Who Should I Start? Jimmy Graham or Austin Hooper

Saturday, March 30, 12:21 PM

Free-agent tight end Jimmy Graham wrote on his Instagram account that he's "unsure of what the future holds" after "things ended rather quickly after the season." The 37-year-old returned to the New Orleans Saints last year and played in the NFL after sitting out in 2022 and found the end zone four times on his six catches on the season. Graham only racked up 39 receiving yards in 13 games (two starts). The five-time Pro Bowler was one of the best at his position in his prime with the Saints and Seattle Seahawks earlier in his career, but the 13-year veteran is nearing the end and could officially hang up his cleats this offseason if he doesn't get picked up by another team. If this is the end for Graham, he'd finish his successful NFL career with 719 career catches (1,115 targets) for 8,545 receiving yards and 89 touchdowns in 197 career regular-season games.

Wednesday, March 13, 12:18 AM

Las Vegas Raiders free-agent tight end Austin Hooper is expected to sign a one-year deal worth up to $4.25 million with the New England Patriots on Wednesday. The veteran tight end will reunite with new Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, who was with Hooper with the Cleveland Browns. Hooper made the Pro Bowl two straight years from 2018-19 while with the Atlanta Falcons, but he hasn't been nearly as involved as he was then in the last four seasons with the Browns, Titans and Raiders. In 17 games (nine starts) last year in Vegas, the 29-year-old caught just 25 of 31 targets for 234 yards and no touchdowns. With both Mike Gesicki and Pharaoh Brown now gone, Hooper figures to serve as New England's No. 2 TE behind Hunter Henry in 2024. Unless Henry gets hurt, Hooper is unlikely to have a significant enough role to warrant fantasy consideration in standard-sized leagues.