season, but maybe not in Week 12. Travis Kelce and Hunter Henry are on bye this week. So with Delanie Walker returning for the Titans, he has to be a must-start, right?
Not necessarily.
Walker averaged just 6.9 yards per target earlier this year and hasn't been a reliable Fantasy starter since 2017. His teammate, Jonnu Smith, has averaged 9.2 yards per target over the past two seasons and flat out looks like the better playmaker.
Do I think Walker rides the bench? Not at all. The Titans will run a lot of two-tight end sets with both Walker and Smith on the field together. But I will be curious what the target split is and I would expect any downfield shots to go Smith's way.
I'm projecting Walker will out-target Smith five to three, but with Walker's recent efficiency, five targets isn't enough to make him a must-start tight end. I wouldn't argue against stashing either of Walker or Smith but you shouldn't trust them in Week 12.
Week 12 TE Preview
Who's Out
The following players are not being projected to play Week 12 at this time. Here's what it means:
Rhett Ellison could miss Week 12 as well.
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Numbers to Know
- 94 - Air yards for Cameron Brate in Week 12. I'm going to have to see it two weeks in a row before I believe it.
- 26% - Target share for Noah Fant since Emmanuel Sanders was traded. No tight end has a bigger share than Fant over that time frame.
- 109 - Receiving yards for Ryan Griffin in Week 11, a career-high.
- 28 - Targets for Dallas Goedert over his past five games. With all of the injuries in Philadelphia, there are two starting Fantasy tight ends there.
Matchups that matter
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Waiver Wire Targets
Fant is dominating targets for the Broncos and has been a top-six tight end in Fantasy since Emmanuel Sanders was traded. He doesn't have a great matchup this week, but I view him as the best rest of season starter.
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Griffin won't repeat what he did in Week 11 but he does have a prominent role in the red zone, and he's facing a defense that has been terrible against tight ends.
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Unless Alshon Jeffery comes back, I would expect Goedert to see a significant target share, especially in the red zone.
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McDonald has seven targets in three straight games and a matchup against the Bengals.
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DFS Plays
it took a bunch of injuries, but Ertz got back to a large target share the past two weeks. That should continue against a Seahawks team that could have the Eagles chasing the score.
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Fant had multiple shots at a score last week. While this isn't a good matchup, that should only serve to keep his ownership lower.
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Heath's Projections
Non-PPR Rank | PPR Rank | TE | NON-PPR | PPR |
1 | 1 | 9.72 | 15.66 | |
2 | 2 | 8.53 | 12.95 | |
3 | 3 | 7.89 | 12.50 | |
4 | 4 | Ryan Griffin | 7.42 | 11.05 |
5 | 5 | 7.17 | 10.64 | |
9 | 6 | Noah Fant | 6.22 | 10.23 |
6 | 7 | 6.56 | 9.94 | |
8 | 8 | 6.27 | 9.94 | |
7 | 9 | Dallas Goedert | 6.56 | 9.88 |
10 | 10 | 5.84 | 9.78 | |
14 | 11 | 5.42 | 9.53 | |
16 | 12 | 4.92 | 9.50 | |
11 | 13 | 5.81 | 9.46 | |
12 | 14 | 5.49 | 9.16 | |
15 | 15 | 5.23 | 8.63 | |
17 | 16 | 4.92 | 8.45 | |
13 | 17 | 5.47 | 8.40 | |
18 | 18 | Delanie Walker | 4.88 | 7.95 |
20 | 19 | 4.66 | 7.47 | |
24 | 20 | 4.35 | 7.10 |
So who should you sit and start this week? And which surprising quarterback could lead you to victory? Visit SportsLine now to get Week 12 rankings for every position, plus see which QB is going to come out of nowhere to crack the top 10, all from the model that out-performed experts big time last season.
