NFL Player News

Hill carried the ball twice for three yards and a touchdown and failed to record a catch on two targets in Sunday's 32-29 loss to Kansas City.

With Drew Brees back under center. Hill returned to his usual role as a gadget player and backup QB, and he took a red-zone snap into the end zone in the second quarter. He was also targeted in the red zone by Brees later in the game but wasn't able to corral the pass. Hill still retains some fantasy value in very deep formats, but unless Brees gets hurt again, he's unlikely to see much action in Week 16 against the Vikings.

Kelce caught eight of 12 targets for 68 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 32-29 win over the Saints.

He took a shovel pass from Patrick Mahomes for a one-yard score early in the second quarter, giving Kelce a TD in three straight games and tying his career high with 10 on the year. He's also closing in on history, as Kelce needs only 60 more receiving yards next week against the Falcons to break George Kittle's single-season NFL record for a tight end of 1,377.

Higbee caught four of five targets for 67 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 23-20 loss to the Jets.

For the second straight game, the tight end led the Rams in receiving, though Higbee managed only 101 yards between the two contests. He also scored his fifth TD of the season and second in the last three games on a three-yard grab early in the fourth quarter. Higbee will look to keep rolling during a Week 16 trip to Seattle that will likely decide the winner of the NFC West.

Akins caught five of six targets for 50 yards in Sunday's 27-20 loss to Indianapolis.

Akins has become the top tight end threat on the roster and has six targets in three of the last five games. He's up to 43 targets over 11 games, which puts him within shouting distance of his career-high 55 targets established over 16 games in 2019. However, Akins has found the end zone just once, and Houston's tight ends account for just three of quarterback Deshaun Watson's 27 touchdown throws. Week 16 has the Texans hosting the Bengals, whose defense is tied for 30th in fantasy points allowed to tight ends.

Smith recorded five receptions on five targets for 52 yards in Week 15 against the Lions.

Smith returned from a one-game absence and tied for the team lead in receptions. He hauled in a few deep receptions, including a 19-yard catch on the team's first drive and a 16-yard reception later in the contest. Perhaps most importantly, Smith was clearly Ryan Tannehill's favorite tight-end target as Anthony Firkser and MyCole Pruitt were both limited to one reception. Smith will look to build on the effort in Week 16 against the Packers.

Hockenson caught two of four targets for 18 yards and carried once for no yards with one fumble during Sunday's 46-25 loss to Tennessee.

After seeing 20 total targets in his first two games with Darrell Bevell as interim head coach, Hockenson was keyed on by a Titans secondary that entered the game allowing the fourth-highest completion rate (76.8 percent) and eighth-most yards per target (8.3) to tight ends in 2020. D'Andre Swift's involvement near the goal line also played a role in Hockenson's disappointing turnout, and Hockenson also fumbled on an end-around on a critical third-and-one during a potential game-tying drive in the fourth quarter. While Hockenson seemingly has a solid chance to rebound in Week 16 against a Buccaneers team allowing a league-high 79.7 percent completion rate to tight ends, fantasy managers should keep in mind the possibility for Detroit, with nothing to play for at this point, to rest quarterback Matthew Stafford for the team's final two games of the regular season.

Njoku (knee) is active for Sunday night's game against the Giants, Jake Trotter of ESPN.com reports.

A sudden practice absence Friday placed Njoku's Week 15 status in question, but coach Kevin Stefanski alleviated concerns by subsequently stating that he expected the 24-year-old to play. Having since supported his coach's intuition by clearing the injury report in time for kickoff, Njoku will look to build on a three-catch, 45-yard Week 14 performance against the Ravens. He'll get work at the tight end position alongside Harrison Bryant and Austin Hooper, the latter of whom gained clearance to play Sunday evening after being limited during the week with a neck injury.

Hooper (neck) is active for Sunday's road game versus the Giants, Jake Trotter of ESPN.com reports.

Hooper started Week 15 prep with back-to-back limited listings before getting in a full session, but the Browns still gave him a questionable designation. That wasn't a huge surprise considering he sat out Week 14 with a neck injury, but now that he's back in the lineup he should slot back in as the team's No. 1 tight end. Having said that, Hooper hasn't surpassed three catches or 40 yards since Week 6, a span of four appearances.

Smith (knee) is listed as active for Sunday night's game against the Browns, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

A knee issue held the Stanford product to limited participation in practice Thursday and Friday, and he carried a questionable designation heading into the weekend. Now confirmed active for his 13th appearance of 2020, Smith has a chance to build on a stat line of 16 receptions and 96 yards. Position mate Evan Engram has enjoyed the bulk of the passing-game work with 50 catches for 526 yards and one receiving TD.

Engram (calf) is listed as active Sunday versus the Browns, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

As was expected, Engram will be out there after injuring his knee at Friday's practice, which led to a questionable designation for Week 15. Kaden Smith (knee) also is available for when the Giants utilize two-TE sets, but Engram is the pass catcher of the position group. While he has just three games of more than 60 yards this season, Engram draws a Cleveland defense that has conceded the fifth-most touchdowns (nine) to tight ends this season.