Time to Celebrate National Tight Ends Day in Week 8

In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Paramount+:

Last week we teased you, but this week we’re going full thrust into National Tight Ends Day!

Much like how Valentine’s Day was invented by greeting card companies to move inventory (that’s not actually true, its origins are much darker) National Tight Ends Day was jokingly created by George Kittle to celebrate … himself. And others who play football’s most versatile position.

The spirit of the holiday might be silly, but the results speak for themselves. Last year, tight ends racked up 16 touchdowns and a record-setting 177 catches on their special day. Kyle Pitts had the only multi-TD game of his career. Freakin’ Adam Trautman (his full name) put up 85 yards and a tuddy!

So yeah, made-up or not, the holiday seems to have caught on with coaches and QBs. And I don’t think many fantasy managers are going to complain.

Fresh off the waiver wire, Oronde Gadsden already kicked this week off with a stellar 5-77-1 stat line, giving bye-ridden teams a healthy 18.7 PPR points. Speaking of bye week hell, Trey McBride, Sam LaPorta and Brock Bowers will have to celebrate privately, as they’re all out this week. But who else can we count on? Which tight ends will gift wrap some points for our fantasy teams?

Dalton Kincaid is battling an oblique injury and remains questionable for Sunday, but the last time we saw him on the field he notched his first 100-yard game against New England. The Panthers are a much friendlier matchup for opposing tight ends, so if Kincaid suits up he and his adorable little headband need to be in your lineup. We have him ranked as TE5.
After a very slow start, Cade Otton has been reborn these last three weeks, averaging 5 catches and 66 yards per game. During that stretch, he was top 10 in target share and trailed only Pitts in route participation. With Mike Evans and Chris Godwin both out this week, Otton once again has a pristine path to production.
Mason Taylor had a couple of nice outings in Weeks 4 and 5 before the Jets took a midseason vacation. Luckily, this week he has, far and away, the best matchup on the slate for tight ends. Seriously. Danny Cross predicts a top 5 week for the rookie. Sound too good to be true? Remember that the Bengals defense gave up touchdowns to three different fantasy irrelevant tight ends last week when they faced the Steelers.
Don’t you dare sit George Kittle. DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT. I don’t want to hear any hemming and hawing about the goose egg he dropped last week. Kittle knows what he did, he feels bad, and he will make it right on this, the tightest of all holidays.

And hey, if you’re in desperate need of flex help, consider doubling up on tight ends to help fill the gaps caused from byes and injuries. There’s truly no better week to try it.

THIS JOKER TE IS RANKED TOO LOW, PLUS MORE WEEK 8 CHEAT SHEET NOTES

Tomorrow: Cowboys vs. Broncos on Paramount+

Can Dak Prescott dissect a tough Denver defense? Tune in tomorrow at 4:25PM ET to find out! Stream this NFL on CBS featured national game live on Paramount+.

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Editors’ Picks

It’s Week 8! Bye-Mageddon has arrived! Does your roster look like the NSYNC song? Don’t worry, we’re doing this tonight! Or actually tomorrow. OK, enough bye-week puns. Our Xfinity Best Projections, Rankings and Xfinity Start/Sit tool will break the ties if your bench isn’t filled with inactive players. Plus, here is some content you might have missed.

Freedman’s Favorites Week 8

ICYMI, Matthew Freedman shares his favorite plays this week:

Week 8 Ranks Risers/Fallers

Is Jaxson Dart now a top-12 QB? Dwain McFarland examines that idea as well as more players moving up and down the ranks.

Don’t be Scared of TE Day

How about a parlay of all TEs scoring on National TE Day? Yup, cooterdoodle has that and more as she delivers the Week 8 edition of Scared Money bets.

Week 8 WR/CB Matchups: Sutton is not a Routine Play

Yes, Courtland Sutton is a must start in pretty much all leagues. And he’s going up against the Cowboys, who’ve allowed WRs to put up video game numbers on the regular. But there is more reason you want to be starting Sutton this week?

Chris Allen examines the WR/CB matchups to attack, and a couple to avoid, in Week 8. He has some company in the “he could explode” category from a certain WR who’s still getting up to speed in his high-flying offense. ⤵️

Week 8 Mismatch Report: Ride King Henry

Coming off a bye, all Derrick Henry’s fantasy managers could hope for is health. Not for the King himself. He’s still built like a Greek god and is as powerful as an Italian sports car. Actually it’s health for his offensive line and QB. We got good news on Lamar Jackson, now the goal is for those big guys up front to be healed up so they could blow open some holes for Henry in a great home matchup against the Bears.

Ian Hartitz highlights some of the biggest mismatches of Week 8, with Henry against the Chicago defense very much qualifies. Josh Allen’s upcoming prime spot against the Panthers also gets the spotlight. And the best RB matchups of the week are here, too. ⤵️

GET THE POPCORN READY FOR PACKERS-STEELERS

It’s Time to Stash Jaylin Noel

Rookie wide receivers have their own developmental timeline. Some pop immediately, while others might take months or even a season or two before they break out. But it’s never easy to identify when it will happen. Though something might be brewing down in Houston.

Geoff Ulrich makes a case to pick up Jaylin Noel, and it’s not just because of his name. With the top two WRs out for the Texans, the opportunity to pop may be here for the rookie slot receiver. Find more stash plays. ⤵️

Around the Watercooler

The Week 8 Bye-Mageddon storm is here. Hold tight!

👀 Breaking down every Week 8 matchup.

🚑 A.J. Brown is sitting. What other injuries do we need to know about?

🪓 Beware the Week 8 flex decisions you make in Guillotine Leagues^TM.

🚨 It’s the Week 8 NFL Sunday Blitz. Quick hits on tomorrow’s action.

🚗 A seven-leg parlay of all tight ends scoring TDs? Ka Chow!

🧱 A Josh Allen contrarian stack is the play on FanDuel DFS.

👑 Over on DraftKings DFS, King Henry is too hard to pass up.

🤢 Want to order off-menu instead? Ask your server about Dwain’s sicko starts.

🤔 What’s really going on with J.J. McCarthy? Is he getting Trey Lance’d??

❤️ Who says romance is dead?