Who Should I Start? Tanner Hudson or John Bates

Friday, August 8, 10:25 AM

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Tanner Hudson played well in Thursday's preseason loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The 30-year-old caught six of eight targets for 62 yards. He also scored twice, finding the end zone off a 12-yard pass from Joe Burrow on the opening drive before capping off his night with another touchdown in the fourth quarter. After making stops in Tampa Bay and New York (Giants) to begin his career, he appeared in 23 regular-season contests for the Bengals in the last two years. While Hudson had a few productive showings during that span, he has never been a consistent fantasy contributor. That's not expected to change in 2025 even if he continues to produce in the team's final two preseason games, considering Cincinnati has Mike Gesicki, Drew Sample, and Noah Fant on the roster. With a loss in the books, the Bengals will look to get on track versus the Washington Commanders on August 18.

Friday, January 24, 6:03 PM

Washington Commanders tight ends John Bates (shoulder) and Ben Sinnott (shoulder) were both removed from Friday's final injury report and will be available on Sunday for the NFC Championship against the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles. Zach Ertz (rib) will also be active after practicing in full on Thursday and Friday, so neither Bates nor Sinnott are realistic DFS options for fantasy managers this weekend. The 27-year-old Bates has played through a shoulder injury in both postseason games but has only one catch on three targets for 20 yards to show for it. He had eight grabs on 13 targets for 84 yards and no scores in 17 regular-season games (six starts). Sinnott, meanwhile, has not even been targeted in two playoff games and caught all five of his targets for 28 yards and one touchdown in his first 17 NFL games during the regular season.