Start Chig Okonkwo or Mike Gesicki? Week 8

Updated Oct 29, 2:21 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Chig Okonkwo over Mike Gesicki

Start

Chig Okonkwo

TE · WAS · vs PHI

Market projects: 8.2; fantasy pts
PHI D vs TE: 10.5; 7th fewest to TEs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 75 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 65%; Through Week 6
Target share: 16%; 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; 71 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 45%; Through Week 7
Target share: 8%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Mike Gesicki for Chig Okonkwo?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Chig Okonkwo projects 77 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (7.7 a game over 10 games), Mike Gesicki 67 (6.7 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Chig Okonkwo over Mike Gesicki, 8.2 to 7.0 projected PPR points.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Chig Okonkwo over Mike Gesicki in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Chig Okonkwo at 8.2 points and Mike Gesicki at 7.0, a gap of 1.2. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 8.2 fantasy points for Chig Okonkwo, with 100 percent of the markets a TE needs posted.

The market-based projection for Chig Okonkwo is 32 receiving yards, 3-4 receptions and 0.3 touchdowns (8, 8 and 9 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 Chig Okonkwo 1.2 points ahead of Mike Gesicki on the market projections.

Week 8 matchups

Chig Okonkwo and WAS host PHI on Sunday at 8:20 PM ET.

PHI allowed 10.5 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 7 games, the 7th fewest in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 43 yards and 0.3 touchdowns a game against PHI.

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, Mike Gesicki has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Chig Okonkwo is not on the injury report.

Mike Gesicki is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 6, Chig Okonkwo played 65 percent of WAS snaps, drew 16 percent of the targets, earned 11 percent of the air yards and had 0 percent of the red zone chances.

Chig Okonkwo, Week 1 against PHI: 39 of 70 snaps, 3 targets and 2 catches for 16 yards.

Chig Okonkwo, Week 4 against IND: 37 of 64 snaps, 4 targets and 2 catches for 5 yards.

Chig Okonkwo, Week 5 against NYG: 44 of 62 snaps, 6 targets and 4 catches for 60 yards.

Chig Okonkwo, Week 6 against SF: 51 of 67 snaps, 7 targets and 7 catches for 69 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, Chig Okonkwo played 17 games for TEN and scored 124.0 PPR points, 7.3 a game, finishing TE21.

He caught 56 of 79 targets for 560 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 5 red zone targets and 218 air yards.

He was on the field for 62 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 Chig Okonkwo?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Chig Okonkwo projects 77 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (7.7 a game over 10 games), Mike Gesicki 67 (6.7 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Chig Okonkwo over Mike Gesicki, 8.2 to 7.0 projected PPR points.
Should I drop Chig Okonkwo for Mike Gesicki?
No. Keep Chig Okonkwo: he projects 77 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (7.7 a game over 10 games), Mike Gesicki 67 (6.7 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Chig Okonkwo over Mike Gesicki, 8.2 to 7.0 projected PPR points.

Should I drop Mike Gesicki?