Who Should I Start? Mike Gesicki or Colston Loveland

Tuesday, December 30, 3:00 PM

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki has seen his snap share drop steadily over the past three games. Now, with nothing but divisional pride on the line in a Week 18 matchup with the Browns, there is no guarantee of playing time for the 30-year-old veteran in the first year of the three-year deal he signed this offseason. For fantasy managers still playing into Week 18, there are more alluring names to be found on the waiver wire, with a pleasant number of NFL teams still playing for something in the final week of the regular season. Gesicki did finish as the TE2 as recently as Week 14, so he does represent a ceiling uncommon to the waiver wire, but with an unclear picture of how the Bengals are approaching the end of the season, he is best viewed as a desperation-only play in deeper leagues.

Tuesday, January 27, 2:36 PM

The Athletic's Dan Wiederer writes that it's not hard to envision Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland becoming an "even more complete weapon" and a "major force" in the offense in his second season in 2026. "He's going to be a weapon for a long time," head coach Ben Johnson said. The 21-year-old Loveland, who was taken 10th overall in the 2025 NFL Draft out of Michigan, is overflowing with talent. But what makes him even more intriguing for the long term is that he's united with quarterback Caleb Williams and Johnson, one of the smartest play-callers in the league. Williams continues to point out how Loveland is a very friendly target because of his size, catch radius, fluidity, and ability to separate. Loveland got off to a slow start in his first year in the NFL, but he came on strong at the end of the year and finished as the TE12 in half-PPR scoring with a 58-713-6 slash line in 16 regular-season games. Going into Year 2 in 2026, Loveland will have high-end TE1 upside for fantasy managers.