Start Darnell Washington or Evan Engram? Week 8

Our Week 8 call

Start Darnell Washington over Evan Engram in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Darnell Washington at 6.5 points and Evan Engram at 5.7, a gap of 0.7. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Darnell Washington this week yet, so his 6.5 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (6.2, 6.5 and 6.7); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Evan Engram this week yet, so his 5.7 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (5.4, 5.8 and 6.0); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Darnell Washington yet. His market-based projections were 6.2, 6.5 and 6.7 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 6.5, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

No Week 8 player market is posted for Evan Engram yet. His market-based projections were 5.4, 5.8 and 6.0 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 5.7, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts Darnell Washington 0.7 points ahead of Evan Engram on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Darnell Washington 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.

Evan Engram and DEN host KC on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

KC allowed 18.5 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 6 games, the 5th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 71 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against KC.

By points allowed to the position, Evan Engram has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Darnell Washington is not on the injury report.

Evan Engram is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Darnell Washington played 65 percent of PIT snaps, drew 9 percent of the targets, earned 6 percent of the air yards and had 13 percent of the red zone chances.

Darnell Washington, Week 4 against CLE: 51 of 72 snaps, 5 targets and 3 catches for 27 yards, 1 touchdown.

Darnell Washington, Week 5 against IND: 38 of 60 snaps, 3 targets and 2 catches for 12 yards.

Darnell Washington, Week 6 against TB: 56 of 79 snaps, 6 targets and 4 catches for 25 yards, 1 touchdown.

Darnell Washington, Week 7 against NO: 36 of 64 snaps, 1 target and 1 catch for 4 yards, 1 touchdown.

Through Week 7, Evan Engram played 54 percent of DEN snaps, drew 11 percent of the targets, earned 10 percent of the air yards and had 4 percent of the red zone chances.

Evan Engram, Week 4 against SF: 44 of 65 snaps, 5 targets and 1 catch for 6 yards.

Evan Engram, Week 5 against LAC: 30 of 62 snaps, 4 targets and 4 catches for 55 yards.

Evan Engram, Week 6 against SEA: 31 of 60 snaps, 2 targets and 2 catches for 13 yards.

Evan Engram, Week 7 against ARI: 24 of 61 snaps, 3 targets and 1 catch for 2 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Darnell Washington played 16 games for PIT and scored 73.4 PPR points, 4.6 a game, finishing TE39.

He caught 31 of 43 targets for 364 yards and 1 touchdown, with 8 red zone targets and 135 air yards.

He was on the field for 57 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Evan Engram played 16 games for DEN and scored 102.8 PPR points, 6.4 a game, finishing TE29.

He caught 50 of 76 targets for 461 yards and 1 touchdown, with 10 red zone targets and 159 air yards.

He was on the field for 42 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 8 calls

• Start AJ Barner over Darnell Washington.
• Start Chig Okonkwo over Darnell Washington.
• Start Darnell Washington over Colby Parkinson.
• Start AJ Barner over Evan Engram.
• Start Chig Okonkwo over Evan Engram.
• Start Evan Engram over Colby Parkinson.