Who Should I Start? Darren Waller or Isaiah Likely

Wednesday, July 16, 2:58 PM

Miami Dolphins new tight end Darren Waller signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the organization this week. The veteran can earn an additional $3 million in incentives. Waller came out of retirement this offseason after sitting out the 2024 campaign and was dealt to the Dolphins from the New York Giants as part of a late-round NFL Draft pick swap. With Jonnu Smith now in Pittsburgh, Waller won't face much competition from Julian Hill, Pharaoh Brown, or Tanner Conner to secure the clear TE1 role in Miami. Although Waller's last season of at least 60 catches or 700 yards came in 2020, he could enter the fantasy football TE1 radar based on the usage Smith received a season ago. For now, he should be viewed as a mid-range TE2 option, but the former Pro Bowler has at least some intriguing upside as a potential go-to red zone target for Tua Tagovailoa.

Tuesday, July 15, 9:38 PM

The Baltimore Ravens "figure to make a push to extend" tight end Isaiah Likely, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Zrebiec also writes that the team believes Likely to have "star potential." A fourth-round draft pick back in 2022, Likely is entering the final year of his rookie deal. He's played a complementary role to star Ravens tight end Mark Andrews to this point in his career, but that sounds as if it could be changing. Likely set career-highs in catches (42), receiving yards (477), and touchdowns (6) in 2024. While he probably still needs Andrews to miss time to be a must-start fantasy tight end this season, the workload split between the two will be one to monitor throughout training camp and the preseason.