Week 7 Fantasy Football Quarterback and Tight End Rankings: Studs, Sleepers, and Must-Starts (Ep. 1777)

Summary

FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast

Week 7 Fantasy Football Quarterback and Tight End Rankings: Studs, Sleepers, and Must-Starts (Ep. 1777)

Release Date: October 16, 2025
Hosts: Chris Welsh, Pat Fitzmaurice, Andrew Erickson

---

Episode Overview

In this episode, the hosts dive into their Week 7 quarterback (QB) and tight end (TE) rankings, focusing on must-starts, sleepers, and the toughest lineup dilemmas caused by big-name players like Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson being on bye. The discussion hones in on replacement options outside the typical starters, analytics-driven reasoning, and key matchup analysis for the week.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Framing the Episode: Bye-Week Dilemmas

• Main Concern: How to navigate starting lineups with elite QBs like Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson on bye (00:35–01:37).
  • Chris Welsh: “This is the week where you gotta figure out who do I start over Josh Allen…and are we comfortable with George Kittle? Of course, yes. Darren Waller, is he still a play? Yes. And is Harold Fannin the truth?”
• Approach: The hosts focus the episode on ECR (Expert Consensus Ranking) top 12 for both QBs and TEs, while giving extra attention to fringe options as streaming or emergency starts.

---

2. Top 12 Quarterbacks – The Chalk

Big Board (01:57–04:15)

• Top 5 QBs this week: Jaden Daniels, Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, Jalen Hurts, Drake May.
• Rest of Top 12: Baker Mayfield, Jared Goff, Caleb Williams, Justin Herbert, Jordan Love, Bo Nix, Daniel Jones.

Hosts generally agree these should be the weekly starts.
Welsh: “These are the names. This is it…this is the chalk.”

---

3. Streaming/Fringe QB Options

Justin Fields: High Risk, High Discomfort (04:15–08:59)

• Situation: Lost top target (Garrett Wilson), meager offense, tough recent performances.
• Rankings: Fields sits at ECR QB13, but both Erickson (16) and Fitzmaurice (17) are notably lower this week.
• Notable Quotes:
  • Andrew Erickson (05:17): “Just having the mental capacity to put [Justin Fields] into my starting lineup, knowing that Garrett Wilson’s not going to play…they had negative 10 net passing yards last week.”
  • Pat Fitzmaurice (06:55): “I moved Fields down to QB17…and boy, that is just putting a lot on the rushing side of things because I think the passing numbers are gonna be just appalling.”

Memorable Moment:

• Pat quizzes the others on Fields’ passing prop (08:04):
  “It’s 174.5. And I am gonna absolutely smash under.”

Jackson Dart: Rookie in Trouble (08:59–11:05)

• Consensus: Both hosts have Dart ranked well below Fields.
• Reasoning: Brutal matchup vs. Denver, struggling pass-catchers, likely to be contained.
  • Pat Fitzmaurice (09:31): “Same bucket though…just not sure that Jackson Dart’s rushing yardage can carry the day.”

Michael Penix: The Preferred Streamer (11:05–13:51)

• Erickson’s Take: Most optimistic, with Penix at QB14—calling him a strong streaming play due to matchup with a banged-up 49ers defense.
  • Andrew Erickson (11:32): “Could he throw for three passing touchdowns against the 49ers that don’t have Fred Warner anymore?...I like Penix as a streamer.”
• Fitzmaurice: Agrees Penix is worth streaming, plans to move him above Fields in the rankings (13:00).

---

4. Top 12 Tight Ends – Start Your Studs, But Seek Volume

Big Board (14:21–15:22)

• Top Names: Trey McBride, Jake Ferguson, Tyler Warren, Tucker Kraft, George Kittle, Sam LaPorta, Dallas Goedert, Travis Kelce, Darren Waller, Harold Fannin, Hunter Henry, Cade Otten.

The George Kittle Discussion (15:22–16:58)

• Fitzmaurice: Has Kittle at TE3, referencing the return of Brock Purdy and Kittle’s talent, despite Atlanta’s tough defense.
  • Pat Fitzmaurice (15:22): “George Kittle is going to be George Kittle and I don’t care that the Falcons have been the toughest defense in the league…they’re going to need to throw and George Kittle is going to be a big part of that.”
• Erickson: A bit warier, slightly prefers LaPorta due to the high-scoring Detroit/Tampa Bay game.
  • Andrew Erickson (16:17): “There’s going to be 80 points scored in that game. So I want…I just like playing pieces of those types of games.”

