Pat Freiermuth · T.J. Hockenson · 2026 week 9

Pat Freiermuth or T.J. Hockenson?

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

Start Pat Freiermuth — barelyThis one is a coin flip — the projections are within 0 points. The matchup leans Pat Freiermuth (CIN allow the 10th-most TE points), but you can defend either call.

Player	Wk 9	Proj (PPR)	Matchup	Form L3	Trade value	Status
Pat Freiermuth START	@ CIN	10.6	10th	6.2	90	healthy
T.J. Hockenson	vs BUF	10.6	14th	10.3	679	healthy

TEs vs CIN recently: Greg Dulcich 5.7 pts (W5) · Josh Cuevas 3.5 pts (W7) · Gunnar Helm 9.6 pts (W8).

TEs vs BUF recently: Tyler Higbee 8.3 pts (W5) · Michael Mayer 9.5 pts (W6) · Josh Cuevas 1.5 pts (W8).

🎓 The coach's read

They carry identical projections — projection alone cannot separate them.
Pat Freiermuth faces CIN, 10th most generous to TEs.
T.J. Hockenson faces BUF, 14th most generous to TEs.

Who wins a straight-up trade?

T.J. Hockenson carries the higher trade value — 679 against 90 (a 87% gap). In a one-for-one, the side receiving T.J. Hockenson gets the most. Momentum: Pat Freiermuth +72 and T.J. Hockenson +88 over the last 30 days.

Open in Start/Sit (any scoring) Open in the Trade Analyzer

More TE decisions

Pat Freiermuth or Hunter Henry?Pat Freiermuth or Mark Andrews?Pat Freiermuth or Terrance Ferguson?T.J. Hockenson or Travis Kelce?T.J. Hockenson or Harold Fannin Jr.?T.J. Hockenson or Dalton Kincaid?

All numbers are the 2026 season, refreshed nightly.