Fantasy Football Start’em, Sit’em: Cade Otton, Juwan Johnson, Colston Loveland

Start em or sit em? Fantasy football start or sit decisions can be excruciating. While it feels great to make the right call and cruise to fantasy glory, it hurts just as much when you have someone erupt while on your bench. You can use our Who Should I Start? tool to gauge advice from fantasy football experts as you make your lineup decisions. And you can also sync your fantasy football league for free using our My Playbook tool for custom advice, rankings and analysis.

Let’s dive into our start/sit lineup advice and outlook for a few of the top fantasy football waiver wire pickups of the week.

Fantasy Football Start’em, Sit’em Lineup Advice

Cade Otton (TE – TB): 42% Rostered

Next Opponents: @NO, BYE, NE
True Value: $3
Desperate Need: $5
Budget-Minded: $1

Analysis: With Mike Evans expected to miss the rest of the season after sustaining a shoulder injury on Monday night, and with Chris Godwin on the shelf with a leg injury, Cade Otton might play a bigger role in the Bucs’ passing game in the weeks to come. Otton had seven catches for 65 yards Monday night against the Lions. Over his last three games, Otton has produced 12.1, 10.1 and 13.5 PPR points. Fast-forwarding to Week 8, Otton offers decent streaming appeal at tight end against a Saints secondary that has allowed the 14th-most receiving yards to tight ends.

Juwan Johnson (TE – NO): 30% Rostered

Next Opponents: TB, @LAR, @CAR
True Value: $2
Desperate Need: $4
Budget-Minded: $1

Analysis: In Weeks 4-6, Juwan Johnson saw his role in the offense shrink. While his route share stayed steady, his target and first-read shares slipped. Johnson reversed the trend in Week 7. Against the Bears, he had a 71.4% snap share, an 83.7% route share and a 22.5% target share, per Pro Football Focus (PFF), which he turned into 79 receiving yards. Johnson could keep the good vibes rolling in Week 8 against a Buccaneers pass defense that has allowed the ninth-most schedule-adjusted fantasy points per game to tight ends.

Colston Loveland (TE – CHI): 22% Rostered

Next Opponents: @BAL, @CIN, NYG
True Value: $2
Desperate Need: $4
Budget-Minded: $1

Analysis: Cole Kmet left last week’s game with a back injury. Assuming Cole Kmet is out this week, Loveland could easily return TE1 value in a full-time role against Baltimore. Entering Week 7, Loveland had turned his 38.6% route share into a 16% target per route run rate, 0.96 yards per route run and a 9.8% first-read share, per Fantasy Points Data. Against the Saints, he had a 62.9% route share, a 17.3% target share and 24 receiving yards, per PFF. The Ravens have allowed the 12th-most schedule-adjusted fantasy points per game to tight ends.

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.