Who Should I Start? George Kittle or Chigoziem Okonkwo

Friday, February 21, 9:33 PM

San Francisco Chronicle's Eric Branch writes that the San Francisco 49ers and star tight end George Kittle have been in talks about a contract extension early this offseason. The 31-year-old is heading into the final year of his current deal in 2025 after a strong 2024 campaign in which he caught 78 passes on 94 targets for 1,106 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in 15 starts. The production was all the more impressive after he revealed that he played through cracked ribs for much of the season, and he also missed two games with a hamstring ailment. Kittle's 1,106 receiving yards and eight touchdowns were both the second-best marks of his career. He was the TE1 overall in fantasy, with only Brock Bowers and Trey McBride besting him in total yardage. Regardless of whether he gets a contract extension from the Niners (he likely will), Kittle will be a top-five fantasy TE in drafts this fall.

Sunday, January 5, 11:54 AM

Tennessee Titans tight end Chig Okonkwo (abdomen) is officially active for the Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Houston Texans on Sunday. Okonkwo popped up on this week's injury report after putting in a limited practice on Thursday before sitting out on Friday. The 25-year-old will end up giving it a go in the team's final game of the season. He's been on a decent run of production of late with 22 catches on 28 targets for 182 yards and no touchdowns in the last three games, although that also coincided with Mason Rudolph taking over under center for the Titans. Tennessee is going back to quarterback Will Levis (at least to start) in Week 18, which should give fantasy managers some pause when considering Okonkwo as a TE streamer. He has 52 total catches on the year for 479 yards and only two touchdowns in 16 games.