Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Kyle Pitts

Wednesday, November 20, 8:04 PM

New England Patriots tight end Austin Hooper (neck) was listed as limited on the team's practice report on Wednesday. Hooper apparently picked up a neck injury in the Week 11 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, but the fact that he practiced at all on Wednesday means he has a good shot of playing this Sunday when the team takes on the division-rival Miami Dolphins. The 30-year-old has seen an uptick in production the last two weeks with rookie quarterback Drake Maye now leading the offense -- he's caught seven of eight targets for 99 yards -- although he's still nothing more than a low-end TE2 for fantasy purposes while ceding most of the tight end pass-catching work to Hunter Henry. In his first year in New England, Hooper has just one trip to paydirt and has 23 receptions (34 targets) for 236 yards in 11 games.

Monday, November 18, 1:48 PM

Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts faded into obscurity again in Sunday's 38-6 loss to the Broncos, catching just one of his three targets for a paltry nine yards. No one stood out on offense in Denver so it is not entirely on Pitts, but so much for having a regular role in the 2024 version of this offense. Just when it looked like he was on a bit of a roll in Weeks 5 through 8, the 24-year-old has posted two one-catch performances in the last three weeks. As inconsistent and frustrating as it has been to have him in fantasy lineups, believe it or not, the former first-round draft pick is still well within the top 12 in fantasy scoring at the position, so he likely warrants a starting role going forward as painful as it may be from week to week. After the Falcons' bye, Atlanta will face the Chargers who have been pretty good at defending the tight end position, even limiting the Bengal TEs on Sunday night to just three catches for 22 yards. Pitts likely finds himself as a volatile back-end TE1 that week.