Soppe’s Fantasy TE Start-Sit Week 2 Players Include Brock Bowers, Tyler Warren, and Travis Kelce

Week 2 brings clarity at tight end, where opportunity and usage matter more than highlight plays. A handful of names emerged with real roles, while others remain empty snaps. Fantasy football managers sorting through streaming options need to weigh routes, targets, and offensive context above box scores. Here’s how the top choices stack up this week.

Brenton Strange (at Bengals)

Brenton Strange has enticing athletic tools that we saw glimpses of last season (five games with a 20+ yard catch despite muted usage), and he was on the field for 82.5% of Jacksonville’s offensive snaps in the season opener.

Against the Panthers, his 23 routes yielded four catches and 59 yards, landing him right around double-digit PPR points, a standard I’m comfortable in assuming weekly with him. Coen always had Cade Otton running around for the Bucs last season, and with Strange being a more gifted target earner, we are looking at the top add at the position this week, should you be looking for help at the position.

Strange is currently my TE13 for Week 2, ranked ahead of bigger names who scored touchdowns over the weekend in Zach Ertz and Dalton Kincaid.

Brock Bowers (vs. Chargers)

If you’re reading this, you’re aware of what Brock Bowers is, and that’s a machine. We’ve seen him on the professional stage 18 times, and he’s already hit 90 receiving yards seven times.

For context, Justin Jefferson, Puka Nacua, and Ja’Marr Chase all had seven such stat lines through their first 18 career games. In fact, since 2000, Odell Beckham and Victor Cruz are the only players to top seven in that very niche stat that you can now flaunt at your Week 2 watch party.

I’m not worried about the knee injury that he seemed to pick up late last week, and I’m not concerned about Michael Mayer earning a red zone target. For me, Mayer is Tyler Allgeier to Bowers’ Bijan Robinson, case closed.

Special: Raiders TE Brock Bowers reached a MAX speed of 20.27 MPH on this 38-yard catch against the Patriots.

That’s the fastest ball carrier speed from a tight end since Jonnu Smith (20.29) back in Week 15, 2023.

The best tight end in the NFL 🔥🤯pic.twitter.com/UiAaYOPYse

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 8, 2025

You spent up at the position this summer to have a built-in edge every week over your league. While Geno Smith may not be a perfect QB, he certainly looked comfortable in funneling the targets where they needed to go in this offense, and that’s all you care about.

Bowers had 8+ targets in both Charger games last season, and I’d be surprised if he doesn’t make it three-for-three in that regard this week.

Cade Otton (at Texans)

It was my belief this preseason, and it remains so: the Liam Coen departure will mean more to the fringe talents than to the strong talents. Mike Evans is still going to earn his looks, Bucky Irving can carve up defenses in any scheme, and Emeka Egbuka’s profile fits anywhere.

Cade Otton is the type of player I was talking about.

Even in the Coen system, Otton was more of a wind sprinter than a target earner. I’m aware that he battled a groin injury late in the preseason and that he may have been moderately limited last week. Still, three targets and zero catches is disappointing regardless.

The Bucs offense is going to be good. Really good.

Not all pieces from strong offenses need to be rostered.

Both things can be true, and in this case, I believe them to be.

Chig Okonkwo (vs. Rams)

This is about where I draw the line. Anyone I rank below Chig Okonkwo isn’t on my streaming radar, and anyone in his tier (or higher) has my attention should I need help at the position.

The cliff notes of the argument are that you have a TE locked into playing time (87.3% of the snaps on Sunday) in an offense with uncertain target distribution led by the top overall pick, who is being given a long leash this year.

After Calvin Ridley, no Titan ran more routes in the season opener than Okonkwo, and that’s going to put him in position to score 8-10 PPR points most weeks. Personally, I don’t see this offense scoring more than the mid-20s in points very often, which means the ceiling is limited. But if you’re looking in this direction, you can’t have it all.

The Rams can create havoc, and that was an issue for C.J. Stroud last week. The cure to that is the passing equivalent of fullback dives: quick routes to your big tight end.

I’ll say we get more than three catches for 19 yards this weekend, making him a viable replacement if you’re dealing with injuries at the position.

Cole Kmet (at Lions)

Cole Kmet caught only one pass on Monday night, but the full extension, one-handed snag down the seam was a reminder of why he is on this team despite the drafting of Colston Loveland.

He finished the game with 22 more snaps than the rookie, but the Bears struggled to move the ball after the first eight minutes, and that was reflected in their cumulative stat line (the tandem combined for three catches and 43 yards).

