Who Should I Start? Cade Otton or Michael Mayer

Monday, January 13, 12:34 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton caught two passes for 32 yards during Sunday's playoff loss to the Washington Commanders. The 25-year-old returned from a three-game absence this weekend, but he didn't have a major impact as the Buccaneers threw the ball just 18 times. Otton was once again overlooked as Baker Mayfield preferred throwing to wide receivers Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan. The 25-year-old finished as the overall TE14 in 2024, which was the best mark of his career and was also impressive given that he missed a trio of contests. Otton, who had 600 yards and four touchdowns during the regular season, will look to build on his production even further as he pushes to be a top-12 tight end. Fantasy managers should treat him as such, albeit on the fringe around No. 12. Managers who draft Otton in 2025 should feel comfortable with him in their starting tight end slot.

Monday, January 6, 10:15 AM

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer caught all four of his targets for 21 yards during Sunday's Week 18 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Mayer has been routinely out-produced by Brock Bowers this season, but that didn't stop him from playing 81.3 percent of the offensive snaps in the Raiders' regular-season finale. That represented his second-highest rate of the season, and it showed that the Raiders can have success operating out of two-tight end sets. Mayer finished his second pro season with 21 catches and 156 yards through 10 games, remaining a solid short-yardage outlet for quarterback Aidan O'Connell while Bowers did more work downfield and after the catch. There's no question that Bowers remains the No. 1 tight end in Las Vegas (and all of fantasy football), but Mayer could sneak onto the end of the fantasy radar in deeper PPR leagues next season.