Who Should I Start? Kyle Pitts Sr. or Brock Bowers

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.

Wednesday, January 28, 1:54 PM

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (knee) had a sophomore season to forget in 2025, as he only played in 12 games and ended the year on Injured Reserve. The 23-year-old former 13th overall pick in 2024 out of Georgia injured his knee in the Week 1 season opener and wasn't quite himself the rest of the year before eventually being shut down. Still, Bowers managed to finish as the TE10 in half-PPR scoring with 64 receptions for 680 yards and seven touchdowns. It was quite the disappointment for fantasy managers after Bowers had a 112-1,194-5 season in 17 games in his rookie campaign. Bowers is expected to be fully healthy for the start of the 2026 season, when he's expected to be working with Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza -- the projected first overall pick by Vegas. Even though the Raiders are expected to have a rookie QB, Bowers should be a high-end TE1 target yet again.