Start Jake Ferguson over Terrance Ferguson — Week 1 Start/Sit Verdict

Start Jake Ferguson: his dependable role outweighs Terrance Ferguson's slightly better team outlook

Jake Ferguson's established TE1 role and receiving work make him the sturdier tight-end play, especially in a format where a modest projection gap carries real weight. Terrance Ferguson benefits from a slightly stronger team total, but his part-time role leaves him needing efficiency or a touchdown to close the gap. Jake's risk is that his advantage is volume rather than a massive ceiling, so a quiet red-zone outing could make this look closer. Terrance has legitimate upside if his offseason push to contribute in every phase becomes a larger weekly role.

What flips it: A verified move toward an every-down role for Terrance Ferguson.

Sources: therams.com · Sep 7, 2026

AI editor

Jake Ferguson

TE11DALvs NYG

5.57.69.8 Projected Points

Start· medium

Terrance Ferguson

TE21LARvs SF

5.36.78.1 Projected Points

Toss-Up

Why Jake Ferguson

Start· medium

TE1 and high-volume receiving tight end. Reliable chain-mover and red-zone target over the middle.

TE11 projection with a 17% target share and 67% snaps in a 25-point implied offense — Ferguson is a stable weekly TE1 play.

His chain-moving and red-zone role gives his steady targets multiple ways to produce.
The Cowboys can keep him useful without needing a broken play or unusually efficient outing.

The call

Consensus TE11 at 9.8 PPR points puts him inside the starting range in a 12-team league, and there's no injury designation to work around.
A 17% target share on 67% of the snaps is high-end volume for the position — Ferguson is a genuine focal point in this passing game, not a matchup-dependent flyer.
Dallas' 25.0 implied total and a 1.5-point spread point to a competitive, pass-heavy script that keeps his target floor intact.
Risk is touchdown variance: much of his weekly upside is red-zone dependent, so a scoreless day likely lands near 7-8 points rather than a bust.

Latest on Ferguson

Sources: Cowboys restructure deals of Clark, Bland, Ferguson

Veteran defensive tackle Kenny Clark, cornerback DaRon Bland and tight end Jake Ferguson had their deals reworked to give Dallas flexibility, sources said.

ESPN · Sep 4, 2026

Reported by the sources listed — not independently verified.

Why Terrance Ferguson

Toss-Up

Toss-up — TE21 consensus, projects TE22 this week: 25.8 implied team total, 7% target share in 2025.

A slightly stronger scoring environment gives him the better backdrop if his role expands.
His upside comes from turning a part-time assignment into consistent receiving work.

Latest on Ferguson

Terrance Ferguson wants to expand want he can do in Year 2: 'I just want to be involved in all aspects of the game'

Feeling more comfortable in the Rams' offense, second-year tight end Terrance Ferguson hoping to show more of what he's capable of in 2026.

therams.com · Sep 6, 2026

Injury Updates: Aaron Donald not practicing Monday "part of the plan all along," Myles Garrett "making really good progress," and updates on Terrance Ferguson, Grant Stuard, Keagen Trost and Justin Dedich

Rams head coach Sean McVay addressed why Aaron Donald wasn't practicing Monday, as well as injury updates on Myles Garrett, Terrance Ferguson, Grant Stuard, Keagen Trost and Justin Dedich.

therams.com · Aug 31, 2026

Reported by the sources listed — not independently verified.

Head-to-head stats

Metric	Jake Ferguson	Terrance Ferguson
Projected points	5.57.69.8	5.36.78.1
Consensus rank	TE11	TE21
Opponent vs position	NYGno ranking yet	SFno ranking yet
Target share	17%(2025)	7%(2025)
Reception share	20%(2025)	4%(2025)
Implied total · spread	25.0-1.5	25.8-3.0
Depth chart	TE1	TE3
Snap share	67%(2025)	44%(2025)