Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Brock Bowers

Saturday, September 20, 2:49 AM

New England Patriots tight end Austin Hooper has seen increased usage within the team's offense, but it's not enough to justify starting him in fantasy football against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3. Hooper's snap share jumped from 32 percent in Week 1 to 62 percent in Week 2, and his pass-catching volume increased, too. The 30-year-old caught all three of his targets for 38 yards last week, out-producing Hunter Henry despite playing fewer snaps than him. Hooper remains the No. 2 tight end on the depth chart behind Henry, but he's still seeing decent playing time, especially in two-tight end sets. This week, Hooper is facing a mid-range Steelers defense that has allowed the 12th-most fantasy points to tight ends. Hooper ranks as RotoBaller's TE41 this week, and he can be benched in most leagues.

Saturday, November 15, 1:14 PM

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers is coming off his quietest game of the season in Week 10 versus the Denver Broncos, catching just one of his three targets for 31 yards. Bowers returned in Week 9 against the Jaguars after missing three games due to a knee injury, and produced the best game of his young career with 12 catches for 127 yards and three touchdowns on 13 targets. The superstar tight end should be expected to bounce back with a great matchup on deck in Week 11 against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly took the blame for not getting Bowers more targets in their Week 10 loss, saying, "We have to get him more involved." Expect Bowers to be the focal point of the Raiders' game plan and go off in a matchup with the highest total of the week.