Who Should I Start? Darnell Washington or Feleipe Franks

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.

Saturday, August 23, 10:53 AM

Atlanta Falcons tight end Feleipe Franks caught all three of his targets for 24 yards, most of which came on a 23-yard catch and run that he was able to take in for a touchdown. Franks also caught one pass for nine yards last week and was not targeted in the first preseason game. He was battling Teagan Quitoriano for the third tight end spot behind Kyle Pitts Sr. and Charlie Woerner, and with Quitoriano not receiving a target in the preseason, Franks appears to have a leg up. Unfortunately, third-string tight ends don't have any value for fantasy, so no need to roster him in any leagues.