5 Moves to Make if You Lost George Kittle

Kittle fantasy owners were living it up on the opening drive of the season. You were getting exactly what you were expecting from an early-round TE, drawing 3 catches for 24 yards and a TD on the first drive alone. He was the definitive number 1 target for Brock Purdy amid the crippled receiving corps, and then Kittle joined that corps on the sideline, suffering yet another hamstring injury.

That makes the fifth hamstring injury of his career, and it doesn't look like a minor one with Kittle already having been placed on IR, leaving him out for at least the next 4 games. Judging by the nature of the injury and the likelihood of re-injury with hamstring issues, it would seem that getting Kittle back mid-season should be treated as a luxury, not a reliance, for fantasy managers. Unfortunately, now you'll have to pivot elsewhere, as most fantasy managers who would draft an elite TE (Kittle, Bowers, McBride) opted against drafting a second TE. Here are the best solutions to try and replace Kittle the best you can:

Add Harold Fannin Jr.

Probably the biggest surprise of the season opener was Harold Fannin Jr., earning an incredible 9 targets and 21.4% target share, eclipsing consensus top-10 TE David Njoku in every stat. If you aren't familiar with Fannin, he's a rookie TE out of Bowling Green that led the nation in receptions and receiving yards - not just among TEs, but among all players.

The talent is absolutely there for Fannin as a receiving threat. It is yet to be seen whether this will be a 1A/1B type of thing at TE between him and Njoku or if this was simply a one-off of Njoku taking a back seat, but at the very least, that type of volume in a rookie debut is a very encouraging sign.

Best-case scenario, you're looking at a Kyle Pitts-type of rookie season (68 catches, over 1,000 yards). Worst-case scenario, you're looking at something like Isaiah Likely of last year, where he's still involved and can be plugged into spot starts, but isn't trustworthy enough to leave him and forget about it. Either way, the TE position is thin, and volume is a rare commodity, especially coming off the waiver wire like Fannin.

Trade for Travis Kelce

It was an ugly season opener for Kelce, even despite finding the endzone, as he drew just 4 targets and went 2-for-37 and a score (12.7 points).

With Xavier Worthy likely missing some time (thanks to Kelce, ironically), Kansas City might not have the option to have Kelce earn just 4 targets again, even with it looking like Father Time is starting to creep up on him. It's just Kelce, Marquise Brown, and JuJu Smith-Schuster at the moment until players like rookie Jalen Royals, Xavier Worthy, and Rashee Rice start returning, at which point you're hopefully looking at Kittle closing in on a return.

Either way, it's not a great replacement, but at least one that you can likely rely on for some volume in the short term.

Acquire Zach Ertz

Somehow, he keeps doing it. Once again, Zach Ertz finds himself at least somewhat fantasy-relevant, seemingly replicating exactly what he did last year: having a few targets each week and being Jayden Daniels' go-to guy in the redzone.

He opened up the season with 3 catches (on 5 targets) for 26 yards and a TD (11.6 points), even despite a very run-oriented game script (something that doesn't appear likely very often this season). You already know you're not going to get world-beating yardage, efficiency, or production from Ertz, but you're very likely to get a steady drumbeat of points each and every week to at least get you by.

He's owned in roughly 51% of leagues on Yahoo and 41% on ESPN, so it'll be important to see if he's still available on waivers. If so, put in a waiver priority for him. If he's already owned, you can decide if you want to throw a minor bench piece for him in a trade or if you want to pay up a bit more for a more established (and safer) option (i.e., Kelce, Engram).

Trade for Evan Engram

The Broncos-Titans game was very weird. The Titans were always "in it" but were never seemingly threatening, while the Broncos leaned heavily on the ground (30 rushes), and when they were passing, they spread it around evenly with 11 different receivers catching a pass.

And even despite having signed a big contract with Denver, plus receiving significant praise from HC Sean Payton about his likely involvement, Engram wasn't a "starter" in the season opener and had a relatively slow start with just 4 targets (3-for-21) prior to exiting in the 3rd quarter to a calf injury.

Now, it's yet to be seen whether this was Denver being conservative with Engram, given his injury history, or if Engram will miss notable time, so this acquisition might be a gamble for those who have already lost Kittle. If you're worried about Kittle's long-term availability (whether he returns once first eligible in Week 6 or if he were to re-injure his hamstring), I'd take a long, hard look at Engram even despite the injury, seeing as he likely is a top-10 TE when on the field this season. You can likely get Engram at a major discount due to the injury and slow start, acquiring him for a depth piece or two.

If you think Kittle's injury won't be of concern long-term, I'd look for a different option than Engram.

Pick Up Brenton Strange

Strange had flashes of brilliance last year when promoted into a bigger role, and it looks like that might be the plan for him in 2025, seeing that he earned 3 targets on the Jaguars' scripted opening drive of the season.

It was a bit underwhelming to see him at just 1 more target the remainder of the game, but with Trevor Lawrence slightly disappointing and the Jaguars holding onto a commanding lead for most of the game, the passing attack wasn't needed, resulting in both Brian Thomas and Travis Hunter failing to get involved alongside Strange. If I were to wager, the Jaguars holding commanding leads isn't going to be a frequent trend this season.

I like Strange as a fringe-TE1 option that can be plugged in on matchup-based (or desperation) situations. He should be able to contribute enough to hold you over until Kittle gets back.