Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Tyler Conklin

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.

Friday, March 21, 10:24 PM

Former New York Jets tight end Tyler Conklin reached an agreement on an undisclosed one-year deal on Friday with the Los Angeles Chargers, according to his agent, Mike McCartney. Conklin heads to the AFC West after spending the last three years with the Jets, where he had 170 catches on 246 targets for 1,622 yards and seven touchdowns in 50 games (43 starts). While the 29-year-old did have a career-high four touchdowns in 16 games (15 starts) last year, he had just 51 catches and 449 yards (his lowest total since 2020) on 72 targets. The former fifth-round selection (157th overall) by the Minnesota Vikings in 2018 out of Central Michigan has the opportunity to be the Chargers' top pass-catching tight end in 2025, but he'll also be sharing playing time with Will Dissly. Dissly had a very similar 50-481-2 line to Conklin a year ago in L.A. Expect Conklin to be a touchdown-dependent TE2 in fantasy in his new home.