Fantasy Football Week 6 TE Preview: Zach Ertz an easy start on Thursday without Dallas Goedert

For most of the offseason, Dallas Goedert was viewed as one of the top breakout candidates at tight end because we thought he'd see more target share without Zach Ertz. In Week 6 the same argument makes Ertz a near must-start against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because Goedert is on the Covid-19 list.

Unsurprisingly, the Eagles have had one of the highest tight end target rates in the NFL at 25.5%. But what has been a little shocking is how many of them have gone to Ertz. Through Week 5, the veteran had a 14.5% target share, which was second on the Eagles only to DeVonta Smith. Goedert, on the other hand, was tied with Miles Sanders for fifth on the team with an 11% target share.

For Week 6 I have Ertz projected at a 20% target share, which equals eight targets in a pass-heavy game script against the league's best run defense. While this defense is awesome against the run, the Bucs have allowed an average of 16.8 PPR Fantasy points per game to tight ends. Dalton Schultz, Tyler Higbee, Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith, and Kyle Pitts have all scored at least 10 Fantasy points against them. So I'll start Ertz with relative confidence on Thursday Night Football.

Here's everything else you need to know about tight end in Week 6:

Week 6 TE Preview

Who's Out

Numbers to Know

Matchups That Matter

Waiver Wire Targets

DFS Plays

Projections

TE Preview

Who's Out

The following players are not being projected to play Week 6 at this time. Here's what it means:

Maxx Williams TE

ARI Arizona • #87
Age: 30 • Experience: 9 yrs.

We'd expect Williams' targets to be absorbed mostly by the wide receivers.

Dallas Goedert TE

PHI Philadelphia • #88
Age: 29 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Start Ertz if you have him

TE Preview

Numbers to Know

• 18.6% -- Robert Tonyan's crazy touchdown rate from 2020. Dawson Knox's is two points higher than that.
• 21 -- Ertz has 21 targets over the past three weeks. That should go up without Goedert.
• 24.6% -- Darren Waller leads all tight ends with a 24.6% target share. Despite recent struggles, he's still a top-three tight end rest of season.
• 159 -- David Njoku has 159 yards after catch, behind only Travis Kelce and George Kittle.
• 325 -- Kyle Pitts' 325 air yards are fourth amongst tight ends behind Waller, Kelce, and Mark Andrews.

So who should you start and sit this week? And which surprising quarterback could lead you to victory? Visit SportsLine now to get Week 6 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 has out-performed experts big-time.

TE Preview

Matchups that matter

Zach Ertz TE

WAS Washington • #86
Age: 33 • Experience: 12 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs TB TB -7 O/U 52.5

OPP VS TE 27th

PROJ PTS 9.2

TE RNK 9th

YTD Stats
REC 14	TAR 25	REYDS 160	TD 1	FPTS/G 7.2

Mike Gesicki TE

CIN Cincinnati • #88
Age: 29 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ JAC MIA -3.5 O/U 47

OPP VS TE 24th

PROJ PTS 10.8

TE RNK 7th

YTD Stats
REC 22	TAR 34	REYDS 227	TD 1	FPTS/G 10.1

Ricky Seals-Jones TE

IND Indianapolis • #83
Age: 29 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs KC KC -7 O/U 55.5

OPP VS TE 29th

PROJ PTS 7.2

TE RNK 15th

YTD Stats
REC 8	TAR 13	REYDS 79	TD 1	FPTS/G 4.4

Anthony Firkser TE

NYJ N.Y. Jets • #86
Age: 29 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs BUF BUF -5.5 O/U 54

OPP VS TE 11th

PROJ PTS 4.9

TE RNK 21st

YTD Stats
REC 9	TAR 13	REYDS 75	TD 0	FPTS/G 5.5

TE Preview

Waiver Wire Targets

Week 6 Streamers

Dan Arnold TE

PHI Philadelphia • #46
Age: 29 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs MIA MIA -3 O/U 47

OPP VS TE 18th

TE RNK 11th

ROSTERED 25%

YTD Stats
REC 15	TAR 21	REYDS 177	TD 0	FPTS/G 6.1

The Jaguars specifically targeted Arnold in their trade with the Panthers and then gave him a quarter of the team's targets in his second game with the team. He may just have one of the biggest roles at tight end in the coming weeks.

Ricky Seals-Jones TE

IND Indianapolis • #83
Age: 29 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs KC KC -6.5 O/U 55.5

OPP VS TE 29th

TE RNK 13th

ROSTERED 15%

YTD Stats
REC 8	TAR 13	REYDS 79	TD 1	FPTS/G 4.4

He came much closer to replicating the Logan Thomas role than I expected in Week 5 and now he gets the Chiefs in Week 6. The absence of Curtis Samuel only helps.

David Njoku TE

CLE Cleveland • #85
Age: 28 • Experience: 8 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs ARI CLE -3 O/U 49.5

OPP VS TE 2nd

TE RNK 18th

ROSTERED 32%

YTD Stats
REC 14	TAR 17	REYDS 260	TD 1	FPTS/G 9.2

I'm not starting Njoku this week, but we can't leave a tight end on the waiver wire after a 149-yard game.

TE Preview

DFS Plays

Top Play

Mark Andrews TE

BAL Baltimore • #89
Age: 29 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs LAC BAL -3 O/U 51.5

OPP VS TE 28th

PROJ PTS 15.2

TE RNK 2nd

YTD Stats
REC 29	TAR 38	REYDS 400	TD 2	FPTS/G 17

Andrews' Monday night boom is not factored into the pricing, which is fine, because he isn't going to repeat that. But the savings from Kelce and Waller is worth it in what should be one of the highest-scoring games of the weekend.

Contrarian Play

Noah Fant TE

SEA Seattle • #87
Age: 26 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs LV DEN -3.5 O/U 44.5

OPP VS TE 22nd

PROJ PTS 11.9

TE RNK 10th

YTD Stats
REC 21	TAR 31	REYDS 176	TD 2	FPTS/G 10.1

Like most low-end tight end starters, Fant has had an up-and-down season. But he's still the second-best option for the Broncos in the passing game, so I'd expect a bounce back from last week's four-target game. The Raiders have surrendered 63.1 PPR Fantasy points to tight ends over their past three games.

TE Preview

Heath's Projections

So who should you start and sit this week? And which surprising quarterback could lead you to victory? Visit SportsLine now to get Week 6 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 has out-performed experts big-time.