DraftKings Main Slate for Week 9 - Tight End (TE)

Jake Ferguson started the last five weeks with 15, 11, & 13, but landed 4 & 8 points to finish that promising trend. The #Cowboys need to get back to the basics. Without a run game or Brandin Cooks, it should land with CeeDee Lamb and Ferguson against the #Falcons. Atlanta allowed 29 points to Otton (a little bit of a funnel with the injuries) and 10 points to Noah Fant in the previous week. He's priced a little too high for the comfort of his recent floor and has a mark fo 20 points. You'll likely need the endzone to pay the bills. #Cowboys

Trautman should've been promoted last week due to the trends against the #Panthers, as he splashed for 18 points at 2.5k. This promotion is not due to that outcome, as it aligns with the #Ravens allowing 10+ points over the last three weeks to Tight Ends, including 21 & 17 points in the previous two weeks (Otton & Njoku). His snap rate on the season is only 49%, and 56% last week. He's not an easy play, but the price is baked in. #Broncos

I saw the potential trend of Adam Trautman last week and sidestepped it due to the lack of time. I share that because he scored 18 points against the #Panthers last week, which follows up the 10 & 14 produced in the previous two weeks. While Taysom Hill should not be evaluated using this metric, Juwan Johnson & Foster Moreau should. The #Saints are down WRs this week, leaving the weapons of Olave, Kamara, and the Tight Ends. While their scoring doesn't provide comfort, with Johnson scoring 8 points or fewer in the last five weeks & Moreau scoring 9 points or fewer in the last five weeks, their price allows for the risk. On the season, Moreau outsnapped Johnson 65% to 58%, with Moreau outsnapping Johnson 78% to 43%. With Johnson on the injury report (practiced in full), his usage may have been limited last week. Both are helpful darts toward strong builds with solid trends toward their low 11 & 12-point marks. There is little to analyze when Taysom Hill will splash or not. With the injuries across the board, the #Panthers' run defense, and Kamara nursing an injury, the opportunity is available (as it was and didn't happen last week). He's still priced reasonably enough for the dud. #Saints

Trey McBride is another Tight End who is always in consideration. He's scored 10+ points in the last four weeks, splitting the production of 17+ in two games. The matchup against the #Bears provides a better push, as they've allowed Zach Ertz and Evan Engram 14+ points in the last two weeks. You're looking for 23 points to pay the bills. #Cardinals

Brock Bowers is always in play. While he did take a step back last week, delivering 10 points to his previous floor of 16 in the previous three weeks, the opportunities are there. The #Bengals allowed 8 points to Calcaterra last week, 23 points to Njoku two weeks ago, and the #Ravens to score 16, 15, & 9 to their Tight Ends (Likely, Kolar, Andrews) in Week 5. 10 points or better is likely. His mark is 24 points. #Raiders

Kyle Pitts has scored 10+ points in the last four weeks, including 15 & 25 points in Week 5 & last week against TB. The upside aligns better against the #Buccaneers, but the #Cowboys allowed 10+ points in the previous three weeks, including two 10-point outputs against the #Steelers (Freiermuth & Heyward) and 27 points to George Kittle last week. That floor presents reasonably toward the upside of his hopeful 19-point mark. Solid play. #Falcons

Mark Andrews continues to produce, but his price is moving at a different pace. He's hit 15, 20, and 14 over the last three weeks but only increased $300. His snap percentage is up to 59% in the previous three weeks, including 73% last week. The #Broncos limited Tight Ends to 6 points or fewer in the previous three weeks, but part of that is due to LAC, NO, and CAR being their opponents. Keep playing him until he duds or is priced out. #Ravens

Sam LaPorta returned to life with Jamo's suspension, scoring 16 points. There isn't any reason for his low output this season except that there are too many mouths to feed in Detroit. With Jamo out again, better opportunities should arrive against the #Packers, who allowed 12+ points in three of the last four weeks. That floor presents safe toward his 19-point mark. This is a solid place to land if you aren't paying up or toward the high-risk bottom salaries. #Lions

Grant Calcaterra has filled in decently for Dallas Goedert and has snapped 85% in the last three weeks, including 93% last week. He's scored 8+ points in two of the last three games. While it's not anything to be too excited about, he's relevant in a top offense and has a price point of a 13-point mark. The #Jaguars allowed 16+ in the last three weeks to Cole Kmet (24), Hunter Henry (17), and Tyler Kraft (16). Albert Okwuegbunam is likely to return from IR this week. I could see him playing spoiler in the red zone. #Eagles

David Njoku ended the week with a DNP and LP. Since Winston took over under center, he has scored 23 and 17 points. While the #Chargers aren't promoting any strong production against Tight Ends, as they've limited production to 10 points or fewer in the last three weeks, oddly, he has a solid history, scoring 14, 30, 18, & 17 points against LA from 2017-2022. Usually, I don't lean that far into past data, but maybe there is something connected. That aside, he's playing too well with Winston not to consider toward his 22-point mark. #Browns

With Noah Fant out, we have two options (it's not always great when there are two) at sub 3k with AJ Barner and Pharaoh Brown. They both have 10-point marks and haven't scored more than 5 points in the last four weeks. Barner was able to splash 10 points in Week 4. Brown is the better blocker of the two, and Barner is more likely to land the receiving role. On the season, Barner snapped 36% to Brown's 24%, almost identical to last week (37% & 29%) with Fant active. If Metcalf were healthy, I'd steer away from this, but the #Seahawks may require some help here, and the #Rams have allowed 11+ points in the last three weeks, including 19 & 24 points to higher-end Tight Ends (Bowers & Kraft). The appeal of Josh Oliver landing 11 points the previous week aligns more with the hope here. While the hopeful outcome is unlikely, the price allows for a significantly sick build. #Seahawks

Zach Ertz's production, usage, and snaps have increased over the last three weeks, scoring a floor of 10 points and snapping 71%. While he had some splashes against the #Giants in the previous season with the #Eagles, he has scored a floor of 10 points in the last two seasons, including Week 2 of this year. The #Giants have limited Tight Ends to 11 points or fewer all season, but the list doesn't include many glaring names. Fair play. #Commanders

With all the injuries in Jacksonville, Evan Engram should benefit from higher targets against the #Eagles, who haven't allowed more than 13 points in the season, which was last week to Gesicki. Engram's price is asking for 21 points, which is a little climb, but I'd expect the #Jaguars to chase here, adding toward Engram's 13-point floor in two of the last three weeks. #Jaguars

Parkinson has scored 7 points or fewer in four of the last five weeks, with 12 points in Week 5 against the #Packers being the outlier. His snap percent has been down in the previous three weeks, from his 80% snaps during the season to 69%. If Puka Nacua doesn't go, I like his opportunities more, but that's unlikely to be known until the late kickoff. While there are many challenges here, the allure is the matchup against the #Seahawks, who allowed 13+ points over the last three weeks. Most of that talent (Kincaid, Pitts, and Kittle) is on a better tier, so move at your own risk. #Rams

Hunter Henry has found some better consistency than his previous splashes in recent seasons, scoring 9+ points over the last three weeks. He's snapped 81% on the season, including 85% last week. His price only searches for a 15-point mark against the #Titans, who allowed 16 points to LaPorta the previous week and a floor of 8 points in the two weeks prior. That floor presents a fair output with a hopeful upside. Decent play. #Patriots