Who Should I Start? Ja'Tavion Sanders or Harold Fannin Jr.

Friday, October 3, 1:31 PM

The Carolina Panthers have officially ruled out tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders (ankle) for the Week 5 matchup on Sunday against the visiting Miami Dolphins, per The Athletic's Joe Person. Sanders will miss his second straight game after suffering the dreaded high-ankle sprain back in Week 3. High-ankle sprains can keep players out up to four to six weeks, so Sanders could end up missing a third straight contest next week against the Dallas Cowboys. Even before his injury, Sanders wasn't much of an option for fantasy managers in 12-team leagues. With Sanders sidelined in last week's loss to the New England Patriots, Tommy Tremble stepped up for five catches on eight targets for 42 yards and his first touchdown of the year. Tremble is known as more of a blocking TE, though, so expecting more relevant fantasy production might be a mistake. Still, he'll at least be in play as a TE2 streamer this weekend in a good matchup against Miami. Head coach Dave Canales said the hope is that Sanders is ready to go next week.

Tuesday, October 7, 7:20 PM

Cleveland Browns tight end Harold Fannin Jr. continued his hot start to the season in a Week 5 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London. Fannin caught all four of his targets for 13 yards and a touchdown. The rookie tight end gave fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel his first NFL passing touchdown with a one-yard grab in the first quarter. Fannin has now caught 21 passes for 173 yards and one touchdown through five games as he has established himself as a top target in Cleveland. He will now head on the road to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6. The Steelers have been quite generous to tight ends this season, allowing the fourth-most fantasy points per game to the position through four games. Fannin is looking like a low-end TE1 heading into Week 6.