Fantasy Football Week 1 Tight End Preview: Projections, streaming options, and more

Right out of the gate, we’re going to get a chance to see how much different things are for Kyle Pitts. We know he has a new quarterback in Marcus Mariota and we think he has a new running mate in Drake London, though we’re still waiting for confirmation that London will be ready for Week 1. 

Pitts projects as my No. 4 tight end this week, and that in itself would be a change because the Saints, and most of the NFC South, had their way with the rookie in 2021. Against the Saints, Pitts totaled five catches for 70 yards in two outings. And 39 of those yards came on one play. Against the division, he averaged a paltry 7.9 PPR FPPG, only reaching double digits in two games out of six. 

• Week 1: RB Preview | WR Preview | QB Preview

Now, I’m not much of a believer in defense versus tight end, especially as it translates from one season to another. And I certainly don’t think the entire defense has his number. But the Saints did have one of the best defenses in the league against the position.

The proper responses at this point from a Pitts’ defender would be that he’s actually a wide receiver with tight end eligibility. That’s true, but all that means is that Pitts will draw Marshon Lattimore more often. He may want to go back to being a tight end. 

None of this is to say you should bench Pitts. Well, maybe in DFS. But it will be a very good sign if he gives you a start-worthy performance against this matchup. It would be superb if he could score his second career touchdown. 

Here’s everything else you need to know about tight end in Week 1:

Week 1 TE Preview

The following players are not being projected to play Week 1 at this time. Here’s what it means:

• 28% – The career tight end target rate for Marcus Mariota, which would’ve been third-highest in the NFL last season.
  
  
• 28.9% – Jacoby Brissett’s career tight end target rate. If David Njoku can earn a large share of those and Brissett can be passable, Njoku could have a big year.
  
  
• 2015 — Last year was the first since 2015 that Travis Kelce didn’t finish as TE1.
• 9 — Hunter Henry was tied with the second-most touchdowns by a tight end in 2021, but finished 13th in tight end PPR points per game. 
  
  
• 32.8% — Doug Pederson’s teams threw nearly a third of their passes to tight ends when he was in Philadelphia.
  
  
• 11.6% — More than 10% of Pat Freiermuth’s catches went for scores last year. That makes him one of the top regression candidates in football.
  
  
• 18.4% — Dawson Knox scored at an even higher rate than Freiermuth.
  
  
• 1 — Kyle Pitts and Cole Kmet combined for one touchdown on a combined 128 receptions last year. Expect both to get a big boost in the opposite direction of Freiermuth and Knox.