Who Should I Start? Connor Heyward or Jake Ferguson

Friday, November 3, 12:12 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Connor Heyward caught two of his three targets for 16 yards in the team's 20-16 win over the visiting Tennessee Titans on Thursday Night Football. Meanwhile, fellow tight end Darnell Washington caught his only target for a seven-yard gain. Heyward caught a season-high five passes (six targets) for 24 yards in last week's loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars with Pat Freiermuth (hamstring) on Injured Reserve, but he couldn't keep up that elevated production in Week 9. Freiermuth will miss at least two more games, but fantasy managers just won't be able to trust Heyward for consistent production in one of the weaker offenses in the league. The 24-year-old has just 14 receptions for 105 yards and no touchdowns in eight games in 2023.

Thursday, January 29, 3:31 PM

Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson didn't have much of a chance in 2024 after quarterback Dak Prescott's season-ending hamstring injury, finishing his third year in the NFL with 59 catches, 494 yards, and zero touchdowns in 14 starts. Ferguson was able to bounce back in 2025, though, with a career-high 82 receptions on 102 targets for 600 yards and a career-high eight touchdowns in 17 contests. It wasn't all great for the 27-year-old, though, as he didn't go over 20 receiving yards in any of his final four games while also finishing with a career-low 7.3 yards per catch. All in all, it was a successful fourth year in the NFL. Ferguson was the TE7 in half-PPR scoring, and he will be a no-doubt TE1 target in fantasy football drafts this fall as the top pass-catching tight end in the Cowboys' high-scoring offense. Despite receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens seeing their fair share of targets, Ferguson was one of only eight TEs who saw over 100 targets in 2025.