Who Should I Start? Ian Thomas or Noah Fant

Tuesday, March 25, 1:32 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders announced on Tuesday that they signed free-agent tight end Ian Thomas (calf) to an undisclosed deal on Tuesday. Thomas will head to the AFC West after spending the first seven years of his NFL career with the Carolina Panthers after they selected him in the fourth round (101st overall) in the 2018 NFL draft out of Indiana. The 28-year-old never really established himself as a fantasy asset in Carolina, with his best season coming in his rookie campaign with a 36-333-2 line on 49 targets in 16 games (six starts). Thomas landed on Injured Reserve in 2024 with a calf injury and only caught three of six targets for seven yards in five games (two starts). He scored four touchdowns in his first three seasons but hasn't found the end zone since. In Vegas, he'll provide TE depth behind Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer and will remain off the fantasy radar.

Saturday, October 25, 12:06 PM

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Noah Fant finished the Week 7 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers by catching all four targets for 44 yards. He also scored a touchdown, his first visit to the end zone since the Week 1 meeting with the Cleveland Browns. With Mike Gesicki (pectoral) out of commission and sitting on the Injured Reserve list, Fant should continue to see the most snaps at the position for the foreseeable future. The Bengals offense looked fantastic in Week 7, totaling 33 points. However, even if Joe Flacco and company stay as hot in the Week 8 encounter with the New York Jets, Fant is still hard to trust as long as Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are in the equation. As result, the 27-year-old should be viewed as nothing more than a risky streaming option for managers in all fantasy formats.