Start Charlie Kolar over Elijah Higgins — Week 1 Start/Sit Verdict

Kolar edges Higgins in a battle of unrosterable blocking tight ends

Neither of these two is being started anywhere, so the call comes down to which risk you'd rather avoid. Kolar carries no injury tag, while Higgins is questionable, and in a week where both project for next to nothing, health certainty matters. Kolar's Chargers are lopsided favorites, which usually means more clock-control snaps for an in-line blocker like him even without added targets, whereas Higgins plays a low-scoring, big-underdog script that caps ARI's overall scoring chances no matter how good his individual matchup number looks. That matchup gap barely counts anyway since both defenses have a zero-game sample this season.

What flips it: Higgins clearing his questionable tag with a bump in snaps would close the gap, but he's still stuck behind McBride.

AI editor

Charlie Kolar

TE26LACvs ARI

1.41.82.3 Projected Points

Sit· high

Elijah Higgins

TEARIvs LAC

1.31.92.6 Projected Points

Sit· high

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.

No availability concern, so there's no chance he's scratched altogether like Higgins might be.

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.

Why Elijah Higgins

Sit· high

TE2 and converted receiver. Move-tight end role with rotational snaps behind McBride.

2.6 projected points on a 6% target share, plus a top-5 DvP matchup and a 17.0 implied total as 11.5-point dogs — unstartable TE.

Faces the softer matchup on paper, though with zero games logged behind it, that number carries little weight.

The call

The usage isn't there: 43% snap share with just a 6% target share over 16 games means he's a blocking-first TE, not a receiving option worth a lineup spot.
Vegas paints an ugly picture — 11.5-point underdog with a 17.0 implied total, so there are few touchdowns to go around and the passing volume that does come won't funnel to him.
The Chargers rate 5 of 32 in DvP vs tight ends (softest = 32), so even the projected 2.6 points has little upside baked in.
Questionable tag adds pure downside risk to a floor that's already near zero — any waiver TE with a defined route role beats this.

Head-to-head stats

Metric	Charlie Kolar	Elijah Higgins
Projected points	1.41.82.3	1.31.92.6
Consensus rank	TE26	—
Opponent vs position	ARI · 27 of 320-game sample	LAC · 5 of 320-game sample
Receptions	30 of 32	3 of 32
Receiving Yards	30 of 32	4 of 32
Receiving TDs	26 of 32	9 of 32
Targets	24 of 32	2 of 32
Anytime TD	26 of 32	9 of 32
Target share	5%(2025)	6%(2025)
Reception share	5%(2025)	8%(2025)
Implied total · spread	28.5-11.5	17.0+11.5
Depth chart	TE1	TE2
Snap share	40%(2025)	43%(2025)
Injury designation	—	Questionable