Who Should I Start? Jeremy Ruckert or Julian Hill

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.

Saturday, October 11, 6:34 AM

Miami Dolphins tight end Julian Hill started the first three games of the season while Darren Waller (hip) was out, but he only had one catch for one target in those three games, despite a large snap share. Even with Waller back and Hill's playing time shrinking, he posted his best offensive game of the season in Week 5 against the Panthers, and he'll look to build on that success in Week 6 against the Chargers. Hill caught four of his five targets in Week 5 for 22 yards, setting a season-high in targets, catches, and yards. He only played 53% of snaps, and that number could drop even more if Waller is healthy and ready for more snaps. Hill could struggle to keep contributing, which is why he's the TE51 in RotoBaller's rankings and well off the radar as a starting option this week. However, it is worth noting that he started to get some attention from Tua Tagovailoa last week, which could make him fantasy-relevant if Waller gets banged up again.