Who Should I Start? Zach Ertz or Kyle Pitts Sr.

Monday, February 16, 6:30 PM

Washington Commanders impending free agent tight end Zach Ertz (knee) may be 36 years old, but he has continued to be a productive pass-catching weapon on the offensive side of the ball. Ertz had 50 catches for 504 yards and four touchdowns across 13 games, ranking as the overall TE19 in PPR leagues. He has 11 touchdowns over the last two seasons, averaging 10.1 fantasy points per game during that span. His final stat line from 2025 is even more impressive when you remember the quarterback situation he was dealt. Jayden Daniels missed plenty of time due to injury, so Ertz found himself catching passes from Marcus Mariota. He was shut down for the season by the time Josh Johnson earned any quarterback snaps, though. Ertz tore his ACL in Week 14, leaving plenty of question marks about his availability for 2026. Furthermore, he's a free agent this offseason, so we don't even know if he'll end up back in Washington. It's quite possible that a team with an established, young No. 1 tight end signs Ertz, allowing him to recover before filling a depth role. That'd be a rough scenario for fantasy managers, so selling high on him in dynasty leagues might be the right choice this offseason.

Tuesday, February 10, 1:52 PM

Atlanta Falcons impending free-agent tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. seems likely to remain in Atlanta in 2026, according to Josh Kendall of The Athletic. Kendall believes the franchise tag for Pitts makes the most sense, which would mean Pitts would make a little more than $16.3 million in 2026. Placing the franchise tag on the 25-year-old would give new head coach Kevin Stefanski a year to evaluate Pitts with his own eyes. Pitts teased fantasy managers for years after his 1,000-yard rookie season in 2021, only to fall flat. The former first-rounder finally played up to his abilities in 2025, catching a career-high 88 passes on 118 targets for 928 yards and a career-high five touchdowns in 17 games played. He had at least six catches and 57 yards in five of the final six games. Although Atlanta's quarterback situation is up in the air with Michael Penix Jr. (knee) injured, Pitts' fantasy stock as a TE1 is on the rise going into 2026 if he stays with the Falcons.