Week 8 Start 'Em Sit 'Em: Jared Cook and Other Tight Ends You Must Start

Aside from your usual stud tight ends in Antonio Gates, Owen Daniels and Jimmy Graham (Kellen Winslow and Tony Gonzalez are on bye week), there are still a few solid matchups for the big-man targets.

With that in mind, here are three tight ends who are must-starts in Week 8.

Jared Cook, Tennessee Titans (versus Indianapolis Colts)

The injury to wide receiver Kenny Britt was a blessing in disguise for Jared Cook's production in Tennessee. Obviously, Britt going down was very unfortunate, but it did open the door of opportunity for other receiving targets.

That said, Cook has been playing very well for quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, and he's accounted for 230 yards and two touchdowns, with 13 receptions on 24 targets.

Expect Cook to hit some season highs against the Colts this week because Indy's defense is just plain horrendous (as proof, here is B/R's own Collin McCollough).

Brandon Pettigrew, Detroit Lions (at Denver Broncos)

Say what you want about how the Lions have underachieved theses past two weeks, because although the Denver Broncos have an improved defense, Detroit is going to have much success.

Therefore, it's a good idea to give Brandon Pettigrew the nod because wide receiver Calvin Johnson will see a lot of mixed coverages this week. Pettigrew will be left in quite a few one-on-one situations with Broncos' linebackers.

And it's not so much that Pettigrew is a ridiculous receiving threat, but more so because Denver's biggest weakness is pass defense. Even if Denver manages to limit Megatron, they won't stop everyone on Detroit's explosive offense.

Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys (at Philadelphia Eagles)

Perhaps Cowboys' tight end Jason Witten is the most obvious of choices this week. However, Philadelphia still has the No. 10 ranked pass defense.

Only issue there, however, is that they also rank No. 23 against the run, so not only will Witten be effective as a blocker, but he'll significantly contribute in setting up the play-action and receiving.

Then again, he is Tony Romo's favorite target, and if there's any true weakness on Philly's defense, it's their linebackers' inability to cover. Falcons' TE Tony Gonzalez exploited that in Week 2, and it will happen again in Week 8. Because regardless of Romo's ability to choke late, Witten has always been reliable.

Be sure to check out John on Bleacher Report. 

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