Who Should I Start? Tyler Conklin or Ian Thomas

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.

Tuesday, March 25, 1:32 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders announced on Tuesday that they signed free-agent tight end Ian Thomas (calf) to an undisclosed deal on Tuesday. Thomas will head to the AFC West after spending the first seven years of his NFL career with the Carolina Panthers after they selected him in the fourth round (101st overall) in the 2018 NFL draft out of Indiana. The 28-year-old never really established himself as a fantasy asset in Carolina, with his best season coming in his rookie campaign with a 36-333-2 line on 49 targets in 16 games (six starts). Thomas landed on Injured Reserve in 2024 with a calf injury and only caught three of six targets for seven yards in five games (two starts). He scored four touchdowns in his first three seasons but hasn't found the end zone since. In Vegas, he'll provide TE depth behind Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer and will remain off the fantasy radar.