Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Cole Kmet

Wednesday, March 13, 12:18 AM

Las Vegas Raiders free-agent tight end Austin Hooper is expected to sign a one-year deal worth up to $4.25 million with the New England Patriots on Wednesday. The veteran tight end will reunite with new Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, who was with Hooper with the Cleveland Browns. Hooper made the Pro Bowl two straight years from 2018-19 while with the Atlanta Falcons, but he hasn't been nearly as involved as he was then in the last four seasons with the Browns, Titans and Raiders. In 17 games (nine starts) last year in Vegas, the 29-year-old caught just 25 of 31 targets for 234 yards and no touchdowns. With both Mike Gesicki and Pharaoh Brown now gone, Hooper figures to serve as New England's No. 2 TE behind Hunter Henry in 2024. Unless Henry gets hurt, Hooper is unlikely to have a significant enough role to warrant fantasy consideration in standard-sized leagues.

Sunday, January 7, 10:58 AM

Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet (knee) is expected to play against the Green Bay Packers in Week 18 despite being listed as questionable, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The 24-year-old was active last week, too, but essentially occupied a decoy role, playing 18 percent of offensive snaps while failing to command a target. A similar scenario is unlikely this weekend. Instead, Kmet should have a full workload, putting him in the TE1 tier for fantasy purposes.