Who Should I Start? Zach Ertz or Drew Sample

Monday, December 8, 3:44 PM

An MRI exam on Monday confirmed that Washington Commanders tight end Zach Ertz (knee) suffered a season-ending torn ACL in the Week 14 shutout loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. It's tough news for the 35-year-old veteran, who will finish his 13th year in the NFL with 50 receptions on 72 targets for 504 yards and four touchdowns in 13 starts in his second year with the Commanders. Fantasy managers can safely drop Ertz now. Ben Sinnott will be the best bet for most of the targets as the team's top pass-catching TE with Ertz done for the year, although he will be sharing snaps with John Bates and Colson Yankoff. At best, Sinnott will be a low-end TE2 streamer for fantasy managers in deeper leagues in Week 15 when Washington battles the division-rival New York Giants on the road.

Saturday, September 27, 2:08 PM

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Drew Sample has only three catches this season, with one resulting in a trip to the end zone. The 29-year-old has logged more snaps than Mike Gesicki and Noah Fant (foot) through the first three weeks of the 2025 campaign. However, both have received more attention from quarterbacks Joe Burrow (toe) and Jake Browning. The Bengals offense is a mess, which has been a surprise to most. As a result, it's hard to trust anyone on that side of the ball. Granted, Sample should continue to lead the position in snaps, especially with his abilities as a blocker. Still, while he will likely add a few more scores to his resume before the end of the season, he's not consistent enough to be considered a starting fantasy option in any format in Week 4 versus the Broncos.