Who Should I Start? George Kittle or Harold Fannin Jr.

Tuesday, January 20, 12:48 PM

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (Achilles) said on Monday that he expects to return from his torn Achilles "well before November" while also saying he could play close to the 2026 regular-season opener, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. Kittle tore his Achilles tendon in the Wild-Card win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Jan. 11 and had successful surgery last week. Kittle's Achilles tear was a best-case scenario because he suffered a "clean tear." "They didn't have to drill into my heel," Kittle said. "And where the repair was, there's more blood flow. And so it takes some time off the recovery time." The 32-year-old only played in 11 regular-season games due to injuries in 2025, although he was the TE3 in half-PPR fantasy points per game (12.1), catching 57 passes for 628 yards and seven TDs. While Kittle is optimistic about his recovery, fantasy managers should expect him to miss potentially half the 2026 season.

Monday, February 9, 3:15 PM

All signs are pointing toward Cleveland Browns tight end Harold Fannin Jr. being the team's No. 1 pass-catching tight end again in 2026 after fellow TE David Njoku announced on Monday that he's not expecting to re-sign with the team in free agency this offseason. Fannin, 21, surprisingly led Cleveland in receiving in 2025 after the team selected him in the third round out of Bowling Green. The 6-foot-4, 241-pounder hauled in 72 of his 107 targets for 731 yards and six touchdowns in 16 games played, which made him the TE5 overall in half-PPR scoring. Fannin did it all despite a less-than-ideal situation at quarterback, too, which makes his rookie campaign even that much more impressive. The Browns' QB picture won't look all that much better going into next year, but Fannin should maintain TE1 value in fantasy as a key piece of the offense in his sophomore season.