Who Should I Start? David Njoku or Pat Freiermuth

Monday, October 20, 7:57 PM

Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku (knee) remains day-to-day on Monday, according to head coach Kevin Stefanski. Njoku injured his knee in the Week 6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers and was unable to practice all of last week before being ruled out of the blowout win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. The 29-year-old's knee injury isn't all that serious, so he could have a chance to play in Week 8 against the New England Patriots if he's able to return to practice this week. If Njoku makes it back to face New England on Sunday, he'll be in play as a low-end TE1/high-end TE2 for fantasy purposes. Impressive rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. had the best game of his career against Pittsburgh with a 7-81-0 line, but disappointed with four catches for 36 yards against Miami with Njoku sidelined. Njoku's upside as a TE1 in fantasy has been capped in 2025 with Fannin involved.

Friday, October 17, 12:29 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth caught four of his five targets for 111 yards and two touchdowns during Thursday's Week 7 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals. His touchdowns came on 19-yard and 68-yard receptions, the latter of which gave Pittsburgh a late lead (that they would ultimately relinquish). Freiermuth had not yet posted a fantasy performance with more than 6.1 fantasy points this season (PPR), so Thursday's breakout was admittedly unexpected. It should give fantasy managers optimism moving forward, but there's no denying that the 26-year-old continues to face competition at the tight end position. Fellow tight ends Jonnu Smith and Darnell Washington each scored touchdowns on Thursday night, too, offering Aaron Rodgers plenty of options when he's looking to target big, physical receivers in the passing game. As a result, managers should view Freiermuth as a low-end TE2 for Week 8.