6) Oronde Gadsden vs. Steelers
It’s a great matchup, and Gadsden is a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses. He has now racked up 5+ receptions and 60+ yards in 4 straight games and seems entrenched as a key component of Justin Herbert’s passing attack. The Steelers are ranked 32nd in the league against the pass and 30th overall against the tight end position. This rookie is so good that I would consider playing him at your flex if you have another one of the options on this list. Get him into your lineup one way or another.
7) George Kittle vs. Rams
He’s been really quiet this season… too quiet. He was on the IR when these two teams met back in early October, but his fill-in, Jake Tonges, had a nice game with 7 catches and a score. It feels like Kittle is ready to have a big game, and while it may not come until the 49ers play on Monday Night in a couple of weeks, I’m willing to bet it happens this week in a divisional game that the 49ers really need to win. Kittle has had 4 grabs in each of his last 2 games, and it seems all that’s missing is added opportunities. They will have to come from Mac Jones since Brock Purdy is probably going to miss one more game, but it just feels like the 49ers will need to pull out all of the stops to beat L.A. for a second time this season. I expect Kittle to get at least 6 catches and very possibly a touchdown.
8) Harold Fannin Jr. vs. Jets
Fannin has been Dillon Gabriel’s top target since he took over under center a month ago. That’s the good news. The bad news is that this isn’t exactly what we would call a high-volume pass attack. It hasn’t been for a lack of trying, as Gabriel has attempted 138 passes in four games, one of which was a slop fest in the rain, which limited him to only 18 attempts. We’ll take 40 pass attempts a game with a target share of around 25% all day. I’m not expecting the Jets to score enough to force Gabriel to drop back at that rate, but we should see about 30 attempts, which gives Fannin a great shot at 8 targets. I would be willing to play both Fannin and Njoku this week against a Jets defense that just traded away their two best players. It should be a lot of Quinshon Judkins this Sunday, but when the ball is thrown, I expect Fannin to remain Gabriel’s top target.
