Who Should I Start? Darnell Washington or Theo Johnson

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.

Monday, November 24, 10:12 PM

New York Giants tight end Theo Johnson recorded three catches for 77 yards on three targets in his team's Week 12 overtime loss to the Detroit Lions. Across 12 games this season, the 24-year-old has hauled in 39 receptions for 427 yards and five touchdowns on 60 targets. While Johnson's numbers don't jump off the page, he's been extremely consistent. In his last six games, Johnson has recorded exactly three receptions five times. The Giants may be getting starting quarterback Jaxson Dart (concussion) back in Week 13 after he's missed each of their last two games due to a concussion. Across Dart's last four games before getting injured, he targeted Johnson 25 times. He lacks explosive upside, but Johnson has proven to be a high-floor fantasy tight end option who should be a waiver-wire target in leagues with 12 or more teams heading into a Week 13 matchup against the New England Patriots.