2021 NFL Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 5: Tight ends

I know that Blake Jarwin scored a touchdown on Sunday. But Dalton was the most-targeted pass catcher for the Cowboys on Sunday. That’s right, a team with Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb is giving up the most targets to Dalton Schultz, because of course. It was actually the second consecutive week Schultz led the Cowboys in targets. Dude is for real. And the matchup is great. Kyle Pitts was targeted nine times on Sunday against New York. 

Ah man, this one was on me. I really feared going with Dawson last week because of the game-script situation and, well, that was stupid. He had scored in Week 2 and 3 but wasn’t getting the targets you would expect to be consistent. Dawson was second on the team with eight targets on Sunday. He’s kind of taken all of the love from my guy Gabe Davis, who had five targets in Week 1 and then two total since that time. Feels like if you’re in TE purgatory Dawson could be a reliable option. Good matchup this week against the Chiefs.

This one is tough for me because I’m attached to Jonnu because I drafted him all over the place this year. Hunter Henry gets more snaps, but Jonnu is right there with him in targets. And I know it’s kind of hairy. I was ready to give up on him during the middle of that game on Sunday night, but he rallied for a touchdown. And that’s a tough way to live. But that’s what we get for not taking Travis Kelce in the first. 

Speaking of players I was ready to give up on, here’s one of the leaders in the clubhouse. Goodness, it wasn’t great to watch. By any stretch of the imagination. But Gesicki is second on the team with six targets, behind DeVante Parker. And out-pacing Jaylen Waddle. I mean, we could be on the same roller coaster ride we were on with Jonnu against the Buccaneers. If it ends with a touchdown, I’m cool with it. Which is guess that goes for everyone. 

I might be breaking news for you here, but let me be the absolute first to tell you the NFL is a copycat league. So if you think Nick Sirianni won’t try to scheme up his tight ends against the Panthers, I don’t know what to tell you. I mean, it’s not like he’s Matt Nagy. Oh stop, cheap shot. Buy seriously. I’m not sure I’m sold on Sirianni as an NFL head coach. But I will give him credit enough to use both of his tight ends here. And if you’re in a pinch and want to grab Zach Ertz, I’m not going to be mad at it. 

Rob Gronkowski is going to be out again this week. I mean, I think so. Can you play with broken ribs? My three-year-old jumped on my side and I haven’t played golf for a month. I can’t imagine what it’s like to deal with this in football. So I can commiserate with Gronk (I can’t, actually). But we saw Brate get targeted five times on Sunday night. The Dolphins just got smoked by Mo Alie-Cox, though no shame in that. 

Look. I had him (and Dawson Knox) as a Sit ‘Em last week. And that worked out just GREAT. He scored. I looked like a fool. So that is nice. Here’s the thing, Williams has alternated good games and bad games. So if you follow that logic, you’re a fool. Don’t ever do that. But the 49ers did a great job locking up the Seahawks tight ends last week, limiting them to just two targets. I’m expecting the Cardinals to work on the corners more this week, so you’ll see bigger games from the receivers. 

The Steelers do have a chance to bounce back here. I’m not saying the Broncos were exposed or anything, though I’m sure everybody is going to be running with that. But you can’t trust either of the Steelers tight ends this week. Even in a good enough matchup against the Packers last week, neither performed. And the Broncos have been tough on tight ends this year. Although, Mark Andrews got double digits last week. 

Love that Engram was third on the team in targets last week. That was good. He had five receptions, so that was great. But he’s not getting open. Nothing was downfield. Until I see something on tape of him being able to stretch the field, I’m going to remain out. I’m hopeful he can turn it around at some point this season. But I’m going to need to see it for a week before I fire in. 

You see the word “Lions” and you think this is an opportunity to start a player. But I’m not there with him. Conklin is still far down the priority list when it comes to target share for the Vikings. He did have six last week, which is good. But it’s clear Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, K.J. Osborn and Dalvin Cook are bigger threats. What you should be hoping for is the Lions don’t have enough to keep up with the other guys and leave Conklin wide open. It worked in Week 3. But he’s had 8.1 points or less in his other three games.