Who Should I Start? Darren Waller or Ja'Tavion Sanders

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.

Monday, July 21, 9:19 PM

Carolina Panthers tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders "lost 10 pounds during the offseason and looked faster during OTAs," according to Joseph Person of The Athletic. Carolina drafted Sanders in the fourth round out of Texas in 2024. He appeared in 16 games (eight starts) as a rookie, logging 33 catches for 342 yards and one touchdown. Sanders should have an opportunity to earn significant playing time in his second season. His main competition at tight end in Carolina is Tommy Tremble, who has recorded 23 receptions in each of the past two seasons, and Mitchell Evans, a fifth-round selection by the team in this year's draft. With a good training camp and preseason, Sanders could be an intriguing late-round dart throw at the tight end position in deeper leagues.