I’m not pivoting off my preseason evaluation of this situation: Kmet is going to be a significant factor, but not nearly valuable enough to warrant rostering.

Colston Loveland (at Lions)

He spent the entire offseason wondering what Ben Johnson would do with Colston Loveland. Yes, he’s a high-pedigree player with a promising future, but this is also an offense with a stable TE (Kmet) and three receivers that they hope to be dynamic.

Week 1 participation report:

• Kmet: 57 snaps, 30 routes, 4 targets
• Loveland: 35 snaps, 21 routes, 2 targets

Game script certainly played into the usage of these tight ends, so I caution against reading too much into it. Chicago led for much of the evening, and Kmet (asked to block on 47.4% of his snaps) was trusted in the run game more than Loveland (40%), as is to be expected.

I still very much favor Loveland to Kmet this season, but neither is a viable option this week and may not be this month. Last season, Kmet ran 76 routes against the Lions as Chicago’s primary tight end and had just 35 yards to show for it.

I trust this offensive structure under Johnson, but I’ll need to see it before I consider it for my starting lineup.

Dallas Goedert (at Chiefs)

Dallas Goedert posting a 35% target share (including the first target of the season) for the defending champs certainly wasn’t on my Week 1 bingo card, but here we are.

I think it’s a nothing burger.

The Birds went with an ultra-conservative game plan, a weird trend that has developed during the Jalen Hurts era.

Hurts’ lowest career aDOT games:

• Week 1, 2025: 4.9 yards
• Week 1, 2022: 4.1 yards
• Week 5, 2022: 3.8 yards
• Week 1, 2021: 3.7 yards

Goedert is a good player, but he’s not special. The two receivers in this run-oriented offense are special, and assuming that Hurts’ throw depth moves in the direction it has in years past, the tight end’s stock is set to fall sooner than later (there’s a reason he’s never cleared five touchdown receptions in a season or reached 60 catches).

I’d be shocked if there is a sell-high thread to chase here, but it’s all contextual. I had Goedert ranked alongside half a dozen other tight ends as coin-flip streaming options this summer, and that remains my stance: I believe he is essentially the definition of replacement level at the position.

If you can package him with the last player on your roster for a handcuff running back with substantial contingent value, I think you pull the trigger and figure out the tight end position weekly.

Dalton Schultz (vs. Buccaneers)

There will eventually be an answer to the “who besides Nico Collins” question in the Houston passing game. But until we get some breadcrumbs leading toward an answer, I’m not going to waste my time guessing.

Sure, Dalton Schultz tied Collins for the team lead in targets in Los Angeles last week with five, but this offense offered no upside (zero 25-yard plays), and the offensive line struggles to such a degree that a blocking tight end is a real threat.

Schultz should be on waiver wires until he proves that’s a mistake, and even then, I think I’d need him to do it twice.

Dalton Kincaid (at Jets)

Dalton Kincaid scored the first touchdown in Sunday night’s instant classic, but then he pretty much disappeared (three catches for 33 yards isn’t much in a game that saw 81 points put on the board).

Buffalo spent all summer convincing themselves to make Josh Palmer a thing, and we know that Khalil Shakir is a target earner. It’s the smallest of samples, but Keon Coleman impressed in the fourth quarter (22.5 PPR points in the final 15 minutes!), and if that sort of growth is sticky, you start running out of targets to send Kincaid’s way.

Sadly, I think what we got on Sunday is about what you can expect. A role that comes with a ceiling of maybe six targets and limited scoring equity due to how this offense functions when they get in close.

Kincaid did haul in eight of nine targets a season ago against the Jets, but those looks carried a 3.4-yard aDOT, not the type of role I want access to if the volume projection is going to settle in under five targets.

The Bills are fun, but Kincaid is not. He’s my TE18 for the upcoming week.

David Njoku (at Ravens)

David Njoku has a run of five straight games with 6+ targets earned against the Ravens, averaging 5.4 catches per game during that run. Do I think each catch/target by itself will carry top-10 value this week? Probably not, but given the projected game script and the projectable volume, he’s a worthwhile starter, even if the highlight count will be low to non-existent.

He was one of two tight ends to run 40 routes on Sunday, and Harold Phanouvong Jr. pitched in 31 as well. This team is searching for answers in the passing game, and while I don’t think there necessarily is one, Njoku’s role in an offense that can’t run the ball is safe.

