Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Luke Musgrave

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.

Friday, September 19, 5:49 PM

Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave potentially has a solid opportunity ahead of him with the Packers heading to Cleveland to match up with the Browns in Week 3. Starting tight end Tucker Kraft (knee) is questionable and could see his workload limited to a degree, so as a result, Musgrave could operate in more of a receiving role than he has over the Packers' first two games. Through the first two contests, Musgrave has a combined three catches for 36 yards while running under 20 percent of routes per dropback in each of those games. It's been a lean role for the former 2023 second-round pick, but he could carve out a little more of a role depending on the severity of Kraft's injury and how the team chooses to manage his workload. That said, Musgrave is far too risky a play for fantasy managers to rely on in Week 3, so leave him on waivers and out of your fantasy lineups this week.