Who Should I Start? Tyler Conklin or Cole Kmet

Friday, March 21, 10:24 PM

Former New York Jets tight end Tyler Conklin reached an agreement on an undisclosed one-year deal on Friday with the Los Angeles Chargers, according to his agent, Mike McCartney. Conklin heads to the AFC West after spending the last three years with the Jets, where he had 170 catches on 246 targets for 1,622 yards and seven touchdowns in 50 games (43 starts). While the 29-year-old did have a career-high four touchdowns in 16 games (15 starts) last year, he had just 51 catches and 449 yards (his lowest total since 2020) on 72 targets. The former fifth-round selection (157th overall) by the Minnesota Vikings in 2018 out of Central Michigan has the opportunity to be the Chargers' top pass-catching tight end in 2025, but he'll also be sharing playing time with Will Dissly. Dissly had a very similar 50-481-2 line to Conklin a year ago in L.A. Expect Conklin to be a touchdown-dependent TE2 in fantasy in his new home.

Friday, October 24, 3:31 PM

Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet (back) has been ruled out for his team's Week 8 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens due to a back injury. Kmet suffered the injury during his team's Week 7 win over the New Orleans Saints and did not practice at all this week. With Kmet sidelined, Bears rookie tight end Colston Loveland should have his best opportunity of the season to break out. The 21-year-old rookie has had a quiet start to his NFL career, recording eight catches for 78 yards on 13 targets across five games. Loveland has yet to play more than 67% of the Bears' offensive snaps in any game this season, but that should change in Week 8 against Baltimore. Given his lack of production so far, it will be tough for fantasy managers to trust Loveland as a starter. Still, Loveland may be a player to stash in case he has a big week and Kmet's injury proves to be a long-term ailment.