Who Should I Start? Cole Kmet or Jeremy Ruckert

Thursday, December 18, 3:30 PM

Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet (ankle, knee) is officially listed as questionable to play in Week 16 against the division-rival Green Bay Packers on Saturday night. Kmet was limited in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday before upgrading to a full practice on Thursday, so he should be on the right side of questionable for the weekend. If the 26-year-old is active, he could be in line for more targets with both receivers Rome Odunze (foot) and Luther Burden III (ankle) being ruled out. However, even in that case, Kmet will be no more than a touchdown-dependent TE2 streamer in a bad matchup against Green Bay. Regardless of whether Kmet plays, rookie tight end Colston Loveland will have clear TE1 upside in Week 16 with both Odunze and Burden sidelined. Kmet has taken a back seat to Loveland in 2025 and has 24 catches for 301 yards and only two touchdowns in 13 games played.

Wednesday, December 17, 9:45 AM

NFL Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Wednesday morning that the New York Jets have agreed to terms with young tight end Jeremy Ruckert, locking him in for the future. He gets a 2-year, $10M extension with upside to $11M. Ruckert, the fourth-year player out of Ohio State, has underwhelmed in the receiving game since joining the Jets. This year, he has hit career highs in receptions (20) and receiving yards (163), but was drafted in the third round and is an asset to the team primarily because of his willingness and effectiveness to block in the run game. The Jets now have Ruckert and a rookie out of LSU, Mason Taylor, as their top tight end options for years to come. From a fantasy football standpoint, Ruckert is well off the radar and shouldn't be rostered in any formats.