Is Logan Thomas or Cole Turner Washington's TE1? Fantasy Football Outlook

One player who has been earning rave reviews early in OTAs is Washington Commanders’ second-year tight end Cole Turner. Turner was active for 10 games in his rookie season in 2022 and recorded just two receptions for 23 yards, both coming against the Chicago Bears in Week 6.

Meanwhile, incumbent starter Logan Thomas was shaky for the majority of 2022 in terms of production. Thomas was coming off of an Achilles tear and battled ongoing injuries throughout the season and is turning 32 years old in July.

Could the up-and-coming Turner unseat Thomas as the starting tight end in Washington?

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The Case For Logan Thomas

While Thomas was not a consistent contributor in 2022, the former Virginia Tech quarterback will be another year removed from his Achilles injury. In 2020, he was the number three overall tight end in PPR formats.

If Thomas can return to pre-injury form, he should regain his role. However regaining form after an Achilles injury, especially at Thomas’s age, is no easy task.

Ron Rivera stated that Thomas seemed to be getting his explosiveness back, which is a good sign for the Washington tight end. He did start to look like himself at the end of 2022, putting up a 6-35 line in Week 16 and going 6-56 in Week 17.

The Case For Cole Turner

Everybody wants to be ahead of the curve in fantasy football and to identify the breakout players before they break out. Could that be the case with Cole Turner, the former Nevada wide receiver who converted to tight end and was a fifth-round pick in 2022?

Turner only has 2 receptions for 23 yards to his name in his short NFL career so far, but the rave reviews keep piling up in camp.

Washington fans are buying into the hype - is it time for fantasy owners to do the same?

Turner was receiving the same rave reviews last season, when he proceeded to only catch two passes over the course of the entire year. That being said, the tight end position often has a learning curve of multiple seasons. Even Travis Kelce had zero receptions as a rookie. 

Training camp and OTA hype often gets blown out of proportion but given Thomas’s injury history, it is worth monitoring the situation in Washington to see who emerges on top.

Which Washington Tight End Should I Draft?

The short answer? Neither. In redraft leagues, rosters are nowhere near big enough to roster a Washington tight end post-draft. This is probably going to be a run-heavy team in 2023, with Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Curtis Samuel, and Antonio Gibson commanding a majority of the target share.

In dynasty leagues, Turner is the guy to roster solely because of his age. Thomas’s career is coming to an end and while he may be the starting tight end this season, that will only last for as long as he remains healthy.

Cole Turner could be a solid taxi squad candidate, but his 2023 production will not likely garner significant fantasy attention unless two of the top targets face injuries.

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