Who Should I Start? George Kittle or Isaiah Likely
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 42.8 | 0.3 |
George Kittle News
Wednesday, July 15, 12:47 PM
San Francisco 49ers tight end Jake Tonges gave fantasy managers a useful preview of what he can do when George Kittle is missing. In the six games Kittle sat last season, Tonges caught 29 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns. The other 11 games produced five catches for 24 yards. That is about as clean as it gets. San Francisco brought Tonges back on a two-year deal, so he should again handle most of the receiving work if Kittle is not ready. Kittle is targeting Week 1 after tearing his right Achilles in the playoffs, but no return date is locked in. Tonges could have some early streaming value if the recovery stretches into September. Once Kittle is back, though, the role can vanish in a hurry. At 27 and TE38 in RotoBaller's dynasty rankings, Tonges makes sense for contenders that need Kittle insurance or short-term depth. Rebuilders do not need to chase a player whose value depends almost entirely on someone else's rehab.
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.4 | 37.7 | 0.3 |
Isaiah Likely News
Friday, July 17, 10:18 AM
The New York Giants have a lot riding on new tight end Isaiah Likely after they signed him to a three-year, $40 million deal in free agency in March, so it's good to hear from John Fennelly of Giants Wire that he and new quarterback Jaxson Dart "have already shown a connection in early workouts this past spring." The former fourth-rounder by the Baltimore Ravens out of Coastal Carolina in 2022 could never get out of Mark Andrews' shadow in his four seasons with the Ravens, but he'll have a chance to immediately break out in 2026 in his first year in the Big Apple after following head coach John Harbaugh to the Giants. The G-Men think that the 26-year-old can become offensive coordinator Matt Nagy's receiving tight end out of the slot to create mismatches for opposing defenses. Likely can also be used as a blocker, but the Giants will probably have others do most of that. After catching 135 of his 194 targets for 1,568 yards and 15 touchdowns in his first four NFL seasons with the Ravens, Likely will enter 2026 as a low-end TE1 target/high-end TE2 target in fantasy drafts with the potential for a true breakout in New York.
George Kittle vs. Isaiah Likely
Still trying to decide between Kittle and Likely? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that George Kittle is projected to score 10.0 points this week while Isaiah Likely is projected to score 9.0 points.
Latest Fantasy News
