Welcome back, readers! I am happy to return for a second year as The Sporting Tribune's fantasy football analyst. If you are new here, my mission is to help fantasy managers with any dilemmas or questions they may have through the course of the season to ultimately win their leagues. For the next 17 weeks, I will produce weekly fantasy content that will go over the waiver wire, rankings, and Start 'Em, Sit 'Em columns.
Being a fantasy manager often means having to make difficult roster decisions, but I aim to take some of the guesswork out of it with my Start 'Em and Sit 'Em column for every position. It goes without saying that I won't include obvious calls like "start Trey McBride" or "sit Tommy DeVito." Instead, I search for players that could be perceived as fringe that could propel your lineups for weekly wins.
As always, if you have any questions or don't see your players here, feel free to follow me on Twitter (X) – @JamesNewell96 and send me a message, where I typically respond in a timely manner.
Start ‘Em
Travis Kelce @ MIA (Projected FPTS - 14.0): Is it possible that the stress of being engaged to one of the most popular women in the world negatively impacted Kelce's play on the field? It may seem like a fairytale, but since their wedding over the summer, the soon-to-be 37-year-old has looked like the Kelce of old. He scored the second-most fantasy points among tight ends, only behind Dalton Schultz, and he's averaging an astounding 14.3 yards per reception while leading the Chiefs in catches. Kelce has a great matchup in Week Three against the Dolphins, who allowed 18 fantasy points to George Kittle the week prior.
Dalton Kincaid vs. LAC (Projected FPTS - 14.2): Kincaid has earned himself a permanent must-start mainstay. He's scored a combined 40.5 fantasy points, which is second among all tight ends, only behind Trey McBride. He leads the Bills' receiving room in routes (44), targets (14), catches (12) and receiving yards (225) through two games. Alongside the league's best quarterback, Kincaid is a prominent piece of Buffalo's offense and should not leave fantasy lineups anytime soon.
Pat Freiermuth vs. CIN (Projected FPTS - 9.1): Freiermuth is one of the only bright spots on the Steelers' offense. The Penn State product has caught nine of his 10 targets and leads the team in yards, receptions and touchdowns through two weeks. He has a favorable matchup in Week Three against the Bengals, who are god-awful at defending opposing tight ends. Freiermuth has had success in his career against his division rival, recording a 49-619-6 receiving line in 10 career games. It's a matchup that needs to be taken advantage of.
Honorable Mentions: Tucker Kraft vs. ATL; Mark Andrews vs. DAL; Dalton Schultz @ IND; Juwan Johnson vs. LV; Oronde Gadsden II @ BUF; AJ Barner @ WSH.
Sit ‘Em
Colston Loveland vs. PHI (Projected FPTS - 10.2): Loveland has done diddly-squat in the first two weeks, ranking outside of the top 70 tight ends in fantasy. Fantasy managers (myself included) can only hope Loveland can find himself and get back to fantasy relevance. But right now, he enters Week Three facing the Eagles, who've allowed the fewest points to tight ends, and will be without quarterback Caleb Williams.
Jake Ferguson vs. BAL (Projected FPTS - 9.3): Ferguson delivered some optimism to fantasy managers after scoring 20.3 fantasy points against the Commanders in Week Two. While it's good to be positive, I wouldn't get too carried away with expectations for him moving forward. The Commanders have given up the most touchdowns, second-most fantasy points and eighth-most yards to tight ends through the first two games. Ferguson has a more difficult matchup this week against the Ravens in Brazil.
Terrance Ferguson @ DEN (Projected FPTS - 8.6): Just like last week, the decision to start or sit Ferguson will depend on the status of Puka Nacua. If the superstar wideout ends up missing his second consecutive game, Ferguson will be a nice play for Week Three. If he does play, I would look for a different option, but keep in mind that the game takes place on Sunday night, so don't wait too long to find a replacement. Without Nacua in Week Two, Ferguson put up a 6-54-1 line, translating to 17.4 fantasy points. Keep an eye on the Rams' practice report heading into the weekend and check the inactive list 90 minutes before the start of the game.
Lowlights: Hunter Henry @ JAX; Brenton Strange vs. PAT; Mike Gesicki vs. PIT; Evan Engram vs. LAR; Kyle Pitts @ GB