Who Should I Start? Tommy Tremble or Jeremy Ruckert

Wednesday, July 23, 6:25 PM

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales would not say that tight end Tommy Tremble (back) will be back in two weeks at training camp, but he could return in four weeks. Despite starting camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list this week, Tremble is making good progress from back surgery that he had in May. With the 25-year-old out for another couple of weeks at least, it brings into question whether he'll be available for the Week 1 regular-season opener in early September. Even if Tremble is ready to roll by then, he should remain off the fantasy radar in most leagues, as he's mostly known for his blocking and should take a back seat in the pass-catching department to Ja'Tavion Sanders. The former third-rounder in 2021 has never had over 23 catches or 234 yards in his four-year career with the Panthers.

Monday, June 9, 12:26 PM

The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt writes that New York Jets tight end Jeremy Ruckert has shown progress as a pass-catcher this offseason. Ruckert was teammates with new quarterback Justin Fields in college at Ohio State, so he's been seeing a heavy workload during organized team activities. Still, Ruckert has plenty to prove coming off three disappointing seasons to start his NFL career, including regressing as a run-blocker last year. "I think he can help us in the passing game, he'll be a really good blocker," had coach Aaron Glenn said. "There's some technical things he can improve on." The 24-year-old former third-rounder (101st overall) in 2022 is still searching for his first NFL touchdown and has caught just 35 of 52 targets for 264 yards in his three seasons. With the Jets taking Mason Taylor in the second round of this year's draft, Ruckert's path to fantasy value is even more of an uphill battle.