Isaiah Likely hopes J.J. McCarthy can keep the good times rolling, Tucker Kraft goes spiked week hunting in Detroit, and Kyle Pitts aims to get a hot streak going vs. the 49ers.

Other positions: Quarterback | Running Back | Receiver

Week 7 Tight Ends

TE Notes: Isaiah Likely suddenly leads all tight ends in PPR points and is second to only Trey McBride in targets. The breakout I hoped would happen last season is finally here. The Giants’ crazy quarterback situation creates some room for pause, but there is no third weapon in this offense. Likely has a high floor and proven spiked week potential. … George Kittle is the TE5 by average PPR points, and his importance to the 49ers’ offense has somehow increased even further with Mike Evans (achilles’) on the shelf. It’s possible Kittle no longer has the otherworldly upside of his prime, but his floor also seems more stable than it once was. … Sam LaPorta is averaging 15.3 PPR points, which would be the most of his career. He is looking much more like the player he was as a 2023 rookie. Perhaps something will change coming out of the Lions’ bye week, but LaPorta appears to have usurped Jameson Williams as the team’s No. 2 weapon.

Tucker Kraft feels on the verge of a breakout. Then again, that “feeling” has been there for several weeks. It needs to finally happen in one of the highest-totaled games of the season against one of the league’s worst defenses. The Lions are surrendering far and away the most tight end fantasy points. … Colston Loveland finally scored his first touchdown. He is just outside the top 12 by average PPR points over the past three weeks. Progress. Also nowhere close to what we need. It was nice of Loveland to have his best game in Caleb Williams’ return, but that needs to be more of a baseline than ceiling going forward … With neither Dontayvion Wicks nor Makai Lemon stepping up for the Eagles, Dallas Goedert appears safely ensconced in No. 2 weapon status. That seems especially true with statue-esque Tanner McKee under center. Goedert is simply a more reliable, experienced pair of hands for a backup quarterback. … Harold Fannin’s floor is proving lower than anyone feared. You start him knowing 5/50 is possible, but that’s more of a TE2 profile than the TE1 we were hoping for.

Tyler Higbee is suddenly facing tight end target competition in the form of Colby Parkinson, but the outlook has improved for both following Davante Adams’ (hamstring) placement on injured reserve. It’s the dirtiest kind of empty PPR production, but you don’t need to ask where the points are coming from. … Michael Penix Jr. finally got the memo that Kyle Pitts exists. That was step one. Step two would be producing in tough spots like Sunday’s date with the 49ers’ linebacker-focused defense currently permitting the fewest tight end fantasy points. … It’s possible Michael Mayer is the Raiders’ No. 2 weapon, not just No. 2 tight end. Whatever he is, this is still not an offense where you are in love with the “No. 2” anything. Mayer can fill-in in a pinch. He also lacks either the floor or ceiling to be relied upon as a top-12 option. … Mason Taylor has out-produced Kenyon Sadiq in back-to-back weeks. That, coupled with the Jets’ improving receiver health has left Sadiq as little more than a zero-floor big-play threat in fantasy.

Week 7 Kickers

Week 7 Defense/Special Teams