Who Should I Start? Darnell Washington or Mason Taylor

Tuesday, December 30, 1:20 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington (forearm) had surgery on his broken forearm on Tuesday morning and will not play in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, according to Mike DeFabo of The Athletic. Head coach Mike Tomlin said he has "some level of optimism for everyone else." The expectation was that Washington would not play after he broke his arm in the Week 17 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Not only will the 24-year-old not be available for the winner-take-all game this Sunday night against the Ravens, but Washington is unlikely to be able to return for the playoffs if the Steelers take care of business this weekend. It means that Pat Freiermuth will become a slightly more attractive TE streamer in fantasy, as will Jonnu Smith. Washington's third season in the NFL will finish with 31 catches for 364 yards and a touchdown in 16 games.

Tuesday, February 10, 9:46 AM

New York Jets tight end Mason Taylor finished his rookie campaign with 44 receptions for 369 yards and a single touchdown across 13 games, missing the final four weeks with a neck injury. While he saw his value peak after an early-season, two-game stretch that saw him targeted 17 times for 132 yards, his first season in New York never amounted to much of a fantasy impact, spending most of the year bouncing around the waiver wire in redraft leagues. In dynasty formats, his value is more difficult to peg down, as it's unclear just how the blame should be split between a routinely underperforming Jets offense and Taylor himself. While the Jets ranked dead last in both passing yards and passing touchdowns in 2025, Taylor did not do much to help his cause, finishing the year without a single missed tackle forced. He enters 2026 just outside the TE1 conversation, with the potential to plummet quickly if drastic changes don't take shape early in New York.