NFL Player News

Wells recorded two receptions for minus-10 yards and a fumble in Sunday's 27-17 win over the Bears.

Both of Wells' receptions -- the first two of his NFL career -- came on the Buccaneers' 12-play, 89-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter. Wells made a key one-yard catch on third down to extend the possession, but he ended up accounting for a huge chunk of negative yardage when he caught a pass at Chicago's 21-yard line for no gain, then fumbled before quarterback Baker Mayfield recovered the loose ball at the 32-yard line. Wells may not have many opportunities to get into positive yardage for the season anytime soon, as he's third on the depth chart at tight end and won't be a featured option in the passing game whenever he's on the field.

Kieft went without a target over his 17 snaps on offense in Sunday's 27-17 win over the Bears.

After Kieft failed to reel in any of his three targets in the Week 1 win over the Vikings, quarterback Baker Mayfield didn't end up looking the tight end's way in the Week 2 win. Kieft has run routes (26.5 percent) more frequently than he's blocked (18.4 percent) when he's taken the field for passing plays, but he's unlikely to rank as anything more than a tertiary option in the aerial attack at any point this season.

Wesco played 40 snaps on offense but drew just one catchless target in Sunday's 27-24 overtime win over the Chargers.

Though his 63 percent offensive snap share wasn't far behind that of starting tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo (71 percent), Wesco remained relegated to a blocking role, which has been par for the course since he entered the NFL in 2019. Wesco has ran just six routes on his 63 offensive snaps through the first two weeks of the season.

Gray secured all three of his targets for 38 yards in Sunday's 17-9 win over the Jaguars.

Gray reeled in three catches for the second-straight week, despite Travis Kelce making his 2023 debut in Week 2. Surprisingly, the third-year tight end's 41 offensive snaps Sunday were just two fewer than that of Kelce, who saw a team-high nine targets in the contest. Gray's role will likely be limited moving forward and should keep him off the fantasy radar in Week 3 when the Chiefs host the Bears.

Likely secured his only target for eight yards in Sunday's 27-24 win over the Bengals.

Likely operated as the Ravens' primary backup tight end Sunday with Mark Andrews making his 2023 debut. The 23-year-old took the field for just 25 of Baltimore's 75 offensive snaps and, as expected, was not an important part of the team's offensive game plan. With Andrews healthy, Likely should remain off the fantasy radar when the Ravens host the Colts in Week 3.

Moreau reeled in both his targets for 20 yards during Monday's 20-17 win against the Panthers.

Moreau tied with running back Tony Jones and the versatile Taysom Hill for the Saints' fifth-most targets against the Panthers. The 26-year-old logged more receiving yards than starting tight end Juwan Johnson (13), though he still finished far behind wideouts Chris Olave (86), Rashid Shaheed (63) and Michael Thomas (55). Moreau also played significantly fewer offensive snaps (36) than Johnson did (62), as the latter still appears firmly entrenched as New Orleans' TE1. Moreau should continue to serve in a depth role when the Saints travel to Green Bay on Sunday.

Johnson hauled in two of three targets for 13 yards during Monday's 20-17 win against the Panthers.

Johnson's first target didn't come until the Saints' final two-minute drive in the second quarter, and he recorded both of his catches in a span of eight plays midway through the third quarter. His moderate target share from quarterback Derek Carr is rather disappointing for the 6-foot-4 tight end, who was regarded as an up-and-coming fantasy product after he accumulated career-best numbers across 16 games in 2022 (42-508-7). However, Johnson still played starting reps Monday night, lining up on 81 percent of New Orleans' offensive snaps compared to 47 percent for Foster Moreau and 13 percent for Jimmy Graham. Johnson will look to carve out a more favorable target share versus the Packers on Sunday.

Hurst caught all three of his targets for 20 yards in Monday night's 20-17 loss to the Saints.

The veteran tight end's output wasn't anything special, as Carolina's passing attack managed just 153 yards under rookie QB Bryce Young. Through two games, Hurst has hauled in eight of his 10 targets and profiles as a useful red-zone option for Young after scoring in Week 1.

Smith was held to two catches for 10 yards on four targets in Sunday's loss to the Ravens.

Smith came close to having a third catch but was eventually ruled to be out of bounds on what would have been a pretty nice third-down conversion in the first half. Smith doesn't have the volume to trust right now, and certainly Joe Burrow's setback with his calf injury raises even more concerns.

Freiermuth secured his lone target for two yards during the Steelers' 26-22 win over the Browns on Monday.

Freiermuth exited last week's regular-season opener with a chest injury but didn't appear to have significant limitations Monday while playing 76 percent of the team's offensive snaps. While the 2021 second-rounder managed to prop up his fantasy output by reaching the end zone in Week 1, he was unable to do the same against Cleveland in prime time. Freiermuth has had a slow start to the season, securing two of five targets for five yards and that touchdown, but he'll have a more favorable matchup against Las Vegas on Sunday.