Start Cade Otton over Charlie Kolar — Week 1 Start/Sit Verdict

Otton's every-down role beats Kolar's better game script

Start Cade Otton: his near-every-down role gives the soft Cincinnati tight-end matchup a chance to matter, while his underneath work supports a usable PPR floor. Charlie Kolar has the better team scoring environment, but a blocking-first role leaves him dependent on an unlikely change in usage. The risk with Otton is Tampa Bay's lower scoring outlook, which can limit touchdown access and keeps this from being a runaway call.

What flips it: A late downgrade for Otton.

AI editor

Cade Otton

TE25TBvs CIN

3.54.96.3 Projected Points

Toss-Up

Charlie Kolar

TE26LACvs ARI

1.41.82.3 Projected Points

Sit· high

Why Cade Otton

Toss-Up

Starting TE and reliable underneath target. Volume checkdown option with dependable hands, limited vertical juice.

Toss-up — TE25 consensus, projects TE29 this week: CIN is the 1st-softest matchup vs TEs, 17% target share in 2025.

Otton's reliable underneath role can turn favorable coverage into steady PPR work, not just a touchdown chase.
His main danger is Tampa Bay failing to sustain enough drives for his red-zone chances to appear.

Why Charlie Kolar

Sit· high

TE1 in a blocking-first role. Large-frame in-line piece with limited target volume.

Kolar is a 40% snap, 5% target-share TE2 with a 2.3-point projection — TE26 is below any startable line in 12-team PPR.

Los Angeles' projected game script could create easy scoring chances if Kolar's role expands unexpectedly.
Kolar's blocking assignment makes the strong team total difficult to convert into fantasy volume.

The call

The usage is the whole story: 40% snap share and a 5% target share across 13 games means he's a blocking-first TE, not a pass-game piece.
A 2.3-point consensus projection at TE26 sits well under replacement level — nearly any streaming TE offers a higher floor and ceiling.
The DvP composite ranks ARI 27 of 32 (softest end), but it's a 0-game sample with 0.00 confidence, so there's no matchup edge to lean on.
The 28.5 implied total and -11.5 spread point to a run-heavy, ball-control second half, which further caps his target volume rather than boosting it.

Head-to-head stats

Metric	Cade Otton	Charlie Kolar
Projected points	3.54.96.3	1.41.82.3
Consensus rank	TE25	TE26
Opponent vs position	CIN · 32 of 320-game sample	ARI · 27 of 320-game sample
Receptions	32 of 32	30 of 32
Receiving Yards	32 of 32	30 of 32
Receiving TDs	32 of 32	26 of 32
Targets	32 of 32	24 of 32
Anytime TD	32 of 32	26 of 32
Target share	17%(2025)	5%(2025)
Reception share	19%(2025)	5%(2025)
Implied total · spread	23.5+3.5	28.5-11.5
Depth chart	TE1	TE1
Snap share	94%(2025)	40%(2025)