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We have made it through 11 weeks of the fantasy football season and we are about to dive headfirst into Week 12. As the fantasy football playoffs approach, each weekly matchup carries more and more weight as you either make a playoff push, attempt to hold onto a playoff spot or at least try and avoid last place punishments. With that in mind, here are two tight ends that you should start and two that you should avoid in your Week 12 fantasy football matchups.
Tight End Starts
Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Since starting tight end Eric Ebron went down with an injury, we have seen an uptick in usage for the rookie Pat Freiermuth. Ebron is expected to miss some time with an injury so the door is open for Freiermuth to take over as a dominant tight end. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has always liked relying on a tight end and the connection that he and Freiermuth have is apparent and should be beneficial for your fantasy lineups.
Dan Arnold, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Atlanta Falcons
Arnold was making strides in fantasy football and was looking like he was going to be a staple of the Jacksonville Jaguars offense going forward. Then in Week 11, he laid a goose egg and disappeared. I still have faith in Arnold and think that he is going to be an important part of their offense this week and the rest of the way.
Tight End Sits
Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams vs. Green Bay Packers
Despite how pass-happy the Rams offense is, Higbee hasn’t been able to sustain fantasy relevance. Even if you look at half-PPR numbers, Higbee only has double-digits in one game and it was way back in Week 3. The Rams are coming off a bye week so maybe they worked on getting him more involved in the offense, but I wouldn’t trust that he is going to turn it around that quickly.
Tyler Conklin, Minnesota Vikings vs. San Francisco 49ers
Conklin has been a sneaky good tight end play some weeks, flying under the radar in a crowded Minnesota Vikings offense. Unfortunately, while touchdowns make him seem like a great play, he lacks the receptions and yardage to hold real fantasy value other than hoping for a score. The San Francisco 49ers are giving up the ninth-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends. You would be hoping for a touchdown from Conklin and when matchups are as important as they are at this point in the year, that is too steep of a bet.