Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Tyler Higbee

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.

Friday, November 15, 9:30 PM

According to Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay, tight end Tyler Higbee (knee) is still "a couple weeks away" from making a return to the field. ESPN's Sarah Barshop reported the news. The 31-year-old veteran suffered a torn ACL and MCL in last season's wild-card loss to the Detroit Lions and has been on the PUP for all of 2024 thus far. While teammate Colby Parkinson had led the TE room for most of the year, it appears that second-year tight end Davis Allen has begun to take over those honors in recent weeks -- leading his positional cohorts in snaps since Week 9. With Higbee still working his way back from injury, Allen will have a few more weeks to cement himself as the team's preferred option. Fantasy managers can continue to steer clear of the Rams' tight end room for now.