Who Should I Start? Dawson Knox or Michael Mayer

Tuesday, January 6, 2:55 PM

Buffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox caught his fourth touchdown of the season in a Week 18 win over the Jets, which saw most of the team's starters relegated to the sidelines. He now has three touchdowns in his last four games after a two-score performance against the Patriots in Week 15. Heading into the postseason, he should be viewed as nothing more than a touchdown-dependent dart throw for fantasy playoff leagues. Outside of a Week 14 win over the Bengals that saw him explode for 93 yards, Knox hasn't topped 37 receiving yards in any other game. With Dalton Kincaid able to fight through a knee injury to suit up for the regular season finale, Knox's role also becomes more difficult to predict with both tight ends presumably set to play in a road game against Jacksonville.

Sunday, January 4, 7:54 AM

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer should continue to operate in a high-volume role during Sunday's Week 18 contest against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders recently placed Brock Bowers (knee) on injured reserve, ending his season and putting Mayer into the starting role for the final two games of the year. Last weekend, he exploded as the top target in Geno Smith's offense, catching nine of 10 targets for 89 yards. In total, throughout the three games that Bowers has missed and Mayer has played this year, the latter tight end has 15 catches, 149 yards, and one touchdown. A quarterback change is expected in Week 18, though, as Kenny Pickett steps in for the injured Smith (ankle). Pickett struggled to the tune of 64 yards and one turnover in his lone start this year, but he should still be able to support a fantasy-relevant role for Mayer on Sunday. At worst, Mayer will operate as a security blanket in case Pickett struggles to throw the ball deep or needs to get the ball out quickly. As it stands, he ranks as the overall TE8 in RotoBaller's latest fantasy football rankings for Week 18.