The Darren Waller Divide (17:14–18:32)

• Erickson: Has Waller all the way down at TE15, worried about low targets and a brutal matchup in Cleveland.
  • Andrew Erickson (17:32): “I just think this is a ticking time bomb for this offense…I just think it’s a really bad spot.”
• Fitzmaurice: Still starting Waller, noting Browns are softer vs. tight ends and Waller will likely be heavily targeted with Tyreek out.
  • Pat Fitzmaurice (18:32): “That’s one place you can attack this defense, and with no Tyreek Hill, obviously, that kind of concentrates the targets a little bit, and I think Waller is going to be part of that.”

Harold Fannin: Streamer Special (19:28–20:28)

• Optimistic floor play with a high target share if Njoku is out, as highlighted by both hosts.
  • Pat Fitzmaurice (19:43): “Brown’s tight ends in Dylan Gabriel’s two starts have 29 targets and 20 catches.”

Mason Taylor and Cade Otten: Deep Streamers (21:38–24:42)

• Mason Taylor: Erickson likes him in a great matchup (Panthers), expects stubborn volume (22:27).
  • Andrew Erickson (22:27): “I think Mason Taylor can have a productive game…Men in Black thing where you forget about what happened in London with Mason Taylor. Clean slate.”
• Cade Otten: Both note he gains value if Mike Evans sits; Otten is favored for TD upside.
• Stacking QBs with TEs: Both hosts note their preference for TEs tied to better QBs (Baker Mayfield over Justin Fields).

---

5. Notable Quotes & Moments

• “These guys are playing limbo with Justin Fields rank and we’ll see how low they can ultimately go.” – Chris Welsh (08:59)
• “Could he throw for three passing touchdowns against the 49ers that don’t have Fred Warner anymore?” – Andrew Erickson (11:32)
• “I am gonna absolutely smash under. Yes. I think it should be somewhere around 150 [yards].” – Pat Fitzmaurice on Fields’ passing prop (08:04)
• “George Kittle is going to be George Kittle and I don’t care that the Falcons have been the toughest defense…they’re going to need to throw and George Kittle is going to be a big part of that.” – Pat Fitzmaurice (15:22)
• “I just think this is a ticking time bomb for this offense…I just think it’s a really bad spot [for Waller].” – Andrew Erickson (17:32)

---

6. Timestamps for Key Segments

• Setting the stage/overview: 00:35–01:37
• QB Big Board rundown: 01:57–04:15
• Justin Fields breakdown: 04:15–08:59
• Jackson Dart analysis: 08:59–11:05
• Michael Penix stream appeal: 11:05–13:51
• Tight End Rankings rundown: 14:21–15:22
• George Kittle confidence: 15:22–16:58
• Darren Waller concerns: 17:14–18:32
• Harold Fannin, Mason Taylor, Cade Otten streamer talk: 19:28–24:42

---

Final Takeaways

• QB Take: If you’re without Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson, top streaming options are thin. Fields is risky, Penix is the preferred streamer, and Dart faces a tough matchup.
• TE Take: Start your studs. Kittle is an every week play, LaPorta/Detroit TEs carry upside in shootouts, and volume-based streamers like Mason Taylor and Harold Fannin can be solid fill-ins, especially in good matchups or with Njoku/passer injuries.
• Hosts’ Message: Trust the top 12, but look for matchups, usage trends, and quarterback/tight end pairings when scraping for bye week or injury replacements.

---

For more personalized rankings and start/sit questions, visit fantasypros.com/rankings or catch the FantasyPros hosts live on YouTube, Discord, or Twitch. Good luck in Week 7!

