Darnell Washington vs Hunter Henry: Who Should You Start?
Darnell Washington and Hunter Henry are both viable fantasy tight ends heading into 2026, but their 2025 production tells two different stories. Darnell Washington averaged 3.6 PPG across 16 games with the Pittsburgh Steelers, while Hunter Henry posted 8.8 PPG in 17 appearances for the New England Patriots.
A 5.2-PPG gap gives Hunter Henry the edge on paper, but paper does not account for Thursday night matchups, weather games, or a star defender returning from injury. The real question is not who was better in 2025, but who is the better start this specific week.
Hunter Henry is the volume tight end in this matchup with 60 receptions for 768 yards, while Darnell Washington profiles as a more touchdown-dependent spike play (1 scores on 31 catches). In weeks where Darnell Washington finds the end zone he out-scores Hunter Henry, but the floor gap is real.
Darnell Washington has his bye in Week 9, and Hunter Henry rests in Week 14. Managers rostering both need waiver wire depth at tight end for those two weeks, and that is exactly the kind of planning DraftCall's matchup engine surfaces automatically so you are not scrambling on a Sunday morning.
