Who Should I Start? Ian Thomas or Isaiah Likely

Tuesday, March 25, 1:32 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders announced on Tuesday that they signed free-agent tight end Ian Thomas (calf) to an undisclosed deal on Tuesday. Thomas will head to the AFC West after spending the first seven years of his NFL career with the Carolina Panthers after they selected him in the fourth round (101st overall) in the 2018 NFL draft out of Indiana. The 28-year-old never really established himself as a fantasy asset in Carolina, with his best season coming in his rookie campaign with a 36-333-2 line on 49 targets in 16 games (six starts). Thomas landed on Injured Reserve in 2024 with a calf injury and only caught three of six targets for seven yards in five games (two starts). He scored four touchdowns in his first three seasons but hasn't found the end zone since. In Vegas, he'll provide TE depth behind Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer and will remain off the fantasy radar.

Friday, May 30, 12:49 PM

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has high hopes for rising tight end Isaiah Likely as he enters the final year of his rookie deal in 2025. "I want to see [Likely] be an All-Pro," Harbaugh said . "That'd be my goal for him, and he's capable of it." The former fourth-rounder in 2022 has been the backup to Mark Andrews for much of his career, but that could be changing in 2025. Likely caught nine passes for 111 yards and a touchdown in the season opener a year ago, but he didn't have another 100-yard game the rest of the year. He ended the season with 42 catches, 477 yards and six touchdowns. In 49 total games with Baltimore, including 19 starts, Likely has 108 catches for 1,261 yards and 14 TDs. In 10 games that Andrews has missed due to injuries the last three years, he had 530 yards and seven TDs. If Andrews misses any more time in 2025, Likely will be a must-start TE1 on a weekly basis.