Transcript

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Greg Rosenthal]

If you're a smoker or dipper ready to make a change, you really only need one good reason. But with Zynn Nicotine Pouches, you'll discover many good reasons. Zynn is America's number one nicotine pouch brand. Plus Zynn offers a robust rewards program. There are lots of options when it comes to nicotine satisfaction, but there's only one Zyn. Check out Zyn.com find to find Zyn at a store near you. Warning. This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

[Chris Welsh]

What's up, friendos? And welcome into fantasy Pros. This is the fantasy Football Podcast Week 7 ranks for quarterbacks and tight ends. We've paired them together and we're going to hit you with the starters, the top 12 in each category, and a couple guys right outside that you might be potentially wanting to stream or start over. Some other big names. I'm Chris Welsh. We've got Pat Fitzmores and Andrew Erickson here to talk through the ranks. Gentlemen, we are going to be hitting both of these spots. Erickson, you laid it out off air. Very funny. We are going to talk about the quarterbacks that you are streaming for. Josh Allen. That's essentially what the quarterback show is here, because the names are chalk. They're the names that you've been playing. You want to continue playing. This is the week where you got to figure out who do I start over? Josh Allen and the tight ends are going to be. Are we comfortable with George Kittle? Of course, yes. Darren Waller, is he still a play? Yes. And is Harold Fannin the truth? Those are essential. That's the baseline of what we're going to do here. Eric. So that's the show, right?

[Andrew Erickson]

Right. He summed it up perfectly. Welsh. So looking forward to chopping it up. He did.

[Chris Welsh]

That's like the AI thing. The AI like, combination of what the show's going to be. What's that, Fitzy?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

You're not even going to mention Lamar Jackson. I mean, I remember when the schedule came out, looking at this bye week and seeing like, oh, interesting. The only two quarterbacks on by that week are going to be Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. And I know people have already been dealing with the absence of Lamar Jackson, but like, one more week, hopefully one more week, the Lamar Jackson investors have to get.

[Chris Welsh]

It's fair. That's the reason I have a league where I've been without Lamar for a couple of weeks. It's exactly what you said. It's because we've been out for a couple weeks. We've been cooper rushed. You know that it's not anything new. The Josh Allen situation is definitely in our face here. So we're going to be going through the top 12 at least what the big board looks like via Fantasy Pros [e-mail] rankings on the ECR and then really especially the quarterbacks, the discussions are going to be the quarterbacks outside of that. So we're going to jump into it before we do. Always giveaway time. If you want a chance to win the ultimate symbol of fantasy glory, the Fantasy Football Championship belt, courtesy of our friends at Trophy Smack, the number one destination for epic fantasy football hardware, then this is your moment. This massive gold plated belt is built to make a statement. It's bold, it's heavy and it's guaranteed to turn heads in your league. Don't just win your championship, wear it. To enter, all you've got to do is subscribe to the Fantasy Pros YouTube channel right now. Drop a comment below on any of our videos and that's it. And you're set up, my friend. We'll be announcing a winner right here on the channel, so make sure to turn on notifications so you have a chance to claim that championship belt and flex on your entire league. Quarterbacks, let's look at the top 12 big board for quarterbacks this week. The Not Josh Allen plays, Jaden Daniels coming in at number one, followed by Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, Jalen Hurts and Drake May. Of course Drake May top five or six every single week. Baker Mayfield comes in at six, Jared Goff, Caleb Williams, Justin Herbert, Jordan Love, Bo Nix and Daniel Jones. I don't mean to be dismissive here, there might be some questions, but this is like these are the names. This is it. I don't think there is any real discussion of the players that are outside the top 12 starting over. You know, there might be like a little bit of variance here. There's one or two names I think that really stand out. But just as an aside not to say that we're being super dismissive of talking about these guys but like these are going to be, I think we all kind of agree these are the big major answers. Maybe you have Jalen Hurts and Drake May. And that's a question you want to bring, we'll bring to some of the live chats that we have. But this is the chalk. So what I want to do is I want to talk about the guys right after it. Specifically, this is a Quarterback guys that I thought might punch the top 12 had he not absolutely bombed out in London. 45 passing yards. If you give me Justin Fields versus this is the Carolina matchup, correct? I just blank. Because I didn't have it. Yes. Okay, so you give me Justin Fields going up against Carolina in week three. He's going to be ranked five or six on this list. So this is a battle I think of. Justin Fields is a runner and da, da, da. With this matchup versus, Holy God, he was bad. And then also Garrett Wilson is kind of stank because he's not going to be there. So this makes it rough. Justin Fields is QB13 and ECR and I think that might be the real thing that's holding the rank back. You guys can tell me. Fitzy 15, Erickson 16. Erickson, why don't we kick it off with you? You're the lowest here. So Fields in the matchup is not getting the extra push, even though his big equity is built on running here and he's probably going to have to do a lot more. You're not going to push Fields over guys like Daniel Jones or Bo Nix or Jordan Love.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah, definitely not over those guys. I mean, I could see the argument where, hey, I want to put him at 13. I think that's where his ECR is. I get that from a standpoint of you just, you run the numbers, you run the projections and he rushes for X amount of yards and you just. Yep, he's 13. But just having the mental capacity to put him into my starting lineup, knowing that Garrett Wilson's not going to play. They had negative, negative 10 net passing yards last week. He's gonna throw it at Josh Reynolds, Arian Smith, Tyler Johnson, I think is still on the New York Jets, Mason Taylor, the Panthers, and this is something that I got totally wrong and Fitz nailed it last week. The Panthers defense, maybe not as bad as we thought it was. They've given up 50 rushing yards total, total the last two games. Yeah, I get that Fields can make plays with his legs, but the last two weeks he has less than 35 rushing yards. In both those games, the Broncos, maybe they kind of sniffed out, hey, you just throw everyone at the box and you make guys like Arian Smith and Josh Reynolds beat you. They don't. I can tell you what's going to happen. Like they're not going to beat them. So will he end up getting there because he's going to rip off an 80 yard touchdown run? Probably, but I can't feel if someone's Going to ask me Fields or someone else? I'm probably not going to say Fields. Even though I know, like, when we look back at the numbers, at the end of the day, he was fine. He got there, he ran for enough yards. But everything else about the situation, I just. I just don't feel good about it.

