Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Mo Alie-Cox

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.

Saturday, November 2, 12:30 PM

Indianapolis Colts tight end Mo Alie-Cox gets an upgrade at quarterback in Week 9 with Joe Flacco under center, with eight of Cox's 13 total targets coming during Flacco's playing time earlier this season while Anthony Richardson dealt with an injury. In Weeks 5 and 6 combined, Cox caught all eight of his targets for 78 yards (he has just 100 on the season) and a touchdown. In Week 4 when Flacco came on in relief of Richardson, the veteran QB hit tight end Drew Ogletree for a 15-yard touchdown pass, so Cox and the TE group as a whole should be much more involved going forward. Cox leads the Colts TEs in targets on the season with 13, which is four more than Kylen Granson and six more than Ogletree. There are surely more proven TE options available on the waiver wire that have already been integrated into their offenses, but for fantasy managers looking for an under-the-radar dart throw with upside this week, Cox should be under consideration.