Cleveland figures to be behind from the jump in this road game, and that has me projecting Njoku to double his production from the season opener against the Bengals (three catches for 37 yards).

Evan Engram (at Colts)

On the surface, Evan Engram recording one catch for every six routes run in his Denver debut looks good. He wasn’t exactly used like the versatile weapon I was hoping for, but if that rate came on a full complement of snaps, I’d be holding steady with my Engram stocks.

But it didn’t.

A calf injury resulted in Engram playing just 29.6% of the offensive snaps, and now we have a real issue for a 31-year-old tight end on a team that doesn’t go on bye until Week 12.

The Broncos have real aspirations this season, and that leads me to believe they play it close to the vest, but that’s the last thing fantasy managers want to hear. I still think there is a valuable role for Engram to fill in Sean Payton’s offense, and maybe it takes form at the perfect time, but you’re going to have to roster a second tight end.

Brenton Strange and Chig Okonkwo are the two streaming options that I very much would slot in front of whoever the Broncos elect to add routes to, be it Adam Trautman or Lucas Krull, both of whom ran north of 10 routes last week.

George Kittle (at Saints)

George Kittle was doing George Kittle things until he decided to do less fun George Kittle things in the Week 1 win over the Seahawks.

Early on, he caught all four of his targets and scored on an extension play to the pylon where he flexed his athleticism and awareness. When he’s right, he’s as good as it gets at the position.

The problem is that we almost always have to navigate injuries, and that is already the case in 2022.

Kittle has played the full slate of games just once in his eight-year career and is now nursing a hamstring injury. I’m making other plans for Week 2 at the very least, not on waivers, but from what’s left on the wire after that.

If Kittle grinds this out and is active, I think you have to play him. His four-game scoring run early last season started in Week 2, and with Jauan Jennings also injured, the target distribution is predictable in San Francisco.

What causes Kittle to miss time is the same mindset that makes him an elite option when active.

Hunter Henry (at Dolphins)

Hunter Henry caught four of eight targets for 66 yards in the season opener, and the fact that he ran 39 routes was encouraging for a team that is lacking receiver depth.

I still need to see more.

Drake Maye didn’t show me much in the way of growth, and until that happens, counting on any pass catcher in this offense is taking on more risk than I’m willing to do. Henry reached triple figures in air yards over the weekend, the fourth such game of his career, and the further he gets from the line of scrimmage, the more variance is introduced into his scoring projection.

Long term, I’m out. But there were a bunch of tight end injuries in Week 1, and with the Dolphins on the schedule (7-76-0 line surrendered to Tyler Warren in his NFL debut over the weekend), Henry checks in as my TE15 and can be streamed in emergency situations.

Isaiah Likely (vs. Browns)

Isaiah Likely underwent surgery in July on a broken foot bone, resulting in no real ramping-up period for the season. At this moment, his status for Week 2 is unclear after missing the season opener, but with all 32 teams in action this week, why would you roll the dice on a player whose role isn’t 100% clear even when 100% healthy?

A player like Likely is the difference between shallow and deep leagues. I have no patience for an injured asset entering the season unless you have access to an IR slot for him. If that’s the case, you have nothing to lose. If not, what do you have to gain?

In deep leagues, however, Likely is close to a must-stash. He posted a 39.5% snap share in 2022, earned a promotion to 43.9% in 2023, and saw it spike to 60.3% in Year 3. He’s an impactful talent in an explosive offense, and that’s a profile that I don’t mind stashing over a WR7 type that I see so many deeper league rosters sit on.

If your WR7 is hitting your lineup, your ship has already sunk. At the tight end position, a player like Likely can bust into the TE1 conversation without outlier production, and that is why I want exposure to him.

That said, he’s reached double-digit PPR points just twice in his career when not playing at least half of the offensive snaps. There’s more risk than reward for a profile like that on a team that has an eye on the big picture at all times (68 wins since the beginning of 2019, the third most in the league), but there is also long-term appeal to a young player whose talent is obvious.

Stash if you have the room, and if you don’t have the space right now, don’t be shy about pouncing when we see signs of full health.

Ja’Tavion Sanders (at Cardinals)

There’s an athletic profile in Ja’Tavion Sanders that is going to result in some highlights, but I don’t play in any point-per-highlight leagues. Therefore, I’m not interested in any format.

In a game where he doubled up Tommy Tremble in routes run, Jalen Coker (quad – IR) was out, and the Panthers lost by 16, Sanders posted 18 yards on an 8.8% target share.

