Who Should I Start? George Kittle or Taysom Hill

Sunday, January 5, 11:54 PM

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (ankle, hamstring) was outproduced by his backup Eric Saubert during the team's 47-24 loss to the Cardinals in Arizona. Kittle caught two of three targets for 27 yards. The affable team captain was questionable and ultimately activated but had his snap count reduced in the meaningless game. Most likely, the 49ers organization was showing appreciation to Kittle by giving him the start since he has a $500,000 per-game roster bonus in his contract. Kittle finishes an excellent season as the overall half-PPR TE2, behind only Las Vegas Raiders rookie Brock Bowers and just ahead of Arizona's Trey McBride. He amassed 78 receptions, 1,106 yards, and eight touchdowns in 2024. He was hyper-efficient this year, setting career marks in catch percentage and yards per target. Kittle will enter his age-32 season in 2025 once again as a fantasy TE1 with San Francisco.

Friday, December 6, 5:10 PM

The New Orleans Saints officially placed tight end Taysom Hill (knee) on Injured Reserve on Friday. In addition to suffering an ACL tear in last week's loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Hill also suffered additional damage to his left knee and will miss the remainder of the 2024 season. It's a tough blow for the 34-year-old and the Saints offense after Hill had 188 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns just two weeks ago. He did it all for the Saints on offense and special teams and will be sorely missed the rest of the way, which should lead to even more volume for running back Alvin Kamara. Hill's fantasy value was peaking just before his injury. He should have already been dropped in redraft leagues, and Hill's availability for the start of the 2025 season could be in jeopardy. Tight end Juwan Johnson becomes stream-worthy in Week 14 against the Giants with six teams on bye.