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Projected winners from all of the key fantasy TE battles around the NFL.

Two Fantasy Football Tight End Training Camp Battles to Monitor originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

With teams around the NFL back in pads, fantasy football draft season is picking up steam. It's imperative to follow the latest news on training camp positional battles, and we have you covered on the key competitions to keep tabs on over the next few weeks.

Also see: Quarterbacks | Running backs | Wide receivers

Chicago Bears

Cole Kmet vs. Colston Loveland

Kmet was caught off-guard when Chicago spent a first-round pick on Loveland in April's draft, but reassurances from new head coach Ben Johnson eased the veteran's concerns. Fast forward to early training camp and Loveland is being slowly worked into action after missing the entire offseason program following surgery to repair an AC joint in his right shoulder. Barring any setbacks, he's expected to be fully ready for Week 1.

Until recent years, rookie tight ends rarely offered much for fantasy purposes. Coupling that with the Michigan man missing the all of the on-field work entering camp and it's easy to understand why assessing his value is particularly challenging.

It's unfair to label this situation a true battle, but these two will indeed compete for their quarterback's eye. While there wasn't much chemistry between Caleb Williams and Kmet in 2024, don't put much weight in the given the quarterback was a rookie in a system Chicago jettisoned in favor of Johnson's prolific design.

Projected result: There's room for both players to have prominent roles if Williams makes the strides he's capable of based on talent alone. Consistency may be a nightmare for Kmet and Loveland, however. Williams will have DJ Moore and Rome Odunze as the expected top targets in this pass-friendly offense, all while dumping off passes to D'Andre Swift in direct competition to his tight ends. Loveland is a better receiver than Kmet, and that gives him a slim advantage for a midseason breakout.

Seattle Seahawks

AJ Barner vs. Elijah Arroyo

Should anyone really care about this competition? Debatable. No one is drafting these two in 10-teamers, but those in deeper formats may have a late-round flier to consider in the winner of this battle.

Barner was a fourth-round pick in 2024 and showed a nose for the end zone with a quartet of scores over just 30 grabs, closing the year with 75% of those TDs in the last five games. The Seahawks underwent drastic changes in the offseason, parting ways with wideouts DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett while also replacing quarterback Geno Smith with Sam Darnold.

As for Arroyo, Seattle invested the 50th overall pick in this year's draft on the former Miami Hurricane. The second-round investment is enough to pique the interest of gamers, but a closer look shows a raw player with one year of noteworthy collegiate production. Prior to 2024's breakout line of 35-590-7, he caught a total of 11 passes.

Projected result: Two contrasting styles of play are difficult to compare, but in the world of compartmentalized NFL roles, we'll likely see much more of Barner than Arroyo, at least early on. Barner is a better blocker at the point of attack, which will keep on on the field for more plays. It also means he's not the obvious target between the two for passing downs. In all likelihood, both players will offer little more than erratic matchup plays, unless Cooper Kupp misses extended time.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 25, 2025, where it first appeared.

Category: Football

Two Fantasy Football Tight End Training Camp Battles to Monitor

Chicago Bears

Seattle Seahawks

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