Who Should I Start? Travis Kelce or Austin Hooper

Monday, February 2, 4:59 PM

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce could hang up his cleats after 13 seasons in the NFL. It's still unclear if he'll return for a 14th campaign with the Chiefs after playing out the two-year, $34.25 million deal he signed with KC in April of 2024. The 36-year-old future Hall of Famer was slightly better in 2025 than he was in 2024, but he still finished with fewer than 1,000 yards receiving for the third straight season. Kelce hauled in 76 of his 108 targets for 851 yards and five touchdowns in 17 starts. He became the third TE in history to reach 13,000 receiving yards, and he also had at least 75 catches for the 10th straight season. Kelce clearly is no longer in his prime, but he was still a top-five fantasy TE in half-PPR scoring in a season in which the Chiefs didn't even make the postseason. If Kelce returns to the Chiefs for one more run at it in 2026, he'll still be a top-10 fantasy target at the TE position, albeit one with more injury risk than ever before.

Wednesday, November 19, 2:59 AM

New England Patriots tight end Austin Hooper (concussion) carved out standalone fantasy value in his role behind Hunter Henry last season, but he has failed to establish himself as a worthwhile fantasy addition during the 2025 campaign. He went from the overall TE24 in PPR leagues last year to TE45 through Week 11 this season. The 31-year-old hasn't registered more than three targets in a single game this season, which is a major step backward after he averaged 3.5 targets per game in 2024. While Henry has cemented himself as the Patriots' top tight end and is one reason for Hooper's underwhelming year, the bigger factor is likely the wide receivers' increased productivity. Players like Stefon Diggs, Kayshon Boutte, and Mack Hollins have elevated this position room higher than in years past, leaving fewer opportunities for a backup tight end like Hooper. An injury has complicated his status even more, as Hooper missed Week 11 in concussion protocol and remains up in the air for Week 12 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Even if he plays, he'll remain off the fantasy radar in all leagues. His only path to fantasy relevance would be a Hunter Henry injury.