Dallas Cowboys - Fantasy News

Who to Start: Antonio Gates or Jason Witten?

by Mike Rose

11/22/17

NFL

Dallas Cowboys

Jason Witten

A Thanksgiving Day matchup is set to go down at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, as the Dallas Cowboys welcome the Los Angeles Chargers for the first time since the two teams played each other in San Diego in 2013.

Chargers tight end Antonio Gates outshined his counterpart Jason Witten in that game, but things are likely to be completely different this time around because of the way things have gone for both players this season.

Fantasy Matchup: Antonio Gates (3.5 PFP) vs. Jason Witten (8.5 PFP)

Simply put, Gates has been atrocious this season. Overall, he’s averaged a pathetic 2.87 Dober Fantasy Points per game, which is a lower output than Witten, so he enters this matchup as a five-point underdog.

The longtime Charger has only scored one touchdown and hasn’t had more than three receptions in a single game. He’s also failed to record more than 30 yards in a contest. While he has had an awful year, the rest of the Chargers passing offense has done well ranking No. 12 in the league.

In his Week 11 matchup against the Bills, Gates didn’t record a single catch even though he was targeted twice. Needless to say, the No. 43 tight end in fantasy football is no longer of value on your Dober Play Cards.

Tight ends in general aren’t a good option against Dallas as it ranks No. 18 against the position in fantasy. Opposing players have only gained 51.2 yards per game against the Cowboys defense, which is allowing just 11 fantasy points per contest to tight ends. Needless to say, backing any of the Los Angeles options at the position likely isn’t a good plan of attack on Turkey Day.

Meanwhile, Witten has fared better than Gates in 2017. The No. 10 tight end in fantasy will be going up against the league’s No. 18 pass defense, so solid numbers could be had for the veteran Dallas tight end. He’s scored three touchdowns on the year, but he hasn’t found his way into the end zone since Week 7. So he’s due, right?

Witten is part of an abysmal No. 26 passing attack that’s struggled immensely with Ezekiel Elliott riding out his suspension. While their passing attack has been lousy, the Cowboys offense overall ranks out a respectable No. 14 overall in the NFL.

The matchup Witten faces, however, is not one to go betting on as the Chargers pass defense ranks No. 2 against opposing tight ends. They’ve been very stout against the position as they’ve only conceded 50 yards per game as well as 96 fantasy points (9.6 per contest) overall.

When looking at this fantasy matchup and trying to predict who to start on your Dober Play Card, the obvious choice is Witten due to Gates rarely receiving much in the way of targets as he nears the end of his career.

Week 12 Fantasy Projection: Jason Witten (-5) vs. Antonio Gates