Who Should I Start? Darren Waller or Jake Ferguson

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.

Sunday, July 27, 11:05 AM

The Dallas Cowboys and standout tight end Jake Ferguson agreed to terms on a four-year contract extension on Sunday worth $52 million in new money with $30 million total guaranteed, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Ferguson will receive a $12 million signing bonus. The 26-year-old took a step back in 2024, catching 59 of 86 targets for 494 yards and no touchdowns in 14 starts after going for a 71-761-5 line in 17 games in 2023. He was unable to take the next step due to quarterback Dak Prescott's season-ending hamstring injury. Receiver George Pickens will take valuable targets away from Ferguson in 2025, but as long as both he and Prescott stay healthy, Ferguson should improve on his numbers from a year ago. Fantasy managers should target him as a low-end TE1 if they decide to wait on the position.