Who Should I Start? Darren Waller or Ian Thomas

Saturday, December 20, 7:57 AM

Miami Dolphins tight end Darren Waller caught a pair of touchdown passes in his team's Monday Night Football loss to the Steelers, giving him six touchdowns in just six full games this season. He's in a great matchup this week against the Bengals, who allow more fantasy points to tight ends than any other team in the NFL by a wide margin. Waller has shown he can still be a key contributor, especially near the end zone, but he will be working with a new quarterback this week as the Dolphins turn to rookie Quinn Ewers under center instead of Tua Tagovailoa. Ewers could look to Waller even more, especially in such a juicy matchup, but there's also a chance that the rookie can't get much going or focuses on other options. He's a volatile play, but he has enough upside to still be a solid starting option, so he's ranked as the No. 9 TE in RotoBaller's Week 16 rankings.

Tuesday, March 25, 1:32 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders announced on Tuesday that they signed free-agent tight end Ian Thomas (calf) to an undisclosed deal on Tuesday. Thomas will head to the AFC West after spending the first seven years of his NFL career with the Carolina Panthers after they selected him in the fourth round (101st overall) in the 2018 NFL draft out of Indiana. The 28-year-old never really established himself as a fantasy asset in Carolina, with his best season coming in his rookie campaign with a 36-333-2 line on 49 targets in 16 games (six starts). Thomas landed on Injured Reserve in 2024 with a calf injury and only caught three of six targets for seven yards in five games (two starts). He scored four touchdowns in his first three seasons but hasn't found the end zone since. In Vegas, he'll provide TE depth behind Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer and will remain off the fantasy radar.