Start Tyler Higbee or Harold Fannin Jr.? Week 8

Updated Oct 26, 9:26 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Harold Fannin Jr. over Tyler Higbee

Start

Harold Fannin Jr.

TE · CLE · at PIT

Market projects: 9.4; recent weeks avg
PIT D vs TE: 10.9; 9th fewest to TEs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 81 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 83%; Through Week 7
Target share: 26%; Through Week 7

Sit

Tyler Higbee

TE · LAR · vs LAC

Market projects: 8.1; recent weeks avg
LAC D vs TE: 11.1; 10th fewest to TEs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 71 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 59%; Through Week 7
Target share: 12%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Tyler Higbee for Harold Fannin Jr.?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Harold Fannin Jr. projects 86 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (9.6 a game over 9 games), Tyler Higbee 71 (7.9 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Harold Fannin Jr. over Tyler Higbee.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Harold Fannin Jr. over Tyler Higbee in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Harold Fannin Jr. at 9.4 points and Tyler Higbee at 8.1, a gap of 1.3. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Harold Fannin Jr. this week yet, so his 9.4 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (9.8, 10.0 and 8.3); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Tyler Higbee this week yet, so his 8.1 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (7.1, 7.7 and 9.4); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Harold Fannin Jr. yet. His market-based projections were 9.8, 10.0 and 8.3 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 9.4, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for Harold Fannin Jr. is 0-1 touchdowns (7 market sources).

No Week 8 player market is posted for Tyler Higbee yet. His market-based projections were 7.1, 7.7 and 9.4 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 8.1, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts Harold Fannin Jr. 1.3 points ahead of Tyler Higbee on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Harold Fannin Jr. and CLE visit PIT on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

PIT allowed 10.9 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 7 games, the 9th fewest in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 42 yards and 0.3 touchdowns a game against PIT.

Tyler Higbee and LAR host LAC on Sunday at 4:05 PM ET.

LAC allowed 11.1 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 6 games, the 10th fewest in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 58 yards and 0.2 touchdowns a game against LAC.

By points allowed to the position, Tyler Higbee has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Harold Fannin Jr. is not on the injury report.

Tyler Higbee is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Harold Fannin Jr. played 83 percent of CLE snaps, drew 26 percent of the targets, earned 13 percent of the air yards and had 0 percent of the red zone chances.

Harold Fannin Jr., Week 7 against TEN: 58 of 70 snaps, 9 targets and 6 catches for 91 yards.

Through Week 7, Tyler Higbee played 59 percent of LAR snaps, drew 12 percent of the targets, earned 12 percent of the air yards and had 3 percent of the red zone chances.

Tyler Higbee, Week 4 against PHI: 55 of 84 snaps, 6 targets and 5 catches for 67 yards.

Tyler Higbee, Week 5 against BUF: 55 of 82 snaps, 6 targets and 5 catches for 83 yards.

Tyler Higbee, Week 6 against ARI: 48 of 58 snaps, 4 targets and 4 catches for 22 yards.

Tyler Higbee, Week 7 against LV: 53 of 72 snaps, 3 targets and 2 catches for 14 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Harold Fannin Jr. played 16 games for CLE and scored 186.4 PPR points, 11.7 a game, finishing TE6.

He caught 72 of 107 targets for 731 yards and 6 touchdowns, with 10 red zone targets and 379 air yards.

He was on the field for 76 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Harold Fannin Jr., Week 17 of 2025 against PIT: 12 of 52 snaps, 2 targets and 2 catches for 30 yards, 1 touchdown, 11.0 PPR points.

Harold Fannin Jr., Week 16 of 2025 against BUF: 57 of 66 snaps, 1 carry for 1 yards, 6 targets and 4 catches for 34 yards, 2 touchdowns, 19.5 PPR points.

In 2025, Tyler Higbee played 10 games for LAR and scored 71.1 PPR points, 7.1 a game, finishing TE40.

He caught 25 of 36 targets for 281 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 8 red zone targets and 141 air yards.

He was on the field for 54 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 8 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 8, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Tyler Higbee for Harold Fannin Jr.?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Harold Fannin Jr. projects 86 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (9.6 a game over 9 games), Tyler Higbee 71 (7.9 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Harold Fannin Jr. over Tyler Higbee.
Should I drop Harold Fannin Jr. for Tyler Higbee?
No. Keep Harold Fannin Jr.: he projects 86 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (9.6 a game over 9 games), Tyler Higbee 71 (7.9 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Harold Fannin Jr. over Tyler Higbee.

Should I drop Tyler Higbee?