Who Should I Start? Darnell Washington or Elijah Higgins

Wednesday, February 25, 10:56 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington (forearm) ended the 2025 season with surgery on his broken forearm, but he is looking to bounce back in the final year of his contract in 2026. Despite some highlight reel stiff arms and one TE8 finish in Week 11, Washington mainly played behind fellow tight ends Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith. The Steelers are expected to move on from Smith during free agency, which is likely to benefit Washington. Despite Washington's size, he was on the field for more than just run blocking, boasting a 40% route run participation rate and hauled in 31 of his 43 targets for 364 yards and a touchdown in 2025. However, the 24-year-old out of Georgia primarily holds value only in deep dynasty leagues with tight end premium scoring due to his position behind Freiermuth on the depth chart.

Saturday, November 15, 6:17 PM

Arizona Cardinals tight end Elijah Higgins has seen an increased role on offense over the last few weeks. Over the last two games, Higgins has hauled in five of his six targets for 49 yards. Despite that, he remains the backup to Trey McBride, who is one of the best tight ends in the league. It's possible that Higgins does see a slightly larger workload with Marvin Harrison Jr. (appendix) out in Week 11. Normally, Higgins has been playing about 40 percent of the offensive snaps. There's a chance that does increase, but probably not by too much. Higgins is a desperation deep league option for the Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.