Who Should I Start? John Bates or Daniel Bellinger

Friday, January 24, 6:03 PM

Washington Commanders tight ends John Bates (shoulder) and Ben Sinnott (shoulder) were both removed from Friday's final injury report and will be available on Sunday for the NFC Championship against the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles. Zach Ertz (rib) will also be active after practicing in full on Thursday and Friday, so neither Bates nor Sinnott are realistic DFS options for fantasy managers this weekend. The 27-year-old Bates has played through a shoulder injury in both postseason games but has only one catch on three targets for 20 yards to show for it. He had eight grabs on 13 targets for 84 yards and no scores in 17 regular-season games (six starts). Sinnott, meanwhile, has not even been targeted in two playoff games and caught all five of his targets for 28 yards and one touchdown in his first 17 NFL games during the regular season.

Saturday, November 8, 2:19 AM

New York Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger is showing subtle signs of increased involvement in the offense, making him a speculative play in deep fantasy leagues for Week 10 against the Chicago Bears. While Bellinger is the 35th-ranked fantasy TE, averaging just 3.86 points per game, he is benefiting from rookie QB Jaxson Dart's tight end targets and the team's increased use of two-tight end sets following major receiver injuries. Bellinger's impressive 17.6 yards per reception shows an unexpected deep-threat element that could exploit the Chicago defense's weakness, as they have allowed 20 passing touchdowns on the season. Although Chicago is an average matchup against the TE position, this vulnerable defense (28.4 points allowed per game) offers a glimmer of hope that Bellinger could score a sneaky touchdown.