Who Should I Start? Nate Adkins or Zach Heins

Sunday, October 12, 1:28 PM

Denver Broncos tight end Nate Adkins scored his first touchdown of the season on Sunday to help his team defeat the New York Jets 13-11 in London. The third-year tight end finished the day having caught both of his targets for 23 yards, and his 16-yard scoring connection with quarterback Bo Nix proved to be the only touchdown of the game. Even with his first touchdown in the books, Adkins has just four catches on the season. Behind fellow tight end Evan Engram, who led the team in targets on Sunday, Adkins is unlikely to receive enough volume to be considered for fantasy lineups going forward.

Thursday, July 11, 4:37 PM

Former South Dakota State University tight end Zach Heins signed with the Los Angeles Chargers after being unselected in the 2024 NFL Draft. After a slow start to his collegiate career, Heins caught 56 passes for 757 yards and 11 touchdowns over the last two seasons. With the Chargers, he's in one of the weaker tight end rooms in the NFL, and Daniel Popper of the Athletic believes he has a shot to make the 53-man roster following training camp. "Heins, out of South Dakota State, is over 6-foot-6 and 259 pounds. He projects as a capable inline blocker. The Chargers have been very clear about wanting to build a physical and imposing running game," Popper wrote. "To do that consistently, they need run blockers at tight end. They signed an elite run blocker in free agency in Will Dissly. But I think they need more run-blocking behind Dissly." It sounds like Heins won't be much of a pass-catcher if he makes the roster, but he should still be on the fantasy radar in ultra-deep leagues if he's active in Week 1. The Chargers could opt to carry four tight ends on game day, so he'll need to beat out one of Dissly, Hayden Hurst, Donald Parham Jr., or Stone Smartt.