Start Darren Waller or Mike Gesicki? Week 7

Our Week 7 call

Start Darren Waller over Mike Gesicki in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Darren Waller at 6.2 points and Mike Gesicki at 6.0, a gap of 0.1. 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 6.2 fantasy points for Darren Waller, with 100 percent of the markets a TE needs posted.

The market-based projection for Darren Waller is 23 receiving yards, 2-3 receptions and 0.2 touchdowns (12, 9 and 12 market sources).

Player markets imply 6.0 fantasy points for Mike Gesicki, with 100 percent of the markets a TE needs posted.

The market-based projection for Mike Gesicki is 23 receiving yards, 2-3 receptions and 0.2 touchdowns (8, 8 and 13 market sources).

That puts Darren Waller 0.1 points ahead of Mike Gesicki on the market projections.

Week 7 matchups

Darren Waller and CAR host TB on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

TB allowed 15.7 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 6 games, the 10th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 56 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against TB.

Mike Gesicki and CIN visit BAL on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

BAL allowed 10.5 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 6 games, the 8th fewest in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 36 yards and 0-1 touchdowns a game against BAL.

By points allowed to the position, Darren Waller has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Darren Waller is not on the injury report.

Mike Gesicki is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Darren Waller played 46 percent of CAR snaps, drew 12 percent of the targets, earned 10 percent of the air yards and had 8 percent of the red zone chances.

Darren Waller, Week 2 against ATL: 29 of 66 snaps, 3 targets and 3 catches for 33 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Darren Waller, Week 3 against CLE: 39 of 77 snaps, 8 targets and 5 catches for 51 yards.

Darren Waller, Week 4 against DET: 40 of 75 snaps, 6 targets and 3 catches for 36 yards.

Darren Waller, Week 6 against PHI: 36 of 79 snaps, 2 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Through Week 5, Mike Gesicki played 46 percent of CIN snaps, drew 9 percent of the targets, earned 13 percent of the air yards and had 8 percent of the red zone chances.

Mike Gesicki, Week 2 against HOU: 21 of 60 snaps, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

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.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Darren Waller played 9 games for MIA and scored 88.7 PPR points, 9.9 a game, finishing TE33.

He caught 24 of 34 targets for 283 yards and 6 touchdowns, with 7 red zone targets and 210 air yards.

He was on the field for 45 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 7 calls

• Start AJ Barner over Darren Waller.
• Start Cade Otton over Darren Waller.
• Start Darren Waller over Colby Parkinson.
• Start AJ Barner over Mike Gesicki.
• Start Cade Otton over Mike Gesicki.
• Start Colby Parkinson over Mike Gesicki.