Top five fantasy football sleeper tight ends for NFL Week 8

Looking for a last-minute start at TE? An option to stash moving forward? Zach Thompson has you covered for Week 8.

Even with all 32 teams in action in Week 8, tight ends are still tricky to figure out. Every week roles shift and matchups fluctuate, creating opportunities to get value. If you’re not fortunate enough to have landed an every-week stud in your season-long league, or you’re looking for a bargain DFS play for Sunday, there are definitely some tight ends operating on the margin who can help you in Week 8.

These options were not ranked in my top-10 plays at the position on Monday but are poised to perform in Week 8. Last week’s tight end selections in this spot were Grant Calcaterra ($3,200; 1.5 FPTS), Ja’Tavion Sanders ($2,900; 12.1 FPTS), Theo Johnson (0.0 FPTS), Will Dissly ($2,800; 16.1 FPTS) and Harrison Bryant ($2,500; 3.9FPTS).

Looking ahead to Week 8, here are my top five sleeper tight ends:

Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Since the Bucs lost their top two WRs on Monday Night Football with both Mike Evans (hamstring) and Chris Godwin (ankle) out for a while, Cade Otton ($3,500) is drastically underpriced compared to the workload he’ll probably get against the Falcons. He’s extremely affordable in DFS contests like the NFL $2.75M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st], and he’s a strong option as a FLEX play since he comes so cheap.

Last week, Otton set season highs with eight catches on 10 targets for 100 yards and an impressive 21 fantasy points. Most of that work came before Godwin’s injury but after Evans’. He’s already one of Baker Mayfield’s ($6,700) favorite targets, especially in the red zone.

He is lined up for plenty of targets in Week 8 and should have a chance to go off. Otton brings both a high floor and a high ceiling with so much work. He will likely be very chalky, though, so just be aware of that for DFS contests. In season-long leagues, if there’s any way to grab Otton, he’s now a top-10 TE after the injuries to his teammates.


Jonnu Smith, Miami Dolphins

Jonnu Smith ($3,600) is actually priced a little higher than Otton and higher than I usually like to go for these sleepers, but this week I think he brings great leverage. He’s mostly going overlooked in the hype around the return of Tua Tagovailoa ($6,100) and what it means for Tyreek Hill ($7,000) and Jaylen Waddle ($5,400).

While he will need to work with a new QB, he has shown his upside in the past two games in a growing role in the offense. He had five catches for 62 yards and 11.1 fantasy points in Week 5 then returned after the bye with seven catches for 96 yards, a touchdown and 22.6 fantasy points.

Since Otton will get all the attention in this price range, Smith is an interesting option to pay a little more and get a much lower ownership percentage. It will also be interesting to see how involved he is in the new offense, which will determine his value going forward.


Will Dissly, Los Angeles Chargers

I’m back on Will Dissly ($3,000; shoulder, questionable) for a second straight week after he turned in his best performance of the season in last Monday’s loss to the Cardinals. Dissly caught 8-of-11 targets for 81 yards.

Both he and Hayden Hurst ($2,900; groin, questionable) are questionable and if either one sits the other would be a strong play as the Chargers host the Saints in a 4:05 p.m. ET kickoff.

Justin Herbert ($5,400) threw for 349 yards against the Cardinals, but the offense didn’t convert enough touchdowns. If Herbert is healthy and productive, he’ll need pass catchers, and the WR corps is still very thin. If both TE are available, Dissly is my preferred play, but he becomes an even stronger play if Hurst is sidelined for a second straight week.


Chig Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans

Chig Okonkwo ($3,100) would have been a fantasy football sleeper to watch this week even before the trade of DeAndre Hopkins ($4,900) opened up more targets. With Hopkins now in Kansas City, Okonkwo will get even more attention from Mason Rudolph ($4,400), who will be making his second start.

Rudolph only threw for 215 yards, a touchdown and 11.9 fantasy points last week, but he did give Okonkwo a season-high four targets against the Bills. Okonkwo caught all four of those targets for a season-high 50 yards. He had the team’s longest play of the day with a 26-yard catch in the first quarter.

He has the potential to make big plays and should get enough opportunities to make a difference against the Lions.


Lucas Krull, Denver Broncos

The Broncos’ passing game has been a moving target this season with different players in the mix each week. Both wide receivers and tight ends have had big weeks and totally disappeared at times, which makes all of them high-risk, high-reward options this week against the Panthers.

Lucas Krull ($2,700) is one ultra-cheap DFS play you can take a shot with if the rest of your roster is stacked up and you have less than $3,000 left. Krull has been the most effective tight end for the Broncos the past two weeks even though Adam Trautman ($2,500) actually played more snaps. Krull caught three of his four targets for 41 yards and a season-high 7.1 fantasy points against the Saints.

It was his second straight week with four targets, and Bo Nix ($5,600) may continue to try and use the prototypical big tight end, especially around the goal line. Krull is still a speculative pickup at this point since his role isn’t certain, but he’s definitely worth keeping on your radar or possibly even stashing in deep leagues.


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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.

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