Start Dawson Knox or Jonnu Smith? Week 8

Our Week 8 call

Start Dawson Knox over Jonnu Smith in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Dawson Knox at 3.7 points and Jonnu Smith at 2.3, a gap of 1.4. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Dawson Knox this week yet, so his 3.7 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5 and 6 (3.7 and 3.7); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Jonnu Smith this week yet, so his 2.3 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5 and 6 (2.8 and 1.9); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Dawson Knox yet. His market-based projections were 3.7 and 3.7 points in Weeks 5 and 6, an average of 3.7, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

No Week 8 player market is posted for Jonnu Smith yet. His market-based projections were 2.8 and 1.9 points in Weeks 5 and 6, an average of 2.3, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for Jonnu Smith is 0.1 touchdowns (13 market sources).

That puts Dawson Knox 1.4 points ahead of Jonnu Smith on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Dawson Knox and BUF host BAL on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

BAL allowed 12.3 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 7 games, the 13th fewest in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 39 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against BAL.

Jonnu Smith and GB host CAR on Thursday at 8:15 PM ET.

CAR allowed 13.5 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 6 games, the 15th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 46 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against CAR.

By points allowed to the position, Jonnu Smith has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Dawson Knox is not on the injury report.

Jonnu Smith is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 6, Dawson Knox played 69 percent of BUF snaps, drew 6 percent of the targets, earned 3 percent of the air yards and had 5 percent of the red zone chances.

Dawson Knox, Week 3 against LAC: 46 of 66 snaps, 1 carry for 0 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 5 yards.

Dawson Knox, Week 4 against NE: 36 of 59 snaps, 2 targets and 2 catches for 13 yards.

Dawson Knox, Week 5 against LAR: 45 of 64 snaps, 3 targets and 1 catch for 6 yards.

Dawson Knox, Week 6 against LV: 47 of 68 snaps, 1 target and 1 catch for 0 yards.

Through Week 7, Jonnu Smith played 28 percent of GB snaps, drew 3 percent of the targets, earned 3 percent of the air yards and had 1 percent of the red zone chances.

Jonnu Smith, Week 4 against TB: 13 of 60 snaps, 1 target and 1 catch for 19 yards.

Jonnu Smith, Week 5 against CHI: 21 of 61 snaps, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Jonnu Smith, Week 6 against DAL: 9 of 75 snaps, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Jonnu Smith, Week 7 against DET: 17 of 67 snaps, 1 target and 1 catch for 9 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Dawson Knox played 17 games for BUF and scored 103.7 PPR points, 6.1 a game, finishing TE28.

He caught 36 of 49 targets for 417 yards and 4 touchdowns, with 12 red zone targets and 234 air yards.

He was on the field for 61 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Jonnu Smith played 17 games for PIT and scored 85.2 PPR points, 5.0 a game, finishing TE35.

He caught 38 of 54 targets for 222 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 7 red zone targets and 43 air yards.

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

Their other Week 8 calls

• Start Tommy Tremble over Dawson Knox.
• Start Jonnu Smith over Brevyn Spann-Ford.
• Start Jonnu Smith over Daniel Bellinger.
• Start Jonnu Smith over Davis Allen.