Who Should I Start? David Njoku or Isaiah Likely

Friday, December 12, 1:30 PM

Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku (knee) has officially been ruled out for his team's Week 15 matchup against the Chicago Bears due to a knee injury. The 29-year-old aggravated an existing knee injury during Cleveland's Week 14 loss to the Tennessee Titans, and he will now be sidelined for at least one game as a result. Without Njoku, Browns rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. profiles as a must-start fantasy tight end. With Njoku banged up in Week 14, Fannin Jr. hauled in eight receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets. In Njoku's lone missed game this season, Week 7 against the Miami Dolphins, Fannin Jr. earned a 27.8% target share. Depending on how long Njoku is sidelined by his current injury, Fannin Jr. could have league-winning upside.

Saturday, December 13, 11:21 AM

Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely has seen an increased amount of work over the last two weeks. He finished as the TE9 in each of the last two weeks in half-PPR formats, and saw six targets in both games while catching nine of the possible 12. The last time he took on the Cincinnati Bengals' defense in Week 13, Likely finished with five catches for 95 yards and a fumble. The Bengals are far and away the weakest defense against opposing tight ends (ranked 32nd on the season and last four weeks), so Likely and Mark Andrews should both see plenty of opportunities. The biggest issue is the game script and if the Ravens' coaching staff actually wants to commit to the run, roll with Andrews more often, or keep finding Likely. With that being said, Likely projects as the TE12 on RotoBaller's rankings this week.