Who Should I Start? Darnell Washington or Jared Wiley

Tuesday, September 30, 4:17 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington snagged all three of his targets for 20 yards in a 24-21 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. The third-year pro was held without a catch through his first three games this season but emerged as the most productive tight end on the team in Week 4. In addition to his fantasy output, Washington saw the field for 48 of a possible 53 snaps, far exceeding the snap shares of Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith. At 6'7", Washington is incredibly effective as a blocker, and his utilization resulted in a successful day on the ground for running back Kenneth Gainwell. While Washington isn't likely to earn a significant role as a pass-catcher, it was promising to see him get on the same page as quarterback Aaron Rodgers last week. He remains off the fantasy radar for now, but Washington will be a name to monitor when Pittsburgh returns from its Week 5 bye.

Wednesday, June 18, 12:52 PM

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Jared Wiley (knee) is participating in individual drills at mandatory minicamp this week while wearing a brace on his surgically-repaired right knee. The fact that Wiley is even taking part in offseason workouts at all is pretty impressive after he suffered a torn ACL last November. The 24-year-old is doing well in his recovery, but he still may not be fully ready for training camp this summer or the start of the 2025 regular season in September. The former fourth-rounder (131st overall) last year will merely be competing for the No. 3 tight end spot with Robert Tonyan when he's fully healthy as depth behind Travis Kelce and Noah Gray. In his first year in the NFL with the Chiefs in 2024, Wiley only appeared in seven regular-season games (two starts) and caught his only target for seven yards. He's nowhere near the fantasy radar.