Darren Waller · Pat Freiermuth · 2026 week 1

Darren Waller or Pat Freiermuth?

Wondering who you should start this week — Darren Waller or Pat Freiermuth? The start/sit call and the numbers behind it are below, plus who wins a straight-up trade. Rebuilt nightly.

Start Darren Waller — barelyThis one is a coin flip — the projections are within 0.7 points. The matchup leans Darren Waller (CHI allow the 18th-most TE points), but you can defend either call.
PlayerWk 1Proj (PPR)MatchupForm L3Trade valueStatus
Darren Waller START vs CHI 8.0 18th 11.8 – healthy
Pat Freiermuth vs ATL 7.3 27th · tough 7.8 – healthy

TEs vs CHI recently: Luke Musgrave 3.8 pts (W16) · Jake Tonges 12 pts (W17) · Anthony Firkser 0.2 pts (W18).

TEs vs ATL recently: Elijah Higgins 9.1 pts (W16) · Terrance Ferguson 11.4 pts (W17) · Juwan Johnson 4.1 pts (W18).

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

Darren Waller or Colby Parkinson?Darren Waller or Mike Gesicki?Pat Freiermuth or Mason Taylor?Pat Freiermuth or Colby Parkinson?Pat Freiermuth or Mike Gesicki?
Game logs, matchup ranks and form are the 2025 season — 2026 hasn’t kicked off. Projections, schedule and trade values are current 2026 numbers, refreshed nightly.