Who Should I Start? Jeremy Ruckert or Gunnar Helm

Monday, June 9, 12:26 PM

The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt writes that New York Jets tight end Jeremy Ruckert has shown progress as a pass-catcher this offseason. Ruckert was teammates with new quarterback Justin Fields in college at Ohio State, so he's been seeing a heavy workload during organized team activities. Still, Ruckert has plenty to prove coming off three disappointing seasons to start his NFL career, including regressing as a run-blocker last year. "I think he can help us in the passing game, he'll be a really good blocker," had coach Aaron Glenn said. "There's some technical things he can improve on." The 24-year-old former third-rounder (101st overall) in 2022 is still searching for his first NFL touchdown and has caught just 35 of 52 targets for 264 yards in his three seasons. With the Jets taking Mason Taylor in the second round of this year's draft, Ruckert's path to fantasy value is even more of an uphill battle.

Thursday, November 20, 9:59 PM

Tennessee Titans rookie tight end Gunnar Helm had one of his better performances in Sunday's Week 11 loss to the Houston Texans, catching four of his five targets for 29 yards. Helm's four catches and five targets both tied his season-highs in the 16-13 loss, a game in which rookie receivers Elic Ayomanor (hamstring) and Chimere Dike (chest) were both injured. In his first 10 NFL games, the 23-year-old fourth-rounder has caught 24 of his 30 targets for 216 yards and one touchdown. Helm hasn't turned heads in 2025, but he does have at least one catch in all 10 of his games, and the Titans could be looking to get him the ball more in the final stretch of the season. He will be a more intriguing TE streamer in deeper fantasy leagues if Ayomanor is unable to play. Also in his favor is the matchup against Seattle, a team that has allowed the sixth-most half-PPR fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends.