Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Harold Fannin Jr.

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.

Tuesday, November 4, 8:19 AM

Cleveland Browns tight end Harold Fannin Jr. will be back in action in Week 10 after the team had its bye in Week 9. The third-round rookie from Bowling Green has been excellent in his first eight games in the NFL, averaging 4.8 catches for 44 yards per game. He scored his second touchdown of the year in Week 8 against the Patriots just before the bye, totaling 62 yards by catching six of his eight targets. He has at least four catches in each of his last four games and has formed a solid connection with fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel at quarterback. David Njoku doesn't look like he'll be traded at this point ahead of Tuesday's deadline, but Fannin has still shown enough potential to be a strong starting option the rest of the season while sharing time with Njoku. If someone dropped Fannin due to the bye week or his uncertain playing time, the rookie tight end makes a solid pickup from the waiver wire for the rest of the season and should be a starter in PPR leagues. He faces the Jets and Ravens in the next two weeks in solid tight end matchups.