Who Should I Start? Zach Ertz or Noah Fant

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.

Sunday, December 28, 12:03 PM

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Noah Fant (ankle) is officially active on Sunday to face the visiting Arizona Cardinals in Week 17. Fant will return to action this weekend in a meaningless game after missing last week's blowout win over the Miami Dolphins due to an ankle injury. Even in a plus matchup against the Cardinals, fantasy managers should have much better TE2 streaming options to choose from in Week 17, even in deeper leagues. The 28-year-old Fant just won't have enough opportunities while continuing to work behind Mike Gesicki at the position in Cincy. Fant has a total of 33 catches for 283 yards and three touchdowns on 39 targets in 13 games (six starts) in his first year with the Bengals. He hasn't had more than one catch in a game since Nov. 16, and he has not gone over 44 receiving yards in a single contest in 2025.