Who Should I Start? John Bates or Eli Stowers
Week 9 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 7.8 | 0.1 |
John Bates News
Saturday, September 26, 6:18 PM
Across his first two games of 2026, Washington Commanders tight end John Bates has recorded just two catches for 13 yards on three targets. However, the 28-year-old could see more playing time in his team's Week 3 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. Commanders TE1 Chig Okonkwo (hamstring) is set to miss his second consecutive game with a hamstring injury. While Bates was not heavily utilized in Week 2, Washington got uninspiring production from the tight end duo of Ben Sinnott and Colson Yankoff. Bates has recorded just 74 receptions across 84 career games with the Commanders, so he's no guarantee to step in and provide fantasy-relevant production. Still, Bates could be a name to monitor in deep fantasy leagues coming out of Week 3.
Week 9 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 11.1 | 0.0 |
Eli Stowers News
Friday, November 6, 7:18 PM
Philadelphia Eagles rookie tight end Eli Stowers has yet to make an impact for the team in 2026, but he still profiles as a nice stash in dynasty formats. Stowers missed a large chunk of this season after being placed on IR with quad and hamstring injuries, so he's feasibly a bit behind at this point. However, reports out of camp this summer were that the 23-year-old was having trouble acclimating to the speed of the NFL game. That's no surprise, really, as tight ends can be particularly slow to adapt to the speed of the pros. Although, with veteran Dallas Goedert ahead of him, playing time will be scarce. In fact, Stowers has rotated evenly with teammate Johnny Mundt and is currently in somewhat of a time share. All that said, while it may be difficult for him to provide owners value this year, the Vanderbilt product presents with strong athletic measurables for his size, and the collegiate production over his final two seasons to back it up (111/1,407/9). He's a firm hold for the time being.
John Bates vs. Eli Stowers
Still trying to decide between Bates and Stowers? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that John Bates is projected to score 2.0 points this week while Eli Stowers is projected to score 2.4 points.
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