Who Should I Start? Jonnu Smith or Trey McBride

Friday, October 17, 9:35 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Jonnu Smith caught three of his six targets for 28 yards and a touchdown in Thursday night's 33-31 loss at Cincinnati. It was Smith's first touchdown since Week 1 and also tied for the most targets in a game since then. Smith didn't have the flashiest night among Pittsburgh tight ends, with Pat Freiermuth exploding for 111 yards and two touchdowns on five catches. They both took advantage of a leaky Bengals defense, and one that struggled against tight ends. Still, the weekly volume isn't high for Smith, and he's reliant on finding the end zone to return fantasy value.

Sunday, October 19, 9:53 PM

Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride has proven over the last two games that he doesn't need starting quarterback Kyler Murray (foot) to produce for his fantasy managers. In fact, he's been better in Weeks 6 and 7 while working with veteran backup Jacoby Brissett. In the 27-23 loss to the visiting Green Bay Packers on Sunday, McBride caught a season-high 10 passes on 13 targets for 74 yards and two touchdowns as Arizona's leading receiver. The 25-year-old tight end also went off while working with Brissett in last week's loss to the Indianapolis Colts, catching eight of 11 targets for 72 yards and a touchdown. So McBride now has 18 receptions for 146 yards and three touchdowns on 24 targets and three touchdowns with Murray sidelined the last two games. Fantasy managers might be bummed that Murray could be returning following Arizona's Week 8 bye, but McBride is without a doubt a set-and-forget TE1 in fantasy football.