Who Should I Start? Ian Thomas or Noah Fant

Saturday, September 7, 1:42 PM

The Carolina Panthers placed tight end Ian Thomas (calf) on Injured Reserve on Saturday after already ruling him out for the Week 1 regular-season opener on Sunday against the division-rival New Orleans Saints. In addition to putting Thomas on IR, the team also waived cornerback Keenan Isaac and signed tight end Feleipe Franks and defensive tackle Jayden Peevy to the active 53-man roster from the practice squad. Thomas will now miss at least the first four weeks of the 2024 season after being sidelined since early in training camp with a calf injury. Tommy Tremble (back, hamstring) has already been ruled out for Week 1 as well, so Carolina is entering the regular season already thin at the TE position, meaning rookie Ja'Tavion Sanders will mostly likely be thrust into the top pass-catching role right away.

Friday, December 20, 7:30 PM

Seattle Seahawks tight end Noah Fant (knee) has had a solid floor this season. However, there is not much ceiling with this player. That is unlikely to change in Week 16 against the Minnesota Vikings. Fant's one saving grace is that he receives decent target volume relative to the Seahawks' passing game volume. He received seven targets in Week 15 and four in the two games before that. Unfortunately, that volume does not translate to yards. Fant has only exceeded 26 yards on three occasions this season. With the Seahawks passing less and less this season and not throwing many touchdowns, Fant has fallen into fantasy-irrelevance. He is better left to the waiver wire while you pursue a win in the fantasy football playoffs this week.