Who Should I Start? Cole Kmet or Noah Gray

Friday, October 24, 3:31 PM

Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet (back) has been ruled out for his team's Week 8 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens due to a back injury. Kmet suffered the injury during his team's Week 7 win over the New Orleans Saints and did not practice at all this week. With Kmet sidelined, Bears rookie tight end Colston Loveland should have his best opportunity of the season to break out. The 21-year-old rookie has had a quiet start to his NFL career, recording eight catches for 78 yards on 13 targets across five games. Loveland has yet to play more than 67% of the Bears' offensive snaps in any game this season, but that should change in Week 8 against Baltimore. Given his lack of production so far, it will be tough for fantasy managers to trust Loveland as a starter. Still, Loveland may be a player to stash in case he has a big week and Kmet's injury proves to be a long-term ailment.

Friday, August 8, 10:40 AM

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Noah Gray has looked very strong in training camp and is receiving strong buzz from reports. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated noted that the tight end looks like a "high-end" starter. Throughout his four-year career in Kansas City, Gray has typically taken the backseat to future Hall of Famer Travis Kelce. However, after catching just 28 passes in both 2022 and 2023, Gray was able to enjoy a mini-breakout season in 2024. Last fall, Gray caught a career-best 40 passes for 437 yards and five touchdowns. He enjoyed productive stretch from Weeks 10 through 15 when he averaged a solid 10.2 PPR points per game. Fantasy managers should keep an eye on his progression early in the season as he could continue to carve out a role behind Kelce. However, for now, Kelce remains the clear TE1 in Kansas City. Gray is best viewed as a high-upside TE3 in deeper formats.