Who Should I Start? Zach Ertz or Pat Freiermuth

Wednesday, March 6, 2:01 PM

Three-time Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz is signing with the Washington Commanders on a one-year deal worth up to $5 million on Wednesday, according to a source. It will be a reunion for Ertz and new Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. When Ertz was with the Arizona Cardinals in Kingsbury's offense, he saw a ton of targets, so this has the 33-year-old's fantasy stock on the rise again after he played in only seven games in the desert in 2023 due to injuries, catching 27 of his 43 targets for 187 yards and one touchdown. Logan Thomas is now out of the picture in Washington, paving the way for Ertz to serve as the team's top pass-catching tight end if he's healthy, but he could also be taking passes from whichever quarterback the Commanders with the second overall pick in the upcoming draft.

Thursday, April 4, 2:16 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth said on the Around the 412 podcast on Wednesday that he wants "to be in Pittsburgh for the rest of my career" as he heads into the final year of his rookie contract in 2024. He missed five games in 2023 due to a hamstring injury, but overall his numbers declined from the previous two seasons. Subpar quarterback play didn't help, and the 25-year-old former second-round pick in 2021 out of Penn State caught a career-low 32 passes for 308 yards and only two touchdowns in 12 regular season games (nine starts). In new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith's offense, Freiermuth could have a bounce-back campaign in 2024 and will be a nice sleeper target in fantasy drafts this fall.