Who Should I Start? Payne Durham or Jared Wiley

Friday, August 29, 8:14 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Payne Durham could potentially see a larger role in the offense to begin the regular season. The Bucs are uncertain if starting tight end Cade Otton (leg) is going to be ready to play during the season opener. The team will likely wait and see how Otton progresses throughout next week before making a final decision. If he misses time, Payne Durham and Devin Culp figure to split up time as the starting tight end. Durham didn't see a ton of action last season, but played well when Otton missed time late in the season. When Otton was out, Durham hauled in nine receptions for 81 yards and two touchdowns as the starter. There's not a lot of value here, but maybe Durham is a dart throw if Otton is unable to go in Week 1.

Wednesday, June 18, 12:52 PM

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Jared Wiley (knee) is participating in individual drills at mandatory minicamp this week while wearing a brace on his surgically-repaired right knee. The fact that Wiley is even taking part in offseason workouts at all is pretty impressive after he suffered a torn ACL last November. The 24-year-old is doing well in his recovery, but he still may not be fully ready for training camp this summer or the start of the 2025 regular season in September. The former fourth-rounder (131st overall) last year will merely be competing for the No. 3 tight end spot with Robert Tonyan when he's fully healthy as depth behind Travis Kelce and Noah Gray. In his first year in the NFL with the Chiefs in 2024, Wiley only appeared in seven regular-season games (two starts) and caught his only target for seven yards. He's nowhere near the fantasy radar.