Who Should I Start? George Kittle or Mark Andrews

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.

Friday, January 30, 3:43 PM

Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews had his least productive season since his rookie year in 2025, recording 48 receptions for 422 yards and five touchdowns on 70 targets across 17 games played. Following Baltimore's Week 7 bye, Andrews played fewer than 70% of his team's offensive snaps in every game. He also earned four or fewer targets in 11 contests. Part of Andrews' drop in production can be attributed to missed time from Ravens' quarterback Lamar Jackson, which impacted the team's offensive output overall. However, the veteran tight end's numbers were only slightly better in the 13 games Jackson was active for in 2025. Heading into 2026, Andrews will be entering his age-31 season and may simply be slowing down. Baltimore will also have an entirely new coaching staff in place, which could lead to changes across the roster. From a fantasy perspective, Andrews profiles as an increasingly difficult tight end option to trust in both redraft and dynasty formats.