There’s a world in which you’re looking this direction in the middle of the season (Weeks 10-11: vs. New Orleans and at Atlanta) as you piece together your starting lineup, but we can save that conversation for another day.

Jake Ferguson (vs. Giants)

There were a few dangerous targets lofted in the way of Jake Ferguson, and while none of them were completed (one drew a penalty), the idea that Dak Prescott views his starting tight end as the type of guy that can make those plays in traffic is a good thing.

Double move in the red zone, a good thing.

I’m not here to sell you on the idea that his 23-yard performance against the Eagles on Thursday night was some rankings shifter, but I had Ferguson ranked above the streaming tier at the position this summer and feel better about that today than I did a week ago.

This George Pickens situation is going to have ups and downs. We aren’t sure what the running back position will be in Dallas. We know that CeeDee Lamb is an alpha receiver, and we know that Prescott trusts Ferguson. For me, that’s enough to put him on the low-end TE1 radar, even without a sparkling season debut.

For what it’s worth, he has earned exactly seven targets and cleared 11.5 PPR points in consecutive games against New York. If he can post numbers in that vicinity this weekend, you’ll gain ground on the field at the tight end position, and no one goes broke making a profit.

Jonnu Smith (vs. Seahawks)

If Jonnu Smith wasn’t a league winner last season, I’m not sure you’d care at all about him (2021-23: four touchdowns in 47 games), but he was, so you do.

It was Pat Freiermuth with the first TE target for the Steelers last weekend, and while I prefer Smith, there’s no denying that this slow offense is going to use both (18 routes apiece) of them, and that’s not a formula for sustained success.

The touchdown came on one of those cute forward pitch designs, and I like that Aaron Rodgers is comfortable with an athlete like Smith in such a spot, but you’re essentially banking on cheap stuff like that to get home.

Five catches is good, 16 yards is bad. There won’t be many Pittsburgh games that nearly double the pregame over/under in terms of total points, and that means the game environment won’t be nearly as friendly as it was on Sunday.

Juwan Johnson (vs. 49ers)

You mean to tell me that a Saints player overachieved early in the season? If only we had context for something like that.

Exactly 12 months ago, we were wondering if the Saints were the next Greatest Show on Turf. Life can come at you fast.

This isn’t that, obviously. New Orleans managed to score just 13 points against the Cardinals. But Spencer Rattler had 50 opportunities (pass-plus-rush attempts) in a game where they racked up 69 offensive plays, opening the door for Juwan Johnson to lead the position in routes run (47).

Good on him for posting the fifth-best game of his career (it could have been even better if he had held onto a potential game-tying end zone target late), but you don’t have to act on this. Johnson, in versions of this offense that had much higher projected upside, has never earned 70 targets in a season and has cleared four scores just once.

There were injuries at the TE position, and you might be looking to the waiver wire: I’d look elsewhere.

Kyle Pitts Sr. (at Vikings)

Just when you thought we had covered every possible inch of the “what is Kyle Pitts in the NFL” conversation, Week 1 happens.

Average depth of target by season

• 2022: 13.7 yards
• 2023: 12.0 yards
• 2024: 8.7 yards
• Week 1: 4.9 yards

It used to be our dream that he would be used like a receiver, and we got some of that on Sunday with seven catches, but I had more Drake London-patterned usage in mind, not Ray-Ray McCloud.

But maybe what we want isn’t what we need. We’d love to see the athletic profile of Pitts shine at elite levels, but maybe that’s not his destiny. Maybe this is what he is: a chain-moving option that can provide a high floor in a developing offense?

I’m not there yet, but it was good to see this. The Falcons had a very concentrated offense with Darnell Mooney (shoulder) out of action, funneling 71.4% of their targets to Pitts, London, or Bijan Robinson. The fact that they used their TE as part of their Big Three is encouraging.

We will see if the looks continue once Mooney is back and/or when Atlanta can establish a ground game. But Week 1 was a step in the right direction. It was a step away from Anthony Richardson-itis, a point where the team is so enamored with athletic tools that they operate without reason, trying to reach his 95th percentile outcome, blind to the fact that a 75th percentile outcome is still more than sufficient.

Mark Andrews (vs. Browns)

It was a weird game script-wise for the Ravens on Sunday night, but the fact that Mark Andrews ran 15 routes and other tight ends managed 10 is a little concerning to me with Isaiah Likely sidelined.

Will they manage his reps in the passing game?

