Who Should I Start? Noah Fant or Josh Oliver

Saturday, September 6, 2:47 PM

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Noah Fant agreed to a one-year deal with the team in July. He began his career with the Denver Broncos before spending the last three seasons with the Seahawks. In 2024, the 27-year-old appeared in 14 games for Seattle. However, he wasn't very productive, finishing the year with 48 receptions for 500 yards and one touchdown. Fant should see some attention from quarterback Joe Burrow throughout the 2025 campaign. Still, Mike Gesicki is projected to lead the way in targets at the position. Of course, with Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Chase Brown in the equation, there likely won't be much work for anyone else. As a result, fantasy managers should keep Fant out of the lineup in Week 1 against the Browns. That's not expected to change in the weeks ahead.

Tuesday, June 10, 1:52 PM

The Minnesota Vikings signed tight end Josh Oliver to a three-year, $23.25 million contract extension on Tuesday with a maximum value of $27.5 million, according to Athletes First's Andrew Kessler. The deal includes $11.9 million in new guarantees and $19.5 million in total guarantees. With T.J. Hockenson missing time due to injury in 2024, Oliver had 22 receptions on 28 targets for a career-high 258 yards and three touchdowns in 15 regular-season games (12 starts), but it still wasn't enough to move the fantasy needle. The 28-year-old former third-rounder (69th overall) by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2019 NFL draft out of San Jose State excels as a run-blocker and will primarily be used in that role again in 2025. And now that Hockenson will be ready for the start of this season, we'd expect Oliver to be less involved as a pass-catcher.