Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 8: Tight ends

Week 8 of the fantasy football season is here, and we’re back with another crop of start/sit options. We have a nice set of data from each team and can make informed decisions on good plays and traps. With that in mind, we’ll pick tight ends who should exceed expectations in Week 8, along with three you should probably sit.

We were concerned about Rudolph’s minimal usage with Case Keenum at quarterback, but those fears have been dispelled the past three weeks, as Rudolph has 16 receptions on 25 targets. The Browns have been killed by tight ends all season, so if Rudolph gets another eight-to-nine targets, he’s going to do damage in London.

With the Patriots back to being a shell of themselves defensively, especially at linebacker with the injury to Dont’a Hightower, Henry should have easy pickings in the passing game. He has really come on since the team re-discovered him three weeks ago with 12 catches on 20 targets in those three games.

The Raiders are terrible at defending the tight end, and O’Leary has put up a pair of productive games since Charles Clay went down with an injury. O’Leary only had two catches last week, but they accounted for 58 yards. He should see more than two looks against this defense.

Howard is looking like a one-week wonder, even though it was a really impressive week. With Luke Kuechly back in the Panthers’ lineup, opportunities for the Tampa Bay tight ends should decrease dramatically. It’s a risky spot for the No. 2 tight end in this offense.

Kittle was the flavor of the week on the waiver wire a couple of games ago but has really seen his usage plummet the past two weeks. He was a total non-factor against Dallas. This is another tough spot for rookie C.J. Beathard, on the road on the East Coast. The Eagles got gashed by Jordan Reed late on Monday, but Kittle is no Reed.

Doyle has one touchdown this season. In related news, the Bengals have allowed one touchdown all season to tight ends. See a trend here?