Who Should I Start? Darren Waller or Cade Otton

Monday, July 28, 6:11 PM

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said on Monday that tight end Darren Waller is in "tremendous shape," but the team isn't allowing that to "trick us into thinking he's in football shape." Waller was "very active" with tight ends coach Jon Embree on Monday, according to ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques. The 32-year-old isn't dealing with any type of injury, but the Dolphins placed him on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list to start training camp after he retired and sat out all of the 2024 campaign. Waller is back now and should serve as the team's top pass-catching TE after they traded Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers. There's no guarantee that he'll be anything near the type of receiver he was in his peak seasons with the Raiders, but given the shallow fantasy position of TE, Waller is at least worthy of a TE2 dart throw.

Tuesday, July 29, 9:20 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton (hamstring) remained sidelined for his team's Tuesday practice, according to Greg Auman of Fox Sports. Otton has now missed three straight days of practice with what Bucs head coach Todd Bowles has described as a mild hamstring strain. The fourth-year tight end played 14 games in 2024, hauling in 59 catches for 600 yards and four touchdowns. However, Otton did much of his work when Tampa Bay's receiving corps got hit with a rash of injuries mid-season, so he could see his numbers come down a bit in 2025. That being said, he's clearly the team's top receiving threat at the tight end position, as backups Payne Durham and Ko Kieft profile more as blockers. It doesn't sound as though the team expects any significant missed time for Otton, but his situation is worth monitoring until he returns to the practice field.