[Chris Welsh]

Betsy, is there anything that you feel good about? I mean, that was a good kind of breakdown of Erickson. He's losing weapons. He's been inefficient. It is a nice matchup, but I just don't think it's enough to slide him into our lineups.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

I don't even think it's a great matchup. I think it's like a middling matchup. The Panthers have given up maybe the 14th most fantasy points or 14th fewest. Like, they're right in the middle. It's kind of a neutral matchup. And Erickson did, like, did you actually have Fields ranked lower a little while ago? Because I think I decided you were right and now I'm out flanking you because I moved fields down to QB17. And before the season, when everyone. Well, a lot of people seem to be making the case that Justin Fields should be in the top 10 at quarterback. I posted something on Twitter suggesting that maybe there was this weird double injury risk with Justin Fields, because if anything ever happened to Garrett Wilson, would you want to play Justin Fields in that week knowing that he was going to be throwing to Josh Reynolds, Arian Smith, Tyler Johnson, Mason Taylor. And the answer is no. And do you know what the yardage prop is for Justin Fields this week?

[Chris Welsh]

The passing yard? Is it passing? Oh, God. Let's take a guess.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Take a guess.

[Chris Welsh]

I'm going to.

[Andrew Erickson]

I'm going to say it's not like 150.

[Chris Welsh]

It's got 1 to 129.

[Andrew Erickson]

No, it's gonna be like 150 at least.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

It's 174.5. And I am gonna absolutely smash under. Yes. Like, I think it should be somewhere around 150. Like, that's what it should be because. And Erickson is right. Like, maybe. Maybe Justin Fields does run for 80 yards in a touchdown. But, boy, you are gonna need that because the passing yardage is going to be ugly this week. Like, I would be stunned if he threw for 200 yards. Just absolutely gobsmacked if he did that. And where can.

[Chris Welsh]

Where can we ladder down a guy? Like, what would we call that? Is that like an escalator?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

I make a bet on under 80 like this.

[Chris Welsh]

Yeah. Give me, 160, 150, 140. I just want to ladder it down. I would go. I might go down to 100 to be honest with you.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

So I've, I've got him at QB17 and boy, that is just putting a lot on the rushing side of things because I think the passing numbers are going to be just appalling.

