Gunnar Helm is a fair Week 2 play — our TE21 at 7 projected points, right around the TE starter line.
- Projection
- 7 pts
- TE rank
- #21
- Matchup
- vs PHI
Gunnar Helm's fantasy role in Week 2
Gunnar Helm goes into Week 2 of the 2026 season as a deep-league TE flyer for the TEN. He is rostered in 5% of leagues and actually started in 1% of them, and we rank him TE21 on our own weekly board at 7 projected points.
Roster rates are steady week over week, so his role looks settled rather than in flux.
No injury designation to work around right now, which keeps his projection honest.
Week 2 matchup breakdown
The matchup: vs PHI. Our Pepper Meter heat rating for this spot is 2 out of 5, which is how we grade the combination of role, projection and opponent difficulty.
Against a typical starting TE baseline of 7 points, his 7-point projection is 0 points better. That gap is the whole start/sit argument in one number.
How to play it
Gunnar Helm is a fair Week 2 play — our TE21 at 7 projected points, right around the TE starter line.
If you are deciding between him and another TE, compare projections first, then lean on the Pepper Meter heat rating as the tiebreaker.
Sally's take
Peppers & Picks ranks Gunnar Helm (TEN TE), our TE21 this week for Week 2 of the 2026 NFL season vs PHI, projecting 7.0 projected points with a spicy Pepper Meter rating. Only 5% of leagues roster him, so this is cheap production before the price goes up. Helm clears the TE bar by about 0%, which is why he sits this high on my board. The vs PHI draw matters here — home snaps against PHI shape how often he's asked to do something. Spicy on the Pepper Meter reflects a steady weekly floor rather than a boom week — that's still a start.
Tina's take
Peppers & Picks ranks Gunnar Helm (TEN TE), our TE21 this week for Week 2 of the 2026 NFL season vs PHI, projecting 7.0 projected points with a spicy Pepper Meter rating. Only 5% of leagues roster him, so this is cheap production before the price goes up. Helm clears the TE bar by about 0%, which is why he sits this high on my board. The vs PHI draw matters here — home snaps against PHI shape how often he's asked to do something. Spicy on the Pepper Meter reflects a steady weekly floor rather than a boom week — that's still a start.