Fantasy football managers know that every week brings new challenges and surprises. Some players bounce back spectacularly, while others struggle in matchups that look favorable. The key is identifying who’s poised to shine and who’s best left on the bench. This week’s lineup decisions might define your playoff push, so choose wisely.
Start ‘Em: Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys
Fantasy managers are a reactionary bench. Knowing a guy like Jake Ferguson can even post a literal zero would give anyone pause about inserting him into lineups.
As frustrating as last week’s bagel was, let’s remember what Ferguson did before. He had recorded six consecutive games of at least 12.3 fantasy points, including at least 16.8 points in five. The veteran tight end had scored in four straight. He didn’t become bad based on one awful game.
READ MORE: Katz’s Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Picks for Week 9: Kimani Vidal, Bam Knight, Terry McLaurin, and Others
The Broncos have a great defense. Nothing worked for the Cowboys’ passing game. It wasn’t just Ferguson.
Things should be much easier this week with the Cowboys at home, squaring off against an Arizona Cardinals defense allowing the 11th-most fantasy points per game to tight ends. Expect a huge bounce-back performance from the entire offense.
Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears
Last week, Colston Loveland looked quite appealing. Rookies typically improve as the season wears on. He’s a talented player. Cole Kmet was out. Many signs pointed to this being the week Loveland arrived. Instead, the Bears managed just 16 points against one of the league’s worst defenses and lost by two touchdowns to Tyler Huntley.
Despite the embarrassing performance of the Chicago Bears, there were positives, particularly with Loveland. The rookie tight end actually did post his best game of the season. It was only 6.8 fantasy points, but his five targets and 38 yards were season highs.
More importantly, Loveland played a season-high 81% of the snaps and ran a route on 78% of Caleb Williams’ dropbacks. The usage is improving. He’s better than Kmet. And now he gets a Bengals defense allowing the most fantasy points per game to tight ends. Perhaps we were one week early on the breakout.
Sit ‘Em: Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
Coming off their bye week, the Buffalo Bills clicked on all cylinders. They scored 40 points against the Carolina Panthers. Unfortunately, their sheer dominance rendered Dalton Kincaid irrelevant.
Kinciad played a mere 14 snaps, half of which were of Dawson Knox. While he did run a route on 12 of them, he only drew three targets and caught one ball for 23 yards. Kincaid’s streak of at least serviceable numbers in every game this season ended. Unfortunately, this does not project like the week the tight end gets back on track.
#BreakingNews @FBGreatMoments Dalton Kincaid and James Cook roasting Frank Gore Jr. for his ‘Auntie, Chill’ viral video from college pic.twitter.com/kAqy6itvV2
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We know that Bills-Chiefs games can be high scoring. So often, opponents don’t push the Bills to score more. That’s not going to be the case against Patrick Mahomes and friends.
But throughout his career, Kincaid has never beaten the Chiefs. Here are his lines against Kansas City:
This year, the Chiefs have limited production from tight ends. They are allowing the third-fewest fantasy points per game to the position.
The Bills will likely use Josh Allen’s mobility and James Cook’s explosiveness to move the ball in this game. Kincaid is not an appealing option in a bad matchup.
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
The Atlanta Falcons just got embarrassed by the Miami Dolphins, a team that had just one win before last week. It stands to reason they will be heavily motivated to rebound.
The New England Patriots have been one of the best stories of the season, led by legitimate MVP candidate Drake Maye. As great as Maye has played, though, there is no clear top receiving target on this team. It changes each week.
Watch as HC Mike Vrabel breaks down the film of Drake Maye’s TD pass to Hunter Henry, Robert Spillane’s INT and more top plays from the win over the Browns.
Watch the Full Vrabel X’s and O’s: https://t.co/WrGXhorLZP pic.twitter.com/bnRLydkcWs
— Patriots.com (@PATRIOTSdotCOM) October 28, 2025
Sure, Hunter Henry could be that guy on any given Sunday. But he’s coming off a game where he caught just one pass for seven yards. Granted, it was in the end zone, salvaging his fantasy outing, but he’s now seen five targets or fewer in all but two games this season.
The Falcons allow the fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends. Henry will probably get back on track eventually. It’s just unlikely to be this week.