[Chris Welsh]

All right, well, these guys are playing limbo with Justin Fields rank and we'll see how low they can ultimately go. How about Jackson Dart? He is ranked ECR 15 under Justin Fields. And you guys agree, you guys have Dart under not only a group of these guys, but under Justin Fields 21 and 20. Fitzy, you got him the lowest. Bad matchup. Big concerns. You're going to really think about what you just said with Fields.

[Andrew Erickson]

You.

[Chris Welsh]

You're going to start Fields over Dart this week.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yes, I am.

[Chris Welsh]

Okay.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Same, same. Same bucket though like brutal matchup against the Denver Broncos who are giving up 175 passing yards per game. Just not sure that Jackson darts rushing yardage can carry the day. And he got some rushing yardage last week and that upset of the Eagles, but he also got crushed on one of those runs and had to leave the game for a play. I worry about that he's got similarly talent challenged pass catchers with Wandell Robinson and Lil Jordan Humphrey and just man, like I, I can't even Fathom why the ECR is high end quarterback 2 here because I've got him outside the top 20 and even QB21 might be optimistic.

[Chris Welsh]

Erickson Fields over Dart. Yay or nay.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah, I'm still gonna go. Fields over Dart. I think that both of them, again, you're hoping that they just run their way into a back end fantasy QB1 performance. Dart's been able to do that the last three weeks that he's been able to rush effectively. But now he's facing the exact same defense that neutralized Justin Fields as a rusher. Like that does matter. Like there are certain defenses that don't let quarterbacks run against them. The Broncos are top three defense against quarterback scrambles this season. It's been on tape like they know what they need to stop. And I think they're going to be making life hard for Jackson Dart. You want to bet against rookie quarterbacks making early starts in their careers on the road. Just a brutal matchup at Denver. Yeah, I'm going to look other ways.

[Chris Welsh]

Than Jackson Dart one potential pivot. You guys have both kind of put out there. Erickson way more but Fitzgerald higher than ECR is Michael Penix who has a lower ECR than both of these guys at quarterback 22. Fitz, you've got Penix above dart. But Erickson, you've got Pennix at 14 this week. So he's almost pushed that QB1 territory. So if those top guys are not an option and you're waiting in this pool, Erickson, you seem to think that Michael Penix might be the option.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah, I just feel better about starting Pennix. I get that he doesn't offer the same type of rushing, but could he throw for three passing touchdowns against the 49ers that don't have Fred Warner anymore? I mean Welsh, how good is this 49ers defense when they don't have Fred Warner?

[Chris Welsh]

No, it's not, it's not going to be as good. Their secondary is okay, but they're, they're gonna, they're in shambles without Fred Warner. It's, it's a bad, bad look right.

[Andrew Erickson]

Now they are 31st in pressure eight. So they're not gonna be able to get pressure for Michael Pennix if he has time. Dude, he's just gonna be ripping seam routes to drake London for 20 yard chunks. And again he's had strong games this year. If Drake London scores that play, he's a fantasy QB one in three out of his five games played this season. Now it's been much better at home than on the road. So this is a road game for them and it is a short week, but if they can just convert some of these opportunities in the red zone. The 49ers gave up all of their red zone opportunities to the Buccaneers last week for touchdowns. I think Michael Penix is building some momentum here with Drake London. And hey man, you get the points if you take Bijan Robinson screen to the house. That's six for Michael Penix plus all the yardage. So I get that the ceiling or the rushing isn't there for Penix, but I just like the spot for him. I thought that he looked good against the Buffalo Bills and I like the connection he's building with Drake London. The running backs are really talented. Maybe they get Darnell Mooney back kind of help take the, take the top off the defense. So I like Penix as a streamer. I know I have Josh Allen in one league and I'm going with Penix this week.

[Chris Welsh]

Mitzi, what do you think about Pennix? You're a little bit higher. You're not, you know, breaking down the doors or anything with him, but you're higher than ECR on Penix.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

I have to fix my rankings because I want to have Penix ranked ahead of Justin Fields and I currently do not. So I either have to move Fields down even further or move Penn little bit. And yeah, we do love this matchup against the banged up San Francisco defense that doesn't have Bosa and doesn't have Fred Warner. Like Penix has three credible pass catchers right now and it's Drake London, it's Bijan Robinson, it's Kyle Pitts and Fred Warner. One of the best coverage linebackers in the game helps with the coverage of two of those guys, Pitts and Bijan. So the only reason I'm not quite as high as Erickson is is that Penix doesn't add much as a runner and he only has four touchdown passes in five games so that's holding me back a little bit. But I do think he's a good streaming play this week.

