Start Mike Gesicki or Pat Freiermuth? Week 8

Updated Oct 29, 2:51 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Mike Gesicki over Pat Freiermuth

Start

Mike Gesicki

TE · CIN · vs TEN

Market projects: 7.0; fantasy pts
TEN D vs TE: 10.8; 8th fewest to TEs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 72 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 45%; Through Week 7
Target share: 8%; Through Week 7

Sit

Pat Freiermuth

TE · PIT · vs CLE

Market projects: 6.5; fantasy pts
CLE D vs TE: 13.6; 14th most to TEs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 81 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 67%; Through Week 7
Target share: 13%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Mike Gesicki for Pat Freiermuth?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Pat Freiermuth projects 73 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (8.1 a game over 9 games), Mike Gesicki 67 (6.7 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Mike Gesicki over Pat Freiermuth, 7.0 to 6.5 projected PPR points. So make the move after his Week 8 game.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Mike Gesicki over Pat Freiermuth in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Mike Gesicki at 7.0 points and Pat Freiermuth at 6.5, a gap of 0.5. 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 7.0 fantasy points for Mike Gesicki, with 100 percent of the markets a TE needs posted.

The market-based projection for Mike Gesicki is 25 receiving yards, 2-3 receptions and 0.3 touchdowns (13, 12 and 13 market sources).

Player markets imply 6.5 fantasy points for Pat Freiermuth, with 100 percent of the markets a TE needs posted.

The market-based projection for Pat Freiermuth is 25 receiving yards, 2-3 receptions and 0.2 touchdowns (8, 7 and 10 market sources).

That puts Mike Gesicki 0.5 points ahead of Pat Freiermuth on the market projections.

Week 8 matchups

Mike Gesicki and CIN host TEN on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

TEN allowed 10.8 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 7 games, the 8th fewest in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 38 yards and 0.3 touchdowns a game against TEN.

Pat Freiermuth 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.

By points allowed to the position, Pat Freiermuth has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Mike Gesicki is not on the injury report.

Pat Freiermuth is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Mike Gesicki played 45 percent of CIN snaps, drew 8 percent of the targets, earned 12 percent of the air yards and had 8 percent of the red zone chances.

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.

Mike Gesicki, Week 7 against BAL: 20 of 53 snaps, 1 target and 1 catch for 6 yards, 1 touchdown.

Through Week 7, Pat Freiermuth played 67 percent of PIT snaps, drew 13 percent of the targets, earned 14 percent of the air yards and had 11 percent of the red zone chances.

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: 57 of 79 snaps, 3 targets and 2 catches for 11 yards.

Pat Freiermuth, Week 7 against NO: 34 of 64 snaps, 4 targets and 2 catches for 20 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

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.

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.

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 Mike Gesicki for Pat Freiermuth?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Pat Freiermuth projects 73 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (8.1 a game over 9 games), Mike Gesicki 67 (6.7 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Mike Gesicki over Pat Freiermuth, 7.0 to 6.5 projected PPR points. So make the move after his Week 8 game.
Should I drop Pat Freiermuth for Mike Gesicki?
No. Keep Pat Freiermuth: he projects 73 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (8.1 a game over 9 games), Mike Gesicki 67 (6.7 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Mike Gesicki over Pat Freiermuth, 7.0 to 6.5 projected PPR points.

Should I drop Mike Gesicki?