Who Should I Start? Darren Waller or George Kittle

Thursday, December 18, 11:46 AM

Despite having to deal with a new quarterback in Week 16, Miami Dolphins tight end Darren Waller (knee, rest) is expected to maintain a critical role in the team's passing game when they line up with the Cincinnati Bengals at home. The 33-year-old is fresh off his best outing of the campaign, hauling in a season-high seven passes and two more touchdowns, giving him six scores in seven appearances. Unfortunately for Waller, any rapport he'd built up with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa won't translate when rookie signal-caller Quinn Ewers takes the field for his first NFL start. With the current state of Miami's offense, there's little reason to believe the veteran's role would shrink, although it's fair to expect diminished production. Favorably, Cincinnati's defense has allowed the most fantasy points per game to TEs (22.66), leaving Waller as a back-end TE1 for the outing.

Tuesday, December 16, 6:33 PM

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle led the team in receptions and targets in the team's 37-24 win over the Titans on Sunday. Kittle caught eight of the nine balls thrown his way for a season-high 88 yards and a touchdown, his sixth of the year. Kittle missed five games with a hamstring injury earlier this season and was blanked in his return in Week 7, but since then, he has been a welcome presence on fantasy football rosters. Since Week 8, Kittle has averaged 5.9 receptions, 6.9 targets, and 65.6 yards per game and ranks third among tight ends in receptions and receiving yards. Kittle will again be in the TE1 conversation in Week 16, when the 49ers square off against the Colts on Monday Night Football.