Who Should I Start? Kyle Pitts or Jeremy Ruckert

Tuesday, June 10, 1:23 PM

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said that tight end Kyle Pitts (foot) is unlikely to be on the field at mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, and the team will continue to be "cautious" with him. Pitts was already trending down in fantasy circles this offseason after yet another disappointing campaign in 2024 that saw him catch 47 of his 74 targets for 602 yards, although he did catch a career-high four touchdowns in 17 games (15 starts). Now the 24-year-old is missing on-field reps this offseason with a foot injury that he Falcons haven't released many details on. The former first-rounder is heading into the final year of his rookie deal and has been mentioned as a trade candidate. A change of scenery might be what Pitts needs to return to his rookie level of production, when he had a 68-1,026-1 line. Pitts has now become a TE2 in fantasy.

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.