Who Should I Start? George Kittle or Pat Freiermuth

Tuesday, July 23, 3:04 PM

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (groin) is fully healthy for the start of the team's training camp on Tuesday. Kittle dropped to 214 pounds, a 30-pound loss, after his core muscle surgery because he wasn't able to work, but he's now back up to his playing weight of 240-243 pounds. While the 29-year-old star tight end tends to be boom-or-bust from a fantasy perspective, he still totaled 65 catches on 90 targets for 1,020 yards and six touchdowns overall across 16 appearances in San Fran in 2023 and remains one of the game's top-tier options at the position. If star wideout Brandon Aiyuk ultimately has his trade request satisfied ahead of the regular season, Kittle's floor would become more stable as more of an offensive focal point in the Niners' high-octane attack.

Monday, June 17, 2:18 PM

Nobody performed better and more consistently for four weeks during offseason workouts than Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth. He had an instant connection with new quarterback Russell Wilson and came across as a potential playmaker in new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith's tight-end-heavy offense. Pittsburgh can overcome their shortcomings at the receiver spot by relying more on Freiermuth this year. Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts went over 1,000 yards as a rookie in Smith's offense, and Jonnu Smith had 50 catches with the Falcons in 2023, so there is a history of TEs thriving in this system. Freiermuth is talented enough to take a short pass and turn it into a big gain. Despite catching a career-low 32 passes for 308 yards and two TDs last year in 12 regular-season games, Freiermuth is entering his fourth season as a highly attractive high-end TE2 in fantasy.