Start 'Em & Sit 'Em is the ultimate weekly look at NFL matchups and how they'll affect your fantasy football team. Fantasy superstars such as Patrick Mahomes and Christian McCaffrey will not be featured in this column. All player matchups are based on a PPR scoring system. For your final starting lineup decisions, check my weekly fantasy football lineup rankings.
Byes:Arizona Cardinals, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings
Start 'Em
Start of the Week
Hollister has become a viable fantasy option in recent weeks, scoring a combined three touchdowns and 39.9 fantasy points in his last two games. What's more, the Seahawks have had a tight end score 12.8 or more points six times, including five games with 18-plus points. Hollister should be added and started in all leagues in Week 12.
Cook has been a solid fantasy option in recent weeks, scoring double-digit points in each of his last four games. That includes scoring a touchdown in three of those contests. The Panthers have been tough on enemy tight ends, but they also haven't faced a lot of great players at the position. Based on his usage, Cook is an obvious start 'em.
Griffin has been on fire in recent weeks, scoring 11 or more fantasy points in four of his last five games including two games with 21-plus points. He's a solid option against the Raiders, who have surrendered seven touchdowns and the fifth-most fantasy points to enemy tight ends. Grab Griffin off the waiver wire and start him this weekend.
Olsen had his first solid stat line in awhile last week, posting eight catches and 17.8 fantasy points in a loss to the Packers. Next up is a date with the Falcons, who just surrendered a big performance to Cameron Brate last week. With four teams on a bye and the tight end position thin as ever, Olsen is a top-10 option in fantasy leagues.
Start 'Em:Dallas Goedert vs. Seattle Seahawks, Vance McDonald at Cincinnati Bengals
Sleepers:Noah Fant at Buffalo Bills, Cameron Brate at Atlanta Falcons
Sit 'Em
Graham is back from a bye week, but he's not an attractive option in fantasy leagues in a brutal matchup against the Niners. Their defense has put the clamps on tight ends all season long, allowing just two touchdowns and the second-fewest fantasy points to the position. Unless you're in a deep league, Graham needs to sit this week.
Everett was held to one catch for 20 yards last week, as a bum shoulder limited him to just 14 snaps. Even if he's back at 100 percent this week, the talented tight end has a tough matchup against the Ravens up next. Their defense has allowed just two touchdowns and the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing tight ends in 2019.
Hockenson has a great matchup on paper this week, as the Redskins just allowed nearly 22 fantasy points to Jets TE Ryan Griffin. Here's the problem ... he's had good matchups in recent weeks and hasn't produced good totals. With Jeff Driskel under center, Hockenson is a bigger gamble, even as just a one-week fantasy league streamer.
Eifert has a nice matchup on paper, as the Steelers have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points per game to tight ends. Still, the veteran was held to just three catches on four targets last week as he continues to catch passes from inexperienced rookie quarterback Ryan Finley. I'd keep Eifert on the sidelines once again.
Sit 'Em:O.J. Howard at Atlanta Falcons, Mike Gesicki at Cleveland Browns
Busts:Jason Witten at New England Patriots, Jonnu Smith vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on NFL.com and NFL Network and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. You can follow Michael on **Twitter**, **Facebook**, **YouTube** and **Instagram** for all of the latest fantasy football news, notes and in-depth analysis!
