Who Should I Start? Durham Smythe or Tucker Kraft

Thursday, March 6, 2:33 PM

The Chicago Bears signed former Miami Dolphins tight end Durham Smythe to a one-year deal on Thursday, according to NFL.com. The former fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame has played his entire seven-year career with Miami but was released this offseason. Overall, the 28-year-old has hauled in 132 receptions for 1,228 yards and three touchdowns in 112 career games. Smythe is best utilized as a blocker, and with Chicago trading for former Los Angeles Rams offensive lineman Jonah Jackson and former Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Joe Thuney, it's evident they want to improve quickly in run and pass blocking. Smythe could help Chicago's offense in 2025 under new head coach Ben Johnson, but he's unlikely to be on the fantasy football radar.

Thursday, June 12, 12:02 PM

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love said specifically that tight end Tucker Kraft's usage is a major point of focus this spring during offseason workouts. Kraft took a big jump from his rookie season in 2023 to last year, catching 50 of 70 targets for 707 yards and seven touchdowns in 17 regular-season starts as Green Bay's primary pass-catching tight end. He had just 31 receptions for 355 yards and two scores in 17 games (eight starts) in 2023 while splitting snaps with Luke Musgrave. It helped that Musgrave missed 10 games with an ankle injury last year, but Kraft should operate as the team's TE1 in 2025, and he's certainly an intriguing low-end TE1 target in fantasy drafts with upside for more because of his yards-after-the-catch prowess. The 24-year-old former third-rounder (78th overall) in 2023 out of South Dakota State is ranked as RotoBaller's No. 11 fantasy tight end.