Who Should I Start? Jonnu Smith or Kyle Pitts Sr.

Sunday, January 11, 12:12 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Jonnu Smith (glute) was a full participant in practice on Saturday and was cleared from the final injury report, according to Adam Caplan of Sirius XM NFL Radio. Smith will be active for the Wild-Card matchup against the visiting Houston Texans on Monday night. Even though Darnell Washington (forearm) is done for the year due to injury, Smith is a hard sell for starting fantasy football lineups in playoff formats, especially with receiver DK Metcalf returning from a two-game suspension. The 30-year-old Smith had only one catch on two targets for two yards in the team's Week 18 regular-season finale against the Baltimore Ravens, and he caught only 38 passes during the regular season for 222 yards and two touchdowns. If you are going to use a TE from Pittsburgh this weekend, it should be Pat Freiermuth.

Tuesday, February 10, 1:52 PM

Atlanta Falcons impending free-agent tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. seems likely to remain in Atlanta in 2026, according to Josh Kendall of The Athletic. Kendall believes the franchise tag for Pitts makes the most sense, which would mean Pitts would make a little more than $16.3 million in 2026. Placing the franchise tag on the 25-year-old would give new head coach Kevin Stefanski a year to evaluate Pitts with his own eyes. Pitts teased fantasy managers for years after his 1,000-yard rookie season in 2021, only to fall flat. The former first-rounder finally played up to his abilities in 2025, catching a career-high 88 passes on 118 targets for 928 yards and a career-high five touchdowns in 17 games played. He had at least six catches and 57 yards in five of the final six games. Although Atlanta's quarterback situation is up in the air with Michael Penix Jr. (knee) injured, Pitts' fantasy stock as a TE1 is on the rise going into 2026 if he stays with the Falcons.