Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Brock Bowers

Wednesday, November 19, 2:59 AM

New England Patriots tight end Austin Hooper (concussion) carved out standalone fantasy value in his role behind Hunter Henry last season, but he has failed to establish himself as a worthwhile fantasy addition during the 2025 campaign. He went from the overall TE24 in PPR leagues last year to TE45 through Week 11 this season. The 31-year-old hasn't registered more than three targets in a single game this season, which is a major step backward after he averaged 3.5 targets per game in 2024. While Henry has cemented himself as the Patriots' top tight end and is one reason for Hooper's underwhelming year, the bigger factor is likely the wide receivers' increased productivity. Players like Stefon Diggs, Kayshon Boutte, and Mack Hollins have elevated this position room higher than in years past, leaving fewer opportunities for a backup tight end like Hooper. An injury has complicated his status even more, as Hooper missed Week 11 in concussion protocol and remains up in the air for Week 12 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Even if he plays, he'll remain off the fantasy radar in all leagues. His only path to fantasy relevance would be a Hunter Henry injury.

Wednesday, January 28, 1:54 PM

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (knee) had a sophomore season to forget in 2025, as he only played in 12 games and ended the year on Injured Reserve. The 23-year-old former 13th overall pick in 2024 out of Georgia injured his knee in the Week 1 season opener and wasn't quite himself the rest of the year before eventually being shut down. Still, Bowers managed to finish as the TE10 in half-PPR scoring with 64 receptions for 680 yards and seven touchdowns. It was quite the disappointment for fantasy managers after Bowers had a 112-1,194-5 season in 17 games in his rookie campaign. Bowers is expected to be fully healthy for the start of the 2026 season, when he's expected to be working with Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza -- the projected first overall pick by Vegas. Even though the Raiders are expected to have a rookie QB, Bowers should be a high-end TE1 target yet again.