Should I drop Colby Parkinson for Gunnar Helm?

Not on these numbers alone. Colby Parkinson projects 53 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (5.3 a game over 10 games) and Gunnar Helm 51 (5.1 a game over 10 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 7 the call starts Colby Parkinson over Gunnar Helm, 6.0 to 4.8 projected PPR points.

Start Colby Parkinson or Gunnar Helm? Week 7

Updated Oct 21, 3:01 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Colby Parkinson over Gunnar Helm

Start

Colby Parkinson

TE · LAR · at LV

Market projects: 6.0; fantasy pts
LV D vs TE: 17.7; 7th most to TEs (2026)
Upside: High; 94 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 62%; Through Week 6
Target share: 7%; Through Week 6

Sit

Gunnar Helm

TE · TEN · vs CLE

Market projects: 4.8; fantasy pts
CLE D vs TE: 14.8; 13th most to TEs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 18 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 76%; Through Week 6
Target share: 8%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Gunnar Helm for Colby Parkinson?

Not on these numbers alone. Gunnar Helm projects 51 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (5.1 a game over 10 games) and Colby Parkinson 53 (5.3 a game over 10 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 7 the call starts Colby Parkinson over Gunnar Helm, 6.0 to 4.8 projected PPR points.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Colby Parkinson over Gunnar Helm in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Colby Parkinson at 6.0 points and Gunnar Helm at 4.8, 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 6.0 fantasy points for Colby Parkinson, with 100 percent of the markets a TE needs posted.

The market-based projection for Colby Parkinson is 22 receiving yards, 2-3 receptions and 0.2 touchdowns (13, 12 and 13 market sources).

Player markets imply 4.8 fantasy points for Gunnar Helm, with 100 percent of the markets a TE needs posted.

The market-based projection for Gunnar Helm is 15 receiving yards, 2-3 receptions and 0.2 touchdowns (7, 8 and 13 market sources).

That puts Colby Parkinson 1.2 points ahead of Gunnar Helm on the market projections.

Week 7 matchups

Colby Parkinson and LAR visit LV on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

LV allowed 17.7 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 6 games, the 7th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 54 yards and a touchdown a game against LV.

Gunnar Helm and TEN host CLE on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CLE allowed 14.8 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 6 games, the 13th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 53 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against CLE.

By points allowed to the position, Colby Parkinson has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Colby Parkinson is not on the injury report.

Gunnar Helm is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Colby Parkinson played 62 percent of LAR snaps, drew 7 percent of the targets, earned 2 percent of the air yards and had 11 percent of the red zone chances.

Colby Parkinson, Week 2 against NYG: 44 of 62 snaps, 2 targets and 2 catches for 15 yards.

Colby Parkinson, Week 3 against DEN: 37 of 86 snaps, 1 target and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Colby Parkinson, Week 5 against BUF: 53 of 82 snaps, 2 targets and 1 catch for 3 yards.

Colby Parkinson, Week 6 against ARI: 36 of 58 snaps, 6 targets and 5 catches for 31 yards, 1 touchdown.

Through Week 6, Gunnar Helm played 76 percent of TEN snaps, drew 8 percent of the targets, earned 5 percent of the air yards and had 6 percent of the red zone chances.

Gunnar Helm, Week 3 against NYG: 49 of 60 snaps, 4 targets and 2 catches for 14 yards.

Gunnar Helm, Week 4 against BAL: 46 of 64 snaps, 1 target and 1 catch for 5 yards.

Gunnar Helm, Week 5 against HOU: 45 of 63 snaps, 1 target and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Gunnar Helm, Week 6 against IND: 33 of 46 snaps, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Colby Parkinson played 15 games for LAR and scored 129.8 PPR points, 8.7 a game, finishing TE17.

He caught 43 of 56 targets for 408 yards and 8 touchdowns, with 20 red zone targets and 137 air yards.

He was on the field for 59 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Gunnar Helm played 16 games for TEN and scored 91.7 PPR points, 5.7 a game, finishing TE31.

He caught 44 of 55 targets for 357 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 7 red zone targets and 198 air yards.

He was on the field for 53 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 7 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 7, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Gunnar Helm for Colby Parkinson?
Not on these numbers alone. Gunnar Helm projects 51 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (5.1 a game over 10 games) and Colby Parkinson 53 (5.3 a game over 10 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 7 the call starts Colby Parkinson over Gunnar Helm, 6.0 to 4.8 projected PPR points.
Should I drop Colby Parkinson for Gunnar Helm?
Not on these numbers alone. Colby Parkinson projects 53 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (5.3 a game over 10 games) and Gunnar Helm 51 (5.1 a game over 10 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 7 the call starts Colby Parkinson over Gunnar Helm, 6.0 to 4.8 projected PPR points.