Who Should I Start? Jake Ferguson or Brenton Strange

Sunday, August 17, 10:48 PM

Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson (back) did not play during the team's preseason contest against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday. The 26-year-old was sidelined near the start of the month, and although he returned to the practice field roughly one week ago, it appears that he wasn't healthy enough to play in Dallas' second preseason game. As a result, the Cowboys gave more passing opportunities to tight ends John Stephens Jr. and Princeton Fant. However, in reality, Devyn Spann-Ford and Luke Schoonmaker would be first in line to replace Ferguson if he's unable to suit up in Week 1. He's still an intriguing fringe top-12 fantasy tight end with Dak Prescott back under center this year. Even last year, while catching passes from both Prescott and Cooper Rush, Ferguson caught 59 passes for 494 yards. He did not catch a touchdown, finishing 2024 with double-digit fantasy points in just three of his 14 games. However, positive touchdown regression could vault him back up into the top-12 or top-15 range this year.

Friday, August 15, 5:12 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange was one of the players who "got the highest volume of targets from Trevor Lawrence" during training camp practice on Friday, according to John Shipley of SI.com. Strange found the end zone and put forth an impressive display of consistency. However, Shipley also notes that it was a light day of practice, so fantasy managers should take it with a grain of salt. He flashed "serious speed to beat the secondary after the catch on an impressive deep throw from Lawrence during team drills." The 24-year-old caught his only target for 11 yards in the preseason opener last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. With Evan Engram out of town, has a real opportunity for a breakout season. Strange had a 40-411-2 line in 17 games (10 starts) in his second season in 2024. RotoBaller has him ranked as the TE21 for fantasy purposes.