[Greg Rosenthal]

If you're a smoker or dipper ready to make a change, you really only need one good reason. But with Zyn Nicotine Pouches you'll discover many good reasons. Zynn is America's number one nicotine pouch brand. Plus Zynn offers a robust rewards program. There are lots of options when it comes to nicotine satisf, but there's only one Zyn. Check out zinn.com find to find Zinn at a store near you Warning this product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

[Chris Welsh]

Let's go take a look at tight ends. He's Penn's got a nice tight end to throw to in Kyle Pitts. But Kyle Pitts did not make the top 12 on this list this week. So let's take a look at the big board. Starting with Trey McBride at number one, Jake Ferguson at two, Tyler Warren at three. Tucker Kraft and the other tight end in that game, the other quote unquote George Kittle is presumably back. He is ranked fifth this week. We've got Sam Laporta, Dallas Goddard, Travis Kelsey, Darren Waller, Harold Fannin, Hunter Henry and Cade Otten. Those are your top 12 tight end. Five for George Kittle. Not that like matters. You guys are a little bit split fit. You kind of throw him right back into the fray at three. Erickson, you're down at six. Fitzy, let's start with you. George Kittle should go especially Brock Purdy is back. Like there's a big comfort level in that. This should just be no hesitation with George Kittle. I really don't think anybody does especially with a tight end position. But you're definitely your willingness to go full back that this guy can be like a top three tight end in the league.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yep. And I am projecting Purdy to be back. Maybe I'll move Kittle down a spot if he's not. But yeah, I would. I would rather start Kittle than Jake Ferguson, especially if CD Lamb is back. Or Tucker Kraft who had a great matchup against the Bengals last week and yet had only two catches in the spread it around packers offense. George Kittle is going to be George Kittle and I don't care that the Falcons have been the toughest defense in the league as far as passing yards allowed per game and I think second toughest as far as receiving yards to tight ends. Like 49ers haven't run the ball effectively with Christian McCaffrey. Like they're going to need to throw and George Kill is going to be a big part of that.

[Chris Welsh]

Erickson, who is the tight end that jumped over Kittle? Like I get if you want to McBride and Ferguson, Warren and Kraft. Like I get all of those. I'm wondering is it LaPorta or Goddard who jumped past Kittle for him to be six for you?

[Andrew Erickson]

La Porta for me. Okay. Detroit's playing at home. There's going to be 80 points scored in that game. So I want, I just like playing pieces of those types of games. You know, tight ends. Half the battle is well, did you score a touchdown? What's the game environment like? So I expect Tampa Bay and Detroit to be really high scoring and if that means LaPorta could have easy access to two touchdowns. So that's the only other guy I have. But I think that Fitz made a really compelling argument about Kittle over some of the other players didn't consider enough. If Lamb plays, have to bump Ferguson down a little bit again. If you have Kittle, you're going to start him. Like if he's healthy, you're, you're locking and loading. But I think I might rearrange where he is in my top five a little bit as we get closer to kickoff.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Although even if Lam is back, you made a good point about like the high scoring environment. What's the Vegas total in Cowboys commanders? It's like 54 and a half or something. It's crazy.

[Andrew Erickson]

It's actually higher than the one in Detroit which I can't co sign on. This is not the way I play the game.

[Chris Welsh]

Darren Waller is tight in nine this week. Fitz, you've got him there. But Erickson what happened? You were the Darren Waller guy and he's dropped down to 15. Probably what happened was the low target chair. It was saved by a touchdown last week. What's your take on Darren Waller? Erickson? You've got him outside of a starting tight end.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah, I think that this is where the fun ends. The production kind of comes to a halt here. I don't have a lot of confidence in Miami's offense playing on the road against the Cleveland Browns defense. Cleveland plays like a top five defense when they play at home. This, and this goes back many, many years. They just. Miles Garrett gets these guys going when they're playing in front of the home crowd. And I just think this is a ticking time bomb for this offense with tua. I think he's gonna be under pressure on every single drop back. I just think it's a really bad spot. And Waller, yes, he has been catching touchdowns every single week. Keenan Allen caught three touchdowns in his first three games back, too. Sometimes these touchdown streaks don't last. And based on the crop of other streamable tight ends you have this week, Kate Otten, Harold Fannin, I just prefer some of those guys over Waller straight up.

