Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Luke Musgrave

Wednesday, November 19, 2:59 AM

New England Patriots tight end Austin Hooper (concussion) carved out standalone fantasy value in his role behind Hunter Henry last season, but he has failed to establish himself as a worthwhile fantasy addition during the 2025 campaign. He went from the overall TE24 in PPR leagues last year to TE45 through Week 11 this season. The 31-year-old hasn't registered more than three targets in a single game this season, which is a major step backward after he averaged 3.5 targets per game in 2024. While Henry has cemented himself as the Patriots' top tight end and is one reason for Hooper's underwhelming year, the bigger factor is likely the wide receivers' increased productivity. Players like Stefon Diggs, Kayshon Boutte, and Mack Hollins have elevated this position room higher than in years past, leaving fewer opportunities for a backup tight end like Hooper. An injury has complicated his status even more, as Hooper missed Week 11 in concussion protocol and remains up in the air for Week 12 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Even if he plays, he'll remain off the fantasy radar in all leagues. His only path to fantasy relevance would be a Hunter Henry injury.

Thursday, December 25, 6:56 PM

Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave could see a further uptick in his workload for the Packers in Week 17 as Green Bay takes on Baltimore on Saturday at Lambeau Field. Musgrave saw his highest percentage of routes per dropback this season in Week 16, running a route on 84% of dropbacks. That was primarily due to John FitzPatrick (Achilles) leaving the game because of his injury, and Musgrave seeing that time on the field with Green Bay's TE3 Josh Whyle inactive. Musgrave should see the bulk of the snaps and routes for the tight end position in Week 17, but the murky quarterback situation with Jordan Love (shoulder/concussion) and Malik Willis (shoulder/illness), both questionable, makes it difficult to recommend Musgrave. Consider Musgrave a very risky play for fantasy managers in Week 17.