NFL Fantasy 2023 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Tight ends for Week 4

Marcas Grant and I have been trying to tell you about LaPorta since this past April's draft. We hyped him up all summer and have begged you to add him off the waiver wire. This week was the last chance you had to do that after LaPorta exploded for 22.4 fantasy points -- enough to be the TE1 for Week 3. He caught eight of 11 targets for 84 yards and a touchdown. It was a two-man passing attack between him and Amon-Ra St. Brown. LaPorta has finished every week as a top-eight tight end and is the TE2 overall on the season. He has quickly become a must-start at an unbelievably shallow position. 

Waller has disappointed in two of three weeks so far, but his entire offense was unusable in those two weeks. He also faced two of the best defenses in the league in the Cowboys and 49ers, both of whom have been particularly stingy to tight ends. In Week 2 against the Cardinals, he finished as the TE4. This is another favorable matchup, as the Seahawks have allowed the sixth-most yards to tight ends. Don’t panic on Waller just yet. Give him another shot in your starting lineup. 

Musgrave finished as a top-10 tight end in Week 3, catching six of eight targets for 49 yards, good for 10.9 fantasy points. He led the Packers with 39 routes run. He had more targets in that game than he did in the first two combined. Now he has the best matchup a tight end can have, at least so far this season. The Lions have allowed by far the most catches and yards to the position. Falcons tight ends combined for more than 16 fantasy points last week. Musgrave is in play in a great matchup. 

Freiermuth had his best game of the season in Week 3, catching three of four targets for 41 yards and a touchdown -- good for 13.1 fantasy points and a top-10 finish on the week. While it’s still not the volume we’d like to see, it is improvement. This is a favorable matchup, as the Texans have allowed the ninth-most yards to tight ends. Freiermuth remains in play this week. 

This is a sad day for this column. As you probably know, I have long been a Pitts supporter. I said last week I would give Pitts one last shot in the best TE matchup this season, and while he did post season-high production, he finished with just 8.7 fantasy points -- the same number as teammate Jonnu Smith. Yeah, its rough. Now Pitts get the Jags, who haven’t been particularly stout against tight ends, but it’s becoming too tough to trust the underutilized unicorn, especially with Smith so involved in the offense. Pitts is tough to drop, but he can hit the bench for sure. 

Ertz led tight ends in targets during the first two weeks, but then saw just two in Week 3, finishing with 2.6 fantasy points in a very tough matchup against the Cowboys. Now, he gets an even tougher matchup against San Francisco. The 49ers have allowed just 62 yards total to tight ends this season, and they’ve faced Darren Waller, Pat Freiermuth and Tyler Higbee. This is a week to get away from Ertz. 

It’s been a rough go to start the season for Njoku. He has yet to reach seven fantasy points or 50 yards in a game. Plus, the Ravens are extremely stingy to tight ends. So far, they’ve allowed just 45 yards to the position, the second-fewest in the league. The only team to allow fewer is Njoku’s own -- the Browns have allowed just 26 yards to the position. There’s no way you can sit Mark Andrews, but you can and should sit Njoku this week. 

Schultz has become a regular in this portion of the column. In Week 3, he scored just 1.9 fantasy points. In fact, he was the third-highest scoring tight end on the Texans. Now he gets the Steelers, who have allowed the sixth-fewest yards to the position. Schultz cannot be started until we see him produce for his new team.