[Chris Welsh]

Fitz, do you have like a level of confidence in Waller that, you know, I mean, the snaps are up, but the touches. That the touches are going to just kind of come back or is there any hesitation?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

I'm not sure I can speak intelligently on this because I'm so thrown by being way ahead of Erickson on Darren Waller in the rankings. It's just like the polls are shifting. I'm totally out of whack here. No, it's. You know, I. I don't want to get off Darren Waller after the bad game last week where. Well, I shouldn't say bad game because he did get into the end zone, but, you know, two catches for 12 yards on three targets. But Darren Waller was up against Derwin James, who's just a killer matchup for tight ends. The Browns do a tough defense and they're probably going to put a lot of heat on tua, but I think Waller is probably part of the plan for Waller or for TUA to dump it off quickly. A lot of quick throws to Waller and Achan, and the Browns have given up the ninth most fantasy points to tight ends. Like, that's one place you can attack this defense, and with no Tyreek Hill, obviously, that kind of concentrates the targets a little bit, and I think Waller is going to be part of that.

[Chris Welsh]

Two more tight ends on the other end. Of that game. Harold Fannin comes in at ECR tight end 10. Fitz, you've got him at 10. Erickson you've got him at 12. You guys have them as starters. Fitz, any positive takes? I mean Fanning got like a huge target share with the Njoku stuff. Do you think this is going to.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Continue if Nijoku is out? And my ranking does assume that Nijoku doesn't play. Brown's tight ends In Dylan Gabriel's two starts have 29 targets and 20 catches. And if one of the two tight ends isn't there, I'm not saying that means a ten catch game is is coming up for Harold Fannin, but he is probably going to be pretty busy against a Dolphins defense that has a lot of the fifth most receiving yards to tight ends.

[Chris Welsh]

Yeah, I'm aggressively fan and over Waller too, so I'm surprised to see like baller over Fanon. I think Fanon's gonna eat even if in Joku is there. But I will say Gabriel did look like he favored in Joku over Fannin. But Fanon makes some big plays. Erickson, you got him at 12. Do you think there's any optimism if Ninjoku's out that Fanon should be ranked higher?

[Andrew Erickson]

I think that he might get pushed up that high. I don't want to move him much higher though. Yes, I think that he has a very high target floor, especially if Njoku is out. But I just think the Browns just gonna pound the rock. That's what they want to do. They don't want to do what they did last week where Dylan Gabriel had 50 dropbacks like something absurd. So that did give a massive boost to like Bannon's overall numbers. I do think he's a really strong floor play, but is he going to catch a touchdown? Right. And I know you didn't list him on the sheet here, but if I'm looking for a guy with touchdown upside, it's Kate Otten. I mean this guy turns into Gronk when all the receivers are hurt for the bunch of errors. Like that's the guy I like more. And it just comes down to Mason Taylor, a ton of targets, Justin Fields as quarterback, how many touches he's going to throw? Probably not that many. Fanon, what's his touch on upside like? And then I also have Kyle Pitts in this conversation again, no Fred Warner. I like his touchdown upside a little bit. Zach Ertz is playing Dallas attached to Daniels. So I'm trying to think about well who's the quarterback where Are we ranking these quarterbacks attached to these tight ends? And that's why I like Kate on the most of kind of this cluster. I don't know where he is in ECR. I have him at 11, he's 12. He is kind of in that. Okay, he's 12.

[Chris Welsh]

So yeah, he was the final tight end on this list. You mentioned the last guy. Let's just burn through it. Mason Taylor, he's ECR 14. I don't know, like, you know, he was a massive target share thing. I think the London, this is another one of those. London's affecting this whole process. You guys have missed starting tight ends. I kind of joked because we had that, we had our tweet from our account that was like, hey, Garrett Wilson's out. Mason Taylor is going to go. And I'm like, yeah, he's going to catch, you know, 43 of the 45 passing yards that Fields has out. So it's hard to get excited about him when we're laughing about playing the under of 100 passing yards. Like what can he really get? But he definitely was kind of a target hog. Fitz at 10, Erickson or Fitz at 12, you've got him at 10, Erickson. Do you think you're over inflating Mason Taylor just a tiny bit after thinking about what you're projecting out of Justin Fields?

