Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Daniel Bellinger

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.

Friday, July 26, 9:27 AM

New York Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger put together some big plays in practice on Thursday during the team's red-zone drills. He hauled in a touchdown pass from backup quarterback Tommy Devito while the other two tight ends also scored. Bellinger has reportedly been the favorite to be the starting tight end after Darren Waller retired, but it doesn't seem to be a foregone conclusion. Tyree Jackson caught a touchdown from DeVito as well while Lawrence Cager took some first-team snaps and snagged a touchdown as well from Daniel Jones. Fantasy managers will want to monitor Bellinger's training camp performance and how the depth chart shakes out.