Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Jonnu Smith

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.

Thursday, March 7, 7:31 PM

The Miami Dolphins and tight end Jonnu Smith agreed upon a two-year, $10 million contract on Thursday according to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport. Smith was released by the Atlanta Falcons earlier in the offseason but wasn't looking for work for very long as he will now join an explosive Miami offense. The tight end position has not been heavily targeted since Mike McDaniel took over as the team's head coach but the Dolphins invested a significant amount of money to bring him to town, so Smith should open the year as the team's clear-cut starter. He can be tentatively considered a low-end TE2 heading into 2024.