Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Dawson Knox

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, 1:01 PM

Through nine games this season, Buffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox has recorded 12 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown on 18 targets. However, he could see a significant role increase in Week 11 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Bills TE1 Dalton Kincaid (hamstring) sidelined by a hamstring injury. With Kincaid absent due to injury in Week 6, Knox scored his lone touchdown of 2025. Still, he recorded just one catch for 19 yards on two targets in that game. Tampa Bay has also been fairly stingy against tight ends so far this season, allowing an average of five receptions and 43 yards per game to the position. Even with Kincaid out, Knox will still likely split playing time to some degree with Bills tight end Jackson Hawes. At best, Knox profiles as a desperation deep-league streamer at the tight end position for fantasy managers in Week 11 against Tampa Bay.