Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Dalton Schultz

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, October 4, 11:53 AM

Houston Texans tight end Dalton Schultz continues to be a reliable but unspectacular producer in his team's offense, but he does bring some value as a PPR play against the Ravens this week, since quarterback C.J. Stroud continues to lean heavily on him to keep the chains moving. Schultz tied for the team lead with six targets last week and posted a team-high five catches. He only managed 30 yards, though, with his longest play going for nine yards. This season, he has at least three catches in every game but has only totaled 126 yards on his 16 catches. His volume of catches can make him a fill-in play with a high floor as we hit the bye weeks, but his ceiling is limited since his routes are usually short. In RotoBaller's Week 5 projections, Schultz is the No. 15 TE, making him startable in an emergency situation in most formats, even though he doesn't have an elite ceiling.