Who Should I Start? Charlie Kolar or Jeremy Ruckert

Friday, October 31, 1:06 AM

Baltimore Ravens tight end Charlie Kolar caught two passes for 23 yards and a touchdown during Thursday's Week 9 victory over the Miami Dolphins. The 26-year-old has now scored in back-to-back games, earning himself a larger role alongside established tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely. While Kolar is clearly third on the depth chart, he should continue to handle more opportunities in the passing game, especially if he continues to score touchdowns. His snap share has already started to increase, as he played 46.4 percent of the offensive snaps Thursday. He was on the field for just two fewer plays than Andrews and five fewer plays than Likely, which isn't exactly a very sizable margin. Kolar isn't a fantasy threat, but he'll continue to be a thorn in the side of Andrews' and Likely's fantasy managers.

Monday, June 9, 12:26 PM

The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt writes that New York Jets tight end Jeremy Ruckert has shown progress as a pass-catcher this offseason. Ruckert was teammates with new quarterback Justin Fields in college at Ohio State, so he's been seeing a heavy workload during organized team activities. Still, Ruckert has plenty to prove coming off three disappointing seasons to start his NFL career, including regressing as a run-blocker last year. "I think he can help us in the passing game, he'll be a really good blocker," had coach Aaron Glenn said. "There's some technical things he can improve on." The 24-year-old former third-rounder (101st overall) in 2022 is still searching for his first NFL touchdown and has caught just 35 of 52 targets for 264 yards in his three seasons. With the Jets taking Mason Taylor in the second round of this year's draft, Ruckert's path to fantasy value is even more of an uphill battle.