I’m not suggesting that to be 100% accurate, but DeAndre Hopkins reeled in that one-handed touchdown as a part of his 12 routes while Rashod Bateman and Zay Flowers were running routes on most Lamar Jackson dropbacks.

Charlie Kolar ran nine routes, and nothing against my guy Chucky K, but Likely is a far superior pass-catching option and will demand even more usage.

On the bright side, we saw Andrews run in terms of touchdown rate last season, showing us that it’s possible in this potent offense. On the downside, any regression on that front, and we aren’t looking at a top-15 player at the position, not to mention the top-5 upside that you hoped for when drafting him.

I’m not punting on him as a starter just yet, mainly because I’d never roster two tight ends, and that means I’d be recommending cutting him outright. But if we get another data point that looks like the one we got on Sunday night (5.3% target share) on top of positive news around the health of Likely, the waiver wire isn’t out of the question.

Mike Gesicki (vs. Jaguars)

Entering this season, Mike Gesicki signed a new deal. It didn’t really move the needle much in the fantasy space because he is what he is in Cincinnati: a wind sprint artist.

His route numbers have been off the charts in recent seasons, and that always tempts me into ranking him three spots higher than he should be or taking a DFS flier on him.

No more!

Drew Sample ran one more route than him on Sunday, and he more than doubled his raw snap count. If the Bengals are going to have some balance this season (whether that’s a Chase Brown thing or simply the best way for them to keep their defense off the field), those blocking snaps are going to be valuable – there is no such thing as “faking the run” when Gesicki is on the field.

I’ve always left the light on for Big Mike when it comes to the streaming conversation, but I’m as close as I’ve been to turning off that switch. If this weekend looks like last, he’ll officially fall out of my “I can pick up this guy and hope” tier at the position.

I respect your thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.

Pat Freiermuth (vs. Seahawks)

Pat Freiermuth, at the peak of his powers, was touchdown reliant. He had two seasons with seven touchdown receptions, and he was a streamer in those years. But from 2022-23, he turned 145 targets into just four scores and wasn’t on our radar.

Jonnu Smith played nine more snaps than Freiermuth in New York over the weekend, but they split 36 routes down the middle, and that means I’m not interested in either.

If forced to choose, it would be Smith (six targets to Freiermuth’s three). Freiermuth is a name you are familiar with, and there will be a few weeks where Aaron Rodgers gets him involved in scoring situations. But to my eye, those opportunities will come at random, and that means there’s no point in chasing them.

Sam LaPorta (vs. Bears)

The Ben Johnson absence was felt by just about everyone in Detroit outside of Sam LaPorta (nine targets, six catches, 79 yards). Jared Goff was efficient in a low-octane game plan, and if that style of game plan sticks, LaPorta is a threat to catch 100 balls in 2025.

More likely, however, is that this offense will adapt over time. Goff had no more completions than the Lions had rush attempts due to the script in Lambeau, and I can’t imagine we’ll see that consistently.

I expect a game against a less talented Bears team, operating on a short work week, to resemble the 2024 Lions more closely. That means more success on the ground and less volume through the air.

Banking on nine targets weekly is optimistic, but I do think 5-7 is reasonable, and given the efficiency of Goff, that’s going to land his tight end in the top-12 at the position more often than not. LaPorta, in my opinion, doesn’t carry the break-the-slate upside that the top-5 at the position do, but after that, he’s as good as it gets.

T.J. Hockenson (vs. Falcons)

I was expecting more from T.J. Hockenson on Monday night, but I’m willing to forgive and forget.

He was on the field for 77.6% of Minnesota’s offensive snaps and caught 75% of his targets, both of which project well moving forward. In J.J. McCarthy’s debut, the big tight end was used more as a chain mover (three catches for 15 yards) than anything, and this offense sputtered for much of the night.

I expect more volume to go his way with time, especially in the short term with Jordan Addison serving the final two games of his suspension. Hockenson doesn’t have Tier 1 potential, but given the carnage at the position over the weekend, he’s firmly a starter in all formats and a part of the tier where I’m not holding a second TE on my roster.

Travis Kelce (vs. Eagles)

The 37-yard touchdown was well-schemed, and Travis Kelce gets credit for executing. Still, the man had one catch for 10 yards on his other 37 routes in a game that was played without Rashee Rice, without, for the most part, Xavier Worthy, and in a pass-friendly game script (Patrick Mahomes had 29 more pass attempts than Kansas City RBs had carries).

Not ideal.

