Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Greg Dulcich

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.

Tuesday, July 23, 2:19 PM

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton says that tight end Greg Dulcich (hamstring, foot) is expected to practice this week. After being limited to two appearances for the Broncos in his second season due to hamstring and foot injuries a year ago, Dulcich is aiming to enter the 2024 campaign with a cleaner bill of health. The 24-year-old former third-round pick begins the season as a post-hype sleeper in deep fantasy leagues after racking up 411 yards with two touchdowns on 33 catches (55 targets) over 10 games back in his rookie year in 2022, but he'll need to stay healthy and will also still be contending with Adam Trautman for looks in Denver's uninspiring offense, which has plenty of uncertainty under center. For the start of training camp, Dulcich is off the radar in shallow redraft formats but could emerge as a TE2 option with strong showings in camp and the preseason.