Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Trey McBride

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.

Sunday, October 19, 9:53 PM

Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride has proven over the last two games that he doesn't need starting quarterback Kyler Murray (foot) to produce for his fantasy managers. In fact, he's been better in Weeks 6 and 7 while working with veteran backup Jacoby Brissett. In the 27-23 loss to the visiting Green Bay Packers on Sunday, McBride caught a season-high 10 passes on 13 targets for 74 yards and two touchdowns as Arizona's leading receiver. The 25-year-old tight end also went off while working with Brissett in last week's loss to the Indianapolis Colts, catching eight of 11 targets for 72 yards and a touchdown. So McBride now has 18 receptions for 146 yards and three touchdowns on 24 targets and three touchdowns with Murray sidelined the last two games. Fantasy managers might be bummed that Murray could be returning following Arizona's Week 8 bye, but McBride is without a doubt a set-and-forget TE1 in fantasy football.