The narrative that tight end is deep in 2020 Fantasy Football could get a big boost in Week 1. While Chris Herndon and Mike Gesicki start off in terrible situations against the Bills and Patriots, respectively, Hayden Hurst, Blake Jarwin, and Noah Fant do not. In fact, they look like legitimate Week 1 breakout candidates. Hurst shouldn't be too surprising. In fact, we drafted him like he'd already broken out. But Jarwin and Fant could become full-time starters for Fantasy teams who weren't sure they had one.
Jarwin walks into the Jason Witten role this season in Dallas and starts the season against the Los Angeles Rams. This game just happens to have the second-highest over-under of the weekend per William Hill Sportsbook and it wouldn't be surprising if Jarwin plays a bigger role early in the year while CeeDee Lamb acclimates to the NFL.
And Fant may just be the No. 1 target in Week 1 for Drew Lock. Courtland Sutton injured his shoulder in Thursday's practice and Jerry Jeudy will be playing in his first NFL game. While the Titans have a very good defense, they weren't particularly stingy against tight ends last year. Only five teams surrendered more Fantasy points in 2019.
Week 1 TE Preview
The following players are not being projected to play Week 1 at this time. Here's what it means:
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Numbers to Know
- 7.3 .-- Not only are the Bills a great defense, but they were particularly great against tight ends last year, allowing them 7.3 .5 PPR points per game, the second lowest total in the league.
- 16.1 -- I don't want to spend too much time on defense vs. tight ends, but it's worth remembering that Arizona was the free space last year, giving up 30% more Fantasy points per game to tight ends than any other team.
- 55% -- Mark Andrews never played more than 55% of the snaps in a game last year and was below 40% four times. We're hopeful the trade of Hayden Hurst opens up even more opportunities for Andrews.
- 117 -- Darren Waller had the third most targets among tight ends last year. How much will Henry Ruggs and Bryan Edwards impact that?
- 120 -- Dirk Koetter's offense has dedicated 120 targets minimum to tight ends the past three seasons. That's a big reason why Hayden Hurst is our favorite breakout.
- 910 -- Mike Gesicki was fourth in air yards at tight end last year. Once his schedule turns he's a breakout candidate.
- 104.4 -- Tyler Higbee averaged 104 yards per game in the final five weeks. He had two games with more than 50 yards prior to that stretch.
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Matchups that matter
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Waiver Wire Targets
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Heath's Projections
Who should you start and sit this week? And which surprising quarterback could lead you to victory? Visit SportsLine now to get Week 1 rankings for every position, plus see which QB is going to come out of nowhere to crack the top 10, all from the model that out-performed experts big time last season.