[Andrew Erickson]

No, I don't think so. Because the matchup last week was tougher against the Denver Broncos for tight ends. The Panthers are not a good match or are a great matchup for fantasy tight ends. So I think that we're going to get more of the weeks before the London game for Mason Taylor where he was seeing double digit targets, catching a ton of passes because they need them right now. Right. They don't really have any other choice. Who's going to be the leading receiver for the jets after this game, Breeze hall or Mason Taylor. Like that's where I would be pushing my chips in and I think that's enough to get it done at the tight end position. So given the matchup, I think that's the matchup itself. Just Panthers against tight ends, like this is something that we want to target. I think Mason Taylor can have a productive game. So I'm trying to do the Men in black thing where you forget about what happened in London with Mason Taylor. Clean slate. No Garrett. Well, I mean imagine if that had not happened. We entered London game with Garrett Wilson out. Mason Taylor would be like tight end.

[Chris Welsh]

6 Fitzy, Mason Taylor or Kate Otten.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

So right now I've got Mason Taylor ranked one spot higher. But if we don't get the return of Mike Evans this week, I think I'm going to push Otten ahead of Taylor just because of the quarterbacks they're connected to. I mean Justin Fields and Baker Mayfield, who, who do you trust more? So obviously Mason Taylor burned so many gamers last week who used him in that tough matchup against the Broncos. One catch for two yards. But now you've got possibly Garrett Wilson missing the next two games. Oh, and by the way, it just so happens that Mason Taylor gets a matchup against the two defenses that have allowed the most fantasy points to tight ends, the Panthers and the Bengals. So like this looks pretty spectacular even with Justin Fields and his, you know, the quality of targets that come from him. So I mean like they have to go somewhere with the ball. Justin Fields has to go somewhere with the ball. And you've got Mason Taylor who has looked decent not last week, but the games before. Getting a lot of targets, getting a lot of catches, not a lot of big plays, not a lot of yards per per target or per catch. But it just seems like Mason Taylor is in a really good spot to get at least like seven or eight targets this week.

[Chris Welsh]

Quarterbacks and tight end ranks. You guys want more? Go to fantasypros.com rankings. You can see beyond the top 12 and if you got big start and sit questions, just remember we are here for you. Whether it's YouTube, Twitch, we've got the Fantasy Pros discord. There's a lot of ways to get access to us and we've got a lot of events with that going on, so make sure you check them all out. That's going to put quarterbacks and tight end ranks in the books. For Pat Fitzmaurice and Andrew Erickson, I'm Chris Welch. Good luck in week seven and we'll talk to you next time right here on Fantasy Pros.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast.

[Chris Welsh]

If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Leaving a positive review on Apple Podcasts.

[Chris Welsh]

At fantasypros.com review or on Spotify. Follow us on X Instagram and TikTok Antasypros and subscribe to our YouTube channel at YouTube.com fantasypros if you smoke or dip, I'm going to give you a few good reasons to try Zinn Zyn Nicotine Pouches first, it's America's number one nicotine pouch brand and Zyn offers a robust rewards program. There's a lot of options for nicotine satisfaction, but there's only one Zyn. So if you go to zyn.com find that's z y-n.com find to find Zyn at a store near you. This product does contain nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical the NFL is rolling.

[Greg Rosenthal]

That's right, and you should be listening to NFL Daily as we march along to Super Bowl 60. It's in the name NFL Daily, so you'll have fresh content in your feed all season long. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, in an all star cast of co hosts for previews and recaps of every single game. NFL Daily will keep you up to date with everything you need to know so you can sound smarter than all your friends. Listen to NFL daily on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

No purchase necessary.

[Chris Welsh]

Void where prohibited. Ends 28:26 Open to legal residents of the 50 US states and DC 18 and over. For complete details, how to enter prizes and official rules, visit toyotasgamedaygiveaways.com this is an iHeart podcast.