Who Should I Start? Darren Waller or Chig Okonkwo

Wednesday, September 3, 1:31 PM

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said that the team is being very intentional with tight end Darren Waller's practice workload, and he will not be out at practice with the rest of the team on Wednesday by design, according to ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques. The Dolphins continue to ramp up Waller's workload heading into this Sunday's regular-season opener against the Indianapolis Colts after the 32-year-old veteran was out of football all of last year. Waller came out of retirement to play for the Dolphins after they traded Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the offseason. While Waller is expected to be active against the Colts in Week 1, he's unlikely to be on the field all that much, which means fantasy managers should be avoiding him in their starting lineups out of the gates. It's hard to project Waller's production this year, but at best, he's a TE2 stash for now.

Saturday, August 2, 6:55 PM

Tennessee Titans tight end Chig Okonkwo "continues to look like he has an extra gear," according to team reporter JT Ruhnke. The 25-year-old has spent his entire career in Music City since being drafted by the team in 2022. He's appeared in all 17 regular-season games in each of his three seasons. While Okonkwo hasn't been consistently productive, he at least flashed some signs of promise by totaling 138 receptions for 1,457 yards and six touchdowns. He'll have plenty of competition for targets in 2025, with Tyler Lockett, Calvin Ridley, and Van Jefferson all looking for attention. The Titans will also presumably have rookie quarterback Cam Ward under center, although it's realistic to assume he might struggle on occasion. With so much anticipated volatility at the tight end position, Okonkwo could find himself in fantasy lineups this season. However, fantasy managers shouldn't expect consistent production from him on a week-to-week basis.