Who Should I Start? Darren Waller or Juwan Johnson

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.

Saturday, December 13, 1:26 PM

New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson caught all four of his targets for 38 yards in Week 14's victory over the Buccaneers. His receptions led the team, and he has now recorded at least four catches or a touchdown in each of his last seven contests. Over his last three games, Johnson ranks as the fourth-most-targeted tight end in the league and has consistently dominated the Saints' tight end room in snap share. However, with the offense leaning more toward the run in Week 14, his snap count dropped to 53%, the second-lowest mark of the season. His lowest snap share came in Week 10 against the Panthers, when he also posted a career-best 92 yards and a touchdown. Expect Johnson to bounce back this week.