Start Brenton Strange or Mike Gesicki? Week 8

Updated Oct 29, 2:51 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Brenton Strange over Mike Gesicki

Start

Brenton Strange

TE · JAX · vs IND

Market projects: 9.4; fantasy pts
IND D vs TE: 13.7; 13th most to TEs (2026)
Upside: High; 99 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 79%; Through Week 6
Target share: 19%; Through Week 6

Sit

Mike Gesicki

TE · CIN · vs TEN

Market projects: 7.0; fantasy pts
TEN D vs TE: 10.8; 8th fewest to TEs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 72 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 45%; Through Week 7
Target share: 8%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Mike Gesicki for Brenton Strange?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Brenton Strange projects 88 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (8.8 a game over 10 games), Mike Gesicki 67 (6.7 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Brenton Strange over Mike Gesicki, 9.5 to 7.0 projected PPR points.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Brenton Strange over Mike Gesicki in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Brenton Strange at 9.4 points and Mike Gesicki at 7.0, a gap of 2.4.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 9.5 fantasy points for Brenton Strange, with 100 percent of the markets a TE needs posted.

The market-based projection for Brenton Strange is 38 receiving yards, 3-4 receptions and 0.4 touchdowns (11, 10 and 13 market sources).

Player markets imply 7.0 fantasy points for Mike Gesicki, with 100 percent of the markets a TE needs posted.

The market-based projection for Mike Gesicki is 25 receiving yards, 2-3 receptions and 0.3 touchdowns (13, 12 and 13 market sources).

That puts Brenton Strange 2.4 points ahead of Mike Gesicki on the market projections.

Week 8 matchups

Brenton Strange and JAX host IND on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

IND allowed 13.7 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 7 games, the 13th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 45 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against IND.

Mike Gesicki and CIN host TEN on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

TEN allowed 10.8 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 7 games, the 8th fewest in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 38 yards and 0.3 touchdowns a game against TEN.

By points allowed to the position, Brenton Strange has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Brenton Strange is not on the injury report.

Mike Gesicki is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 6, Brenton Strange played 79 percent of JAX snaps, drew 19 percent of the targets, earned 17 percent of the air yards and had 5 percent of the red zone chances.

Brenton Strange, Week 3 against NE: 48 of 62 snaps, 5 targets and 3 catches for 32 yards.

Brenton Strange, Week 4 against CIN: 53 of 61 snaps, 8 targets and 7 catches for 95 yards.

Brenton Strange, Week 5 against PHI: 58 of 72 snaps, 8 targets and 7 catches for 68 yards.

Brenton Strange, Week 6 against HOU: 54 of 71 snaps, 7 targets and 5 catches for 44 yards.

Through Week 7, Mike Gesicki played 45 percent of CIN snaps, drew 8 percent of the targets, earned 12 percent of the air yards and had 8 percent of the red zone chances.

Mike Gesicki, Week 3 against PIT: 29 of 57 snaps, 3 targets and 3 catches for 37 yards, 1 touchdown.

Mike Gesicki, Week 4 against JAX: 47 of 76 snaps, 5 targets and 3 catches for 40 yards, 1 touchdown.

Mike Gesicki, Week 5 against MIA: 29 of 65 snaps, 2 targets and 1 catch for 4 yards, 1 touchdown.

Mike Gesicki, Week 7 against BAL: 20 of 53 snaps, 1 target and 1 catch for 6 yards, 1 touchdown.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Brenton Strange played 12 games for JAX and scored 118.0 PPR points, 9.8 a game, finishing TE23.

He caught 46 of 60 targets for 540 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 9 red zone targets and 293 air yards.

He was on the field for 76 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Mike Gesicki played 13 games for CIN and scored 70.7 PPR points, 5.4 a game, finishing TE41.

He caught 28 of 42 targets for 307 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 7 red zone targets and 244 air yards.

He was on the field for 38 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 8 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 8, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Mike Gesicki for Brenton Strange?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Brenton Strange projects 88 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (8.8 a game over 10 games), Mike Gesicki 67 (6.7 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Brenton Strange over Mike Gesicki, 9.5 to 7.0 projected PPR points.
Should I drop Brenton Strange for Mike Gesicki?
No. Keep Brenton Strange: he projects 88 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (8.8 a game over 10 games), Mike Gesicki 67 (6.7 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Brenton Strange over Mike Gesicki, 9.5 to 7.0 projected PPR points.

Should I drop Brenton Strange?Should I drop Mike Gesicki?