Being tethered to Mahomes is a fantasy steroid, and with the Chiefs, at least early in the season, it looks as if Kelce is physically aging well for a soon-to-be 36-year-old. But, I didn’t walk away from Friday night with a warm and fuzzy feeling in my stomach about him being a TE1 every week.

There was a red-zone opportunity missed where Kelce slowed down on a route just enough for Mahomes to misfire, and things like that have a way of getting ironed out with time. We will see what the future holds for Worthy’s health, and maybe that buys you more time for Kelce to build up his trade value, but I’m OK with cashing this chip in.

We know that, for one reason or another, Kelce’s fantasy stock hibernates in December (2022-24: one touchdown on 460 December routes), and I’m concerned that Rice takes food off his plate the second he is activated in Week 7.

Start taking the calls. You have a little runway now to get out of the Kelce business at a profit, and I don’t think that will come back to haunt you. Don’t settle, but have honest negotiations and try to make a deal happen while he is still viewed as a locked-in fantasy asset.

Trey McBride (vs. Panthers)

Another week, another nine looks for Trey McBride. He was featured from the jump (43.8% first-half target share), and with Marvin Harrison Jr. looking good, I’m as confident as ever in McBride’s potential to lead the position in scoring for the season.

In Week 1, seven of McBride’s targets (77.8%) came within five yards of the line of scrimmage, up from his 56.5% rate a season ago. The casual fantasy manager scoffs at a note like that, instead favoring some high-upside opportunities, but at the tight end position, give me a locked-in floor every time.

The Cardinals have made it clear that they view Harrison as a field stretcher, which leaves this role to McBride and McBride alone. Arizona was terrible on Sunday (3.9 yards per play, nine penalties, five sacks, etc.), and you got a dozen PPR points from the tight end position.

You’re lucky to have McBride on your roster, and I fully expect him to be a popular name on championship fantasy teams when all is said and done.

Tucker Kraft (vs. Commanders)

Brock Bowers gets used as the top pass catcher in Vegas, and Tyler Warren seems poised to assume that role in Indy – can we get that sort of commitment to Tucker Kraft?

Probably not.

The 15-yard touchdown against the Lions last week was a dime from Jordan Love, and all of the physical tools seem to be in place for Kraft to be a weekly difference-maker. Still, I have zero confidence that we will see any concentration of targets in this offense.

• Tucker Kraft

Had limited volume in Week 1 but scored a touchdown saving his week. Kraft is a weekly top 10 TE option with his RAC ability & touchdown upside in this offence.

If he ever gets more volume, he will be a top 5 TEpic.twitter.com/6gwENIkEVL

— Endzone Espresso (@EndzoneEspresso) September 10, 2025

The Packers were getting anything they wanted, had various WR injuries, and saw Matthew Golden make his NFL debut. All of those things were working in favor of a consistent threat like Kraft, and he managed to earn just an 18.2% target share.

I’m comfortable starting him this week and counting on him moving forward, but the floor/ceiling math for a low-volume role has the potential to be maddening any week. For this week specifically, he slides inside my top 10 with the thought being that some of his banged-up teammates might be more limited on a short week.

Tyler Warren (vs. Broncos)

Tyler Warren wasted zero time in establishing himself as a problem at the professional level, and it looked all sorts of legitimate.

The pride of Penn State caught three of Daniel Jones’ first five passes last weekend (43 yards), a sign to me that his usage was written into the game plan.

You love to see it.

His debut could have been even better (he was contacted on an end-zone target), and he was even bleeding his nose with some blocks in scoring situations.

In short, it looks like we have a third straight season with a rookie as an elite fantasy asset at a position that we once ran from in terms of young guns.

Warren is already a no-brainer weekly starter, and while I need more than a single game against a floundering defense to make any bold claims, it’s more viable to believe that he could flirt with Tier 1 status this season.

Zach Ertz (at Packers)

Zach Ertz’s first catch of the season was a seven-yard score, continuing to show some fantasy stability after scoring seven times in Jayden Daniels’ rookie season.

More encouraging than the touchdown was the usage pattern of John Bates. If an elder statesman like Ertz is going to stay upright and productive all season, he’s going to need some help, and he got it in Week 1.

Commanders TE snaps/routes:

• Ertz: 40/30
• Bates: 34/27

If Bates is a hired gun when it comes to the dirty work, and 75% of the time that Ertz is on the field, he’s an option in the pass game, I’m open to the idea of him sneaking into the top-12 conversation weekly.

He sits outside of that for me this week due to some matchups for others in that range (Brenton Strange gets the Bengals, for example), but I do think you could do worse.