Darnell Washington · Gunnar Helm · 2026 week 5
Darnell Washington or Gunnar Helm?
Wondering who you should start this week — Darnell Washington or Gunnar Helm? The start/sit call and the numbers behind it are below, plus who wins a straight-up trade. Rebuilt nightly.
Start Darnell Washington — barely This one is a coin flip — the projections are within 0.7 points. The matchup leans Darnell Washington (IND allow the 17th-most TE points), but you can defend either call.
Player Wk 5 Proj (PPR) Matchup Form L3 Trade value Status
Darnell Washington START vs IND
5.7 17th 7.7
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healthy Gunnar Helm vs HOU
5.0 24th 3.4
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Questionable
TEs vs IND recently: Travis Kelce 16.1 pts (W2) · Foster Moreau 6.7 pts (W3) · Chig Okonkwo 0.5 pts (W4).
TEs vs HOU recently: Erick All 0.5 pts (W2) · Tyler Warren 5.7 pts (W3) · Jake Ferguson 1.1 pts (W4).
🎓 The coach's read
Projections are 0.7 apart — too close to call on projection alone. Darnell Washington has the higher floor (2.1) — the safer start if you are favoured. Darnell Washington has the higher ceiling (10.8) — the play if you need points. Darnell Washington is steady — about 15% less volatile week to week than a typical TE projected here — higher floor, lower ceiling. Darnell Washington faces IND, 17th most generous to TEs. Gunnar Helm faces HOU, 24th most generous to TEs. 🔔 Ping me if Darnell Washington or Gunnar Helm is ruled out
Who wins a straight-up trade?
Their trade values are effectively even — a one-for-one is a fair swap on the numbers.
Open in Start/Sit (any scoring)
Open in the Trade Analyzer
More TE decisions
All numbers are the 2026 season, refreshed nightly.