Who Should I Start? Chig Okonkwo or Mason Taylor

Sunday, January 5, 11:54 AM

Tennessee Titans tight end Chig Okonkwo (abdomen) is officially active for the Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Houston Texans on Sunday. Okonkwo popped up on this week's injury report after putting in a limited practice on Thursday before sitting out on Friday. The 25-year-old will end up giving it a go in the team's final game of the season. He's been on a decent run of production of late with 22 catches on 28 targets for 182 yards and no touchdowns in the last three games, although that also coincided with Mason Rudolph taking over under center for the Titans. Tennessee is going back to quarterback Will Levis (at least to start) in Week 18, which should give fantasy managers some pause when considering Okonkwo as a TE streamer. He has 52 total catches on the year for 479 yards and only two touchdowns in 16 games.

Tuesday, April 29, 4:39 PM

The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt writes that rookie second-round tight end Mason Taylor will immediately walk into the Jets building at the top of the tight end depth chart going into his rookie season in 2025. Jeremy Ruckert projects as the No. 2, but he has yet to make an impact since the Jets drafted him in 2022. The Jets are at least hoping he can take a step forward as a blocker and contribute in the running game. The 20-year-old Taylor not only will be a starter immediately, but he could see plenty of targets from quarterback Justin Fields in his first year in the NFL, giving him TE1 fantasy upside in 2025. Outside of WR1 Garrett Wilson, the Jets don't exactly star-studded receiving depth in Josh Reynolds, Allen Lazard and Arian Smith. Taylor will have intriguing rookie upside, but he'll still be better off drafted as a TE2 sleeper than a staple for those in single-TE leagues.