Who Should I Start? Pat Freiermuth or Cade Otton

Sunday, August 3, 1:28 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth is the team's unquestioned No. 1 tight end and "the heartbeat of this offense," according to Mark Kaboly of The Pat McAfee Show. Kaboly adds that Jonnu Smith was a late addition to the roster and "will provide a significant target for quarterback Aaron Rodgers." It sounds like the Steelers plan to use Smith in a lot of different ways, but as of right now before the start of the preseason, Freiermuth is going to be the team's top pass-catching tight end. Freiermuth caught a career-high 65 passes on 78 targets last year for 653 yards and a career-high-tying seven touchdowns in 17 regular-season games (11 starts). Both Friermuth and Smith should be on the field together plenty, and it's probably going to be impossible to predict which one might go off for fantasy purposes on any given week.

Tuesday, August 5, 9:41 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton (hamstring) will remain out for the team's practice on Tuesday, according to Greg Auman of Fox Sports. Otton has been sidelined for over a week with what Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles described as a "mild" hamstring strain. There's been no indication as of yet that Otton is at risk of missing regular-season time. If the injury does end up sidelining him, Payne Durham and Ko Kieft would be in line for more snaps at tight end in Tampa Bay. In 14 games for the Buccaneers in 2024, Otton recorded 59 catches for 600 yards and four touchdowns. There's significant target competition for him in Tampa Bay due to the team's talent and depth at wide receiver, so Otton profiles as a TE2 for fantasy.