The fantasy football news cycle is heating up as we get closer to peak draft season.

So let's dive into a pair of pertinent player updates that came to light this week.

Hollywood Brown wants to get back to "best self"

The last time we saw Hollywood Brown have a standout year was also the only time in the past few years he was able to stay healthy throughout the entire season. That was his 2021 campaign with the Baltimore Ravens, where he finished with 1,008 yards and six touchdowns. Now, Brown vows to get back to his best self. Here's what he had to say earlier this week at mandatory minicamp …

"Healthy season … It's my number one goal. Just being able to really showcase what I can do. That's all I'm looking to do.''

We, unfortunately, didn't get to see much of Brown in his first season with the Kansas City Chiefs last year. A sternoclavicular injury during preseason kept Brown out until late December—before joining the Chiefs, Brown only played in 12 and 14 games for the Arizona Cardinals from 2022-2023.

The Chiefs (and Patrick Mahomes) are hoping for a healthy season all around. Brown was not the only player unable to perform; Rashee Rice suffered a knee ligament injury in Week 4 and was lost for the season. Isiah Pacheco went down with a fibula fracture in Week 2, and while he was able to return in Week 13, it was very obvious he wasn't able to play at 100%. I'm not shying away from drafting Chiefs players this season, with Brown at the bottom of my list.

Here's where our consensus fantasy rankings have each Chiefs player:

• Mahomes: QB6
• Travis Kelce: TE6
• Rashee Rice: WR15
• Xavier Worthy: WR23
• Hollywood Brown: WR61
• Isiah Pacheco: RB28

Let's just not upset the injury Gods this season, alright?

George Kittle wants to spread the wealth

We already know the locked-in top-three tight ends for the 2025 fantasy season: it's some iteration of Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, and George Kittle.

Back in early April, McBride agreed to a four-year extension worth $76 million, with $43 million guaranteed. His annual average of $19 million in the deal (at the time) was the highest for an NFL tight end. 

Fast-forward a few weeks, and now Kittle sits atop the throne. He signed a four-year contract extension with the 49ers in a deal worth up to $76.4 million that includes $40 million in guaranteed money. In terms of annual average value, here's how the top five tight ends rank out:

• George Kittle: $19.1M
• Trey McBride: $19M
• Travis Kelce: $17.1M
• T.J. Hockenson: $16.5
• Mark Andrews: $14M

And while Kittle is grateful to be the highest-paid tight end in the NFL, he hopes that the tight end market keeps pushing forward. Here's what Kittle said on the Dan Patrick Show earlier this week …

“The only way for the tight end market to continue to grow is if everybody's getting paid … You can't just have one guy do it and then it just sits for four years because then you're stuck and it's stagnant and no one's getting paid. We want everybody, I want everybody to have great seasons. I want everybody to have great games, just not against the 49ers. Throughout the rest of the season, they can play as well as they want to because I want guys to get paid, to keep bumping up that market so by the time that Brock Bowers is doing his contract in three years, he's going for over $20 million, which he will. That's just the whole point.”

Kittle is my TE3 heading into the season. With Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey sidelined, Kittle was able to finish as the leader in fantasy points per game (16.6) in 2024. While we know Bowers is in line for a big payday when the time comes, Sam LaPorta is the next man up (his current contract runs through 2026). LaPorta's target rate was much lower last season than his rookie campaign, and he finished as the PPR TE7.

But shoutout to Kittle trying to leave the league better than when he started. We're always pro players getting paid!

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