Who Should I Start? James Mitchell or Darnell Washington

Wednesday, September 24, 6:20 PM

Carolina Panthers tight end James Mitchell has an opportunity to make some noise with Ja'Tavion Sanders (ankle) expected to miss multiple weeks with a high-ankle sprain, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. Tommy Tremble will move to the top of the Panthers' TE depth chart with Sanders injured, but he's more of a blocker than a pass-catcher, so Mitchell might have a chance to make some noise going forward in his first year in Carolina. The 26-year-old former fifth-round selection (177th overall) by the Detroit Lions in 2022 out of Virginia Tech has caught all 13 of his targets for 141 yards and one touchdown in 30 games played (one start) in his three NFL seasons with the Lions before joining the Panthers on a reserve/futures contract back in January. Mitchell is only worth a look on the waiver wire in the deepest of fantasy leagues at the moment.

Sunday, December 14, 12:19 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington (concussion) has been cleared from the league's concussion protocol and has been upgraded to active for the Monday night contest against the visiting Miami Dolphins to close out Week 15 action, according to director of communications Burt Lauten. Washington was initially listed as questionable on the team's final injury report on Saturday, but he has since been cleared by an independent neurologist and will play against Miami. The 6-foot-7, 264-pounder should be treated as TE3 in fantasy despite his growing role in recent weeks. Washington has caught five of his seven targets for 79 yards in the last three games, but having to contend for targets with fellow TEs Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith every week makes him too hard to trust as a starter in fantasy.