Who Should I Start? Cade Otton or Michael Mayer

Saturday, December 21, 4:18 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton (knee) has been downgraded to out for Sunday night's game against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16. The Bucs will be without Otton and will play Payne Durham at tight end in his absence. Otton was a big pass-catching threat at the position but Durham has caught just two passes so far this season. It will be a big fantasy downgrade at the position for Tampa Bay which also expects Ko Kieft and Devin Culp to fill in some at tight end. Kieft and Culp have yet to catch a pass this season. Expect wide receivers Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan to benefit the most from Otton's absence, likely seeing an uptick in targets.

Sunday, December 8, 9:26 PM

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer brought in 7-of-9 targets for 68 yards in Sunday's 28-13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The second-year TE easily set all-new season highs with his performance on Sunday, while his reception total and yardage output were good enough to lead the Raiders' offense in the defeat. Mayer was second on the team in targets only to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers. It's intriguing usage for the 23-year-old, as he out-produced rookie sensation Brock Bowers for the first time this season. Additionally, it's hard to predict this kind of usage moving forward, particularly with it looking like quarterback Desmond Ridder taking over after Aidan O'Connell (knee) was carted off in an air cast. For now, fantasy managers would be better off taking a wait-and-see approach with Mayer. He'll get the Atlanta Falcons next Sunday but likely won't be on the fantasy radar.