Start Brenton Strange or Pat Freiermuth? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 11:41 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Brenton Strange over Pat Freiermuth

Start

Brenton Strange

TE · JAX · vs IND

Market projects: 8.6; recent weeks avg
IND D vs TE: 13.7; 13th most to TEs (2026)
Upside: High; 94 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 79%; Through Week 6
Target share: 19%; Through Week 6

Sit

Pat Freiermuth

TE · PIT · vs CLE

Market projects: 8.1; recent weeks avg
CLE D vs TE: 13.6; 14th most to TEs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 67 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 67%; Through Week 7
Target share: 13%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Pat Freiermuth for Brenton Strange?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Brenton Strange projects 87 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (8.7 a game over 10 games), Pat Freiermuth 75 (8.3 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Brenton Strange over Pat Freiermuth.

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Brenton Strange rookie cards Pat Freiermuth rookie cards

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Our Week 8 call

Start Brenton Strange over Pat Freiermuth in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Brenton Strange at 8.6 points and Pat Freiermuth at 8.1, a gap of 0.4. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Brenton Strange this week yet, so his 8.6 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5 and 6 (8.3 and 8.8); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Pat Freiermuth this week yet, so his 8.1 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (7.7, 8.3 and 8.3); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Brenton Strange yet. His market-based projections were 8.3 and 8.8 points in Weeks 5 and 6, an average of 8.6, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for Brenton Strange is 0.4 touchdowns (7 market sources).

No Week 8 player market is posted for Pat Freiermuth yet. His market-based projections were 7.7, 8.3 and 8.3 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 8.1, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for Pat Freiermuth is 0.3 touchdowns (7 market sources).

That puts Brenton Strange 0.4 points ahead of Pat Freiermuth on these 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.

Pat Freiermuth and PIT host CLE on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CLE allowed 13.6 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 7 games, the 14th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 49 yards and 0.6 touchdowns a game against CLE.

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

Injury status

Brenton Strange is not on the injury report.

Pat Freiermuth 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, Pat Freiermuth played 67 percent of PIT snaps, drew 13 percent of the targets, earned 14 percent of the air yards and had 11 percent of the red zone chances.

Pat Freiermuth, Week 4 against CLE: 54 of 72 snaps, 5 targets and 3 catches for 17 yards, 1 touchdown.

Pat Freiermuth, Week 5 against IND: 41 of 60 snaps, 1 carry for 1 yards, 7 targets and 5 catches for 44 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Pat Freiermuth, Week 6 against TB: 57 of 79 snaps, 3 targets and 2 catches for 11 yards.

Pat Freiermuth, Week 7 against NO: 34 of 64 snaps, 4 targets and 2 catches for 20 yards.

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, Pat Freiermuth played 17 games for PIT and scored 113.6 PPR points, 6.7 a game, finishing TE25.

He caught 41 of 54 targets for 486 yards and 4 touchdowns, with 9 red zone targets and 231 air yards.

He was on the field for 49 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 Pat Freiermuth for Brenton Strange?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Brenton Strange projects 87 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (8.7 a game over 10 games), Pat Freiermuth 75 (8.3 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Brenton Strange over Pat Freiermuth.
Should I drop Brenton Strange for Pat Freiermuth?
No. Keep Brenton Strange: he projects 87 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (8.7 a game over 10 games), Pat Freiermuth 75 (8.3 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Brenton Strange over Pat Freiermuth.

Should I drop Brenton Strange?