Start 'Em & Sit 'Em is the ultimate weekly look at NFL matchups and how they'll affect your fantasy football team. Fantasy superstars such as Patrick Mahomes and Christian McCaffrey will not be featured in this column. All player matchups are based on a PPR scoring system. For your final starting lineup decisions, check my weekly fantasy football lineup rankings.
Start 'Em
Start of the Week
Higbee has become a virtual must start across the fantasy football landscape. He has 33 targets over the last three weeks, and he leads the entire position in fantasy points in that time. With Jared Goff struggling in the vertical pass attack, Higbee has become his top option. That trend should continue against the Niners this week.
Hollister has put up a couple of stinkers in a row, but he's set up to put up a great stat line in fantasy championship week when the Cardinals come to town. No team in the NFL has allowed more yards, touchdowns or fantasy points to tight ends, including Ricky Seals-Jones' 15.9-point out-of-nowhere effort just one week ago.
Henry put up a stink bomb in last week's loss to the Vikings, but I'd keep the faith (if you survived) and ride him in a positive matchup against the Raiders. The last time the Chargers faced the AFC West rival, Henry scored a touchdown and 13 fantasy points. In all, their defense has allowed the sixth-most points to enemy tight ends.
Goedert continues to produce good totals for fantasy fans, scoring 10-plus points in three of his last five games. He's a low-end No. 1 tight end against the Cowboys, who have surrendered six catches per game and the seventh-most fantasy points to tight ends. Goedert will also see a good number of targets due to injuries to Eagles wideouts.
Start 'Em:Jared Cook at Tennessee Titans, O.J. Howard vs. Houston Texans
Sleepers:Mike Gesicki vs. Cincinnati Bengals, Noah Fant vs. Detroit Lions
Sit 'Em
Sit of the Week
Rudolph has a good matchup on paper, but it's tough to trust him with Adam Thielen back in the starting lineup. In games where the veteran wide receiver has been active, Rudolph has averaged right around six fantasy points. Not good. What's more, Rudolph has failed to score a touchdown in each of his last six games against the Packers.
Witten is coming off a solid performance in a shocking blowout win over the Rams, but I wouldn't chase the fantasy points against the Eagles. Their defense has been tough on tight ends, allowing just four touchdowns and the fifth-fewest fantasy points to the position. Witten was held to just 33 yards against them in their Week 7 matchup, too.
Seals-Jones is coming off a monster performance in Arizona, but it was a revenge game ... and it was versus the Cardinals. I wouldn't chase the points, as Seals-Jones has a far tougher matchup up next against a Ravens defense that's allowed just two touchdowns and the fewest fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season.
Sit 'Em:Dawson Knox at New England Patriots, Ian Thomas at Indianapolis Colts
Busts:Jack Doyle vs. Carolina Panthers, Tyler Eifert at Miami Dolphins
Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on NFL.com and NFL Network and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. You can follow Michael on **Twitter**, **Facebook**, **YouTube** and **Instagram** for all of the latest fantasy football news, notes and in-depth analysis!
