Who Should I Start? Zach Ertz or Austin Hooper

Saturday, August 16, 2:31 PM

Washington Commanders tight end Zach Ertz will sit out Monday's preseason matchup with the Bengals. While he's not listed on the injury report, the team is expected to rest the 33-year-old veteran as a precaution. Ertz has secured the starting role and should remain a steady option for quarterback Jayden Daniels this season. The veteran played all 17 games last year, his first full campaign since 2021. Ertz projects as a low-end TE2 in fantasy and is unlikely to be drafted outside of deeper formats, but he remains a reliable security blanket in Washington's offense.

Tuesday, July 29, 9:36 PM

New England Patriots tight end Austin Hooper (undisclosed) returned to practice on Tuesday, according to Evan Lazar of Patriots.com. Hooper had started camp on the active/physically unable to perform list, but he appears to be back in action. The 30-year-old recorded 45 catches for 476 yards and three touchdowns in 17 games with New England in 2024. He's behind Hunter Henry on the Patriots' tight end depth chart, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see the team use plenty of two tight-end sets now that Josh McDaniels is back in town as the play-caller. Even still, Hooper would need an injury to Henry to crack the radar of fantasy managers.