Who Should I Start? Darnell Washington or Cade Stover

Thursday, November 20, 12:26 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington continues to trend upward, and he'll look to carry his momentum into Sunday's Week 12 contest against the Chicago Bears. Washington played 71 percent of the offensive snaps last week, which was his highest mark since Week 6. He also caught four of his five targets for a season-high 67 yards, delivering the first double-digit scoring total (PPR) of his career. Washington does still have some competition for targets from Jonnu Smith and Pat Freiermuth, but it appears that he has surpassed both of them in the pecking order given his volume and workload over the last few weeks. Washington is right up there with DK Metcalf as Aaron Rodgers' favorite targets, which will give him some low-end TE1 upside in deeper leagues going forward. Perhaps the more important question for this week is whether Washington will be catching passes from Rodgers, who missed Wednesday's practice with a thumb injury, or Mason Rudolph. Either way, he's a top-25 tight end in fantasy football, and he has top-15 upside against a Bears defense allowing the eighth-most receptions to the position in 2025.

Wednesday, November 19, 8:08 PM

Houston Texans tight end Cade Stover missed nine weeks with a foot injury, returning in Week 11 after originally being placed on IR after Week 1. He caught four of his four targets for 22 yards in the season opener, but he didn't have a target or catch against the Titans. He played 14 snaps (20%) and didn't report any setbacks, so he should be ready for more work in Week 12 against the Bills. He'll continue to back up Dalton Schultz and could eventually eat into his snaps and targets as the season goes on. For now, he's well off the fantasy radar, but it's worth monitoring his involvement, especially after his college teammate QB C.J. Stroud (concussion) is ready to return for the Texans.