Start Pat Freiermuth or Darnell Washington? Week 7

Updated Oct 19, 3:16 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Early kickoff: 9:30 AM ET, set your lineup before then.

Start Pat Freiermuth over Darnell Washington

Start

Pat Freiermuth

TE · PIT · at NO

Market projects: 7.0; recent weeks avg
NO D vs TE: 16.7; 7th most to TEs (2026)
Snap share: 69%; Through Week 6
Target share: 13%; Through Week 6

Sit

Darnell Washington

TE · PIT · at NO

Market projects: 5.9; recent weeks avg
NO D vs TE: 16.7; 7th most to TEs (2026)
Snap share: 65%; Through Week 6
Target share: 10%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Darnell Washington for Pat Freiermuth?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Pat Freiermuth projects 82 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (8.2 a game over 10 games), Darnell Washington 59 (5.9 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Pat Freiermuth over Darnell Washington.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Pat Freiermuth over Darnell Washington in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Pat Freiermuth at 7.0 points and Darnell Washington at 5.9, a gap of 1.2. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Pat Freiermuth this week yet, so his 7.0 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (6.4 and 7.7); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Darnell Washington this week yet, so his 5.9 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (5.6 and 6.2); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 7 player market is posted for Pat Freiermuth yet. His market-based projections were 6.4 and 7.7 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 7.1, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

No Week 7 player market is posted for Darnell Washington yet. His market-based projections were 5.6 and 6.2 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 5.9, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

That puts Pat Freiermuth 1.2 points ahead of Darnell Washington on these projections.

Week 7 matchups

Pat Freiermuth and PIT visit NO on Sunday at 9:30 AM ET.

NO allowed 16.7 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 5 games, the 7th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 71 yards and 0.4 touchdowns a game against NO.

Darnell Washington and PIT visit NO on Sunday at 9:30 AM ET.

NO allowed 16.7 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 5 games, the 7th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 71 yards and 0.4 touchdowns a game against NO.

Injury status

Pat Freiermuth is not on the injury report.

Darnell Washington is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Pat Freiermuth played 69 percent of PIT snaps, drew 13 percent of the targets, earned 14 percent of the air yards and had 13 percent of the red zone chances.

Pat Freiermuth, Week 3 against CIN: 37 of 62 snaps, 1 carry for 1 yards, 4 targets and 2 catches for 30 yards.

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: 3 targets and 2 catches for 11 yards.

Through Week 6, Darnell Washington played 65 percent of PIT snaps, drew 10 percent of the targets, earned 6 percent of the air yards and had 13 percent of the red zone chances.

Darnell Washington, Week 3 against CIN: 47 of 62 snaps, 4 targets and 3 catches for 67 yards.

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: 6 targets and 4 catches for 25 yards, 1 touchdown.

Their 2025 seasons

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.

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.

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 Darnell Washington for Pat Freiermuth?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Pat Freiermuth projects 82 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (8.2 a game over 10 games), Darnell Washington 59 (5.9 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Pat Freiermuth over Darnell Washington.
Should I drop Pat Freiermuth for Darnell Washington?
No. Keep Pat Freiermuth: he projects 82 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (8.2 a game over 10 games), Darnell Washington 59 (5.9 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Pat Freiermuth over Darnell Washington.