Fantasy football is supposed to reward the people who pay attention to usage, not just reputation. That is exactly why NFL.com's Week 2 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em tight end recommendations matter: they are built on what actually happened in Week 1, not on name value, preseason hype or wishful thinking.
And the clearest lesson is this: if a tight end is seeing routes and targets, he deserves your attention. If he is disappearing into the statistical wallpaper, you should not be pretending that the upside is still safely tucked away somewhere. That is the brutal little truth of the position.
The starts are about volume, and volume is the whole point
Michael Mayer is the most obvious example. With Brock Bowers inactive, Mayer ran 23 routes and led the Raiders with seven targets in Week 1. That is the sort of workload fantasy managers can actually use. He is not being recommended because of a fantasy fairy tale; he is being recommended because the role was real, and real roles at tight end are far more valuable than empty optimism.
Dalton Kincaid belongs in the same conversation after catching five passes on six targets for 130 yards against the Texans. That is not a box score that asks polite questions. That is a box score that shouts back. Dalton Schultz also made a clean case for inclusion, finishing Week 1 with eight targets and sitting second to Nico Collins in Houston's most relevant receiving categories. Again, the point is not glamour. The point is access to opportunity.
Colston Loveland also enters the conversation as a name fantasy managers will keep circling after being goose-egged by Carolina. Week 1 was ugly, but the recommendation framework is clearly looking beyond the blank line and into what can happen when the matchup changes. That is the sort of decision-making that separates an informed start from a lazy one.
The sits are where the warning lights start flashing
Kyle Pitts is the easiest sit to understand. One target and a fantasy doughnut in Week 1 is not a foundation. It is a warning. The talent debate can wait; fantasy managers need production now, and production was nowhere to be found.
George Kittle brings a different kind of concern. He played 47% of snaps, ran 13 routes and produced just 3.2 fantasy points. That came after an Achilles tear, which makes the caution even more understandable. This is not about pretending Kittle is suddenly unplayable forever. It is about acknowledging that Week 1 did not look like the reliable floor managers hoped for, and that matters when lineup decisions are on the line.
That is the whole value of Start 'Em, Sit 'Em at this stage of the season: it strips away the noise. Week 2 decisions are not supposed to be philosophical. They are supposed to be practical. And if a player has already shown you seven targets, six targets, or eight targets, you can work with that. If he has shown you one target, a goose egg or 3.2 fantasy points, you probably already know the answer.
