Who Should I Start? Kyle Pitts Sr. or Ja'Tavion Sanders

Tuesday, September 30, 11:02 AM

Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. had his best week of the season to date in Sunday's 34-27 win over the Commanders, reeling in all five of his targets for 70 yards and a touchdown, his first of the year. That now makes four straight weeks with at least five targets and at least four catches to begin the 2025 campaign, currently ranking as the ninth-highest scoring tight end in half-point PPR leagues. The former first-round draft pick's target share (18.5 percent) ranks second on the team behind only Drake London, and that is even the case if you only look at Weeks 2-4 when Darnell Mooney was on the field. It's almost a five percent increase in target share compared to his involvement last season, too. The Falcons have a bye in Week 5, and Pitts returns to a tough matchup in Week 6 against the Bills, a team that has allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to TEs this year, so it will be a good test to see if Michael Penix Jr. can keep him involved on an every-week basis.

Friday, October 3, 1:31 PM

The Carolina Panthers have officially ruled out tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders (ankle) for the Week 5 matchup on Sunday against the visiting Miami Dolphins, per The Athletic's Joe Person. Sanders will miss his second straight game after suffering the dreaded high-ankle sprain back in Week 3. High-ankle sprains can keep players out up to four to six weeks, so Sanders could end up missing a third straight contest next week against the Dallas Cowboys. Even before his injury, Sanders wasn't much of an option for fantasy managers in 12-team leagues. With Sanders sidelined in last week's loss to the New England Patriots, Tommy Tremble stepped up for five catches on eight targets for 42 yards and his first touchdown of the year. Tremble is known as more of a blocking TE, though, so expecting more relevant fantasy production might be a mistake. Still, he'll at least be in play as a TE2 streamer this weekend in a good matchup against Miami. Head coach Dave Canales said the hope is that Sanders is ready to go next week.