NFL Player News

Knox was targeted twice in Sunday's win over the Jets, catching one pass for one yard.

Knox played 55 percent of the offensive snaps to Lee Smith's 39 percent and Tommy Sweeney's 33 percent, though Sweeney outproduced him with two catches for 35 yards. Knox had a good summer leading into his first NFL campaign, but a late hamstring injury really set him back. With Tyler Kroft (broken foot) about to re-enter the fray in a week or two, Knox has probably missed his window for fantasy production as a rookie, unless injuries strike the group later in the season.

James caught one pass for 15 yards during Sunday's 27-27 tie with the Cardinals.

James and T.J. Hockenson were both in the starting lineup to open the game, but James was ultimately out-snapped by the rookie 64 to 51. Much of that discrepancy is likely due to Detroit's need for a hurry-up offense during the final parts of regulation and into overtime, but Hockenson also went for 131 yards and a touchdown in his first regular-season game, and the rookie probably won't be seeing a reduction in snaps anytime soon. That leaves James as a touchdown-dependent fantasy option in virtually all formats.

Gesicki brought in two of six targets for 31 yards during Sunday's 59-10 loss to Baltimore.

Gesicki tied his second-highest career mark for receiving yards in a game but nonetheless failed to make a significant impact. The second-year tight end struggled with drops and hauling in errant throws from Josh Rosen and Ryan Fitzpatrick, and he still did not look like an asset as a blocker. Expect Gesicki to continue receiving ample opportunity as he works to make use of his unique athleticism, but his fantasy impact will remain capped unless Miami's offense improves as a whole.

Higbee caught four of five targets for 20 yards and a touchdown during Sunday's 30-27 win over Carolina.

Recently signed to a four-year contract extension, it didn't take long for Higbee to reward the franchise for their confidence in him. The fourth-year tight end has never been a strong fantasy asset, and he's been utilized primarily as a blocker to this point in his career. Additionally, Gerald Everett is arguably the more capable receiving tight end on the roster, so Higbee's targets are likely to remain minimal. It's worth noting that Los Angeles discussed utilizing more two-tight end sets this season, which could provide a slight uptick in opportunities for both Higbee and Everett.

Everett caught his only target for seven yards during Sunday's 30-27 win over Carolina.

The athletic tight end only played 30 of 77 offensive snaps, as it was Tyler Higbee who once again started and played more (40 snaps). Higbee also caught four of five targets and scored the game-winning touchdown. It's obviously too early to write off Everett's chances of superseding Higbee, but Los Angeles also just signed Higbee to a four-year contract extension. There were plenty of positives during Everett's first two years in the league and he had a strong offseason, so while he's still currently an unreliable fantasy asset, he's a player to keep tabs on.

Goedert caught two of his three targets for 16 yards in Sunday's 32-27 win over Washington.

Although Goedert didn't make much of a statistical impact, he was on the field for 55 percent of the snaps, more than the Eagles' No. 4 receiver and just 11 fewer than DeSean Jackson. The trend will likely continue as the Eagles ran a lot of two-TE sets in the preseason to try and get the second-year pro on the field more often. Goedert will have bigger games, but they will be tough to predict, especially as long as Zach Ertz is healthy.

Ertz caught five of his seven targets for 54 yards in Sunday's 32-27 win over Washington.

The 28-year-old had just one catch on two targets heading into the locker room at halftime but turned it on after that. With DeSean Jackson scoring two long touchdowns on the day, there weren't many red-zone opportunities available, although Ertz did get tackled at the two-yard line after a 26-yard gain to end the third quarter. Alshon Jeffery ended up taking it in on the next play. The Stanford product remains an elite option at tight end heading into a Week 2 road tilt at Atlanta.

Sweeney caught both of his targets for 35 yards in Buffalo's come-from-behind win over the Jets on Sunday.

That was third on the team in yardage for the game. It was also the only meaningful contribution from Buffalo tight ends, as Dawson Knox had one catch for one yard and Lee Smith didn't have any. Starter Tyler Kroft (broken foot) should be back in a week or two, but Sweeney, a seventh-rounder, may be winning the battle for the No. 2 pass-catching tight end role. Quarterback Josh Allen got a lot of time this summer with Sweeney while most of the other tight ends were battling injuries.

Vannett caught both of his targets for 16 yards in Sunday's 21-10 win over the Bengals.

Vannett was the only tight end remaining for Seattle after Will Dissly injured his surgically repaired right knee. There won't be much competition for snaps if Dissly misses time beyond the opener, but Vannett has never shown much potential as a pass catcher, hauling in 44 of 62 targets for 425 yards and four touchdowns across 39 games and 890 offensive snaps the past three seasons.

Hockenson caught six of nine passes for 131 yards and a touchdown during Sunday's 27-27 tie with the Cardinals.

Anyone who wrote off Hockenson because of the "tight ends aren't productive as rookies" narrative needs to quickly reconsider the potential Hockenson provides on the stat sheet. Right out of the gate, the Iowa product saw more targets than any Lions receiver averaged per game in 2018 and he proceeded to translate that workload into the highest receiving total by any tight end in his first career game since the 1970 merger (topping the 103 yards Will Dissly collected last season). Hockenson will look to keep it up in Week 2 against a Chargers team that won't have safety Derwin James (foot) available to play.