Who Should I Start? George Kittle or Noah Fant

Monday, March 25, 2:31 PM

Both San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and cornerback Charvarius Ward had core-muscle surgery this offseason and will be back, fully cleared, in time for training camp this summer, according to general manager John Lynch. It's worth noting, but for Kittle's sake, it's probably not going to have any effect on his 2024 fantasy value unless he suffers a setback during offseason training. The 30-year-old former fifth-round selection in 2017 out of Iowa has made the Pro Bowl in five of his seven NFL seasons and led all tight ends with 1,020 receiving yards in 16 regular-season games in 2023 while also catching 65 passes for six touchdowns on 90 targets. Despite undergoing offseason surgery, Kittle should be considered a no-doubt, top-five fantasy tight end this fall.

Monday, March 11, 7:53 PM

Free-agent tight end Noah Fant is re-signing with the Seattle Seahawks on Monday for two years and $21 million, according to sources. The former first-round pick of the Denver Broncos in 2019 out of Iowa has over 2,800 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns in his five NFL seasons with Denver and Seattle. He hasn't been much more than a TE2 in fantasy, though, and he really disappointed last year with a career-low 32 receptions on 43 targets for 414 yards and no touchdowns in 17 starts. The good news is that both Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson are headed elsewhere in free agency, so perhaps the 26-year-old Fant is able to rebound as a more-involved pass-catcher in 2024. Until that happens, though, he should be left on the waiver wire in 12-team fantasy leagues.