Who Should I Start? Isaiah Likely or Brenton Strange

Wednesday, July 30, 10:08 AM

Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely (foot) is expected to miss at least six weeks of action to repair a broken bone in his foot. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network noted that while the expectation is that the tight will miss six weeks, there is a belief that he could recover on a faster timeline. While Likely could be in danger of missing the start of the regular season, he has avoided a significant injury. The 25-year-old sustained this injury during Tuesday's practice session. Fantasy managers should continue to keep a close eye on his status in case this injury begins to linger. Last season, Likely enjoyed an impressive start to the campaign, tallying 111 yards in the season opener. However, he would only go on to tally over 70 receiving yards in one game during the remainder of the season. When healthy, Likely will be deployed as the No. 2 tight end in Baltimore behind Mark Andrews, which will continue to limit his fantasy ceiling.

Thursday, August 7, 6:51 PM

ESPN's Michael DiRocco writes that Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange has been one of the team's "most consistent offensive performers throughout camp." Strange has also shown plenty of chemistry with quarterback Trevor Lawrence so far this summer. The 24-year-old was a second-rounder (61st overall) in 2023 out of Penn State. He had just five catches for 35 yards and a score in his first NFL season before posting a 40-411-2 line in 17 games (10 starts) in 2024. Strange will be Jacksonville's No. 1 pass-catching tight end in his third year now that Evan Engram is out of town. Fantasy managers in standard leagues can ignore Strange for now, but he might be worth a waiver-wire pickup later in the year if he takes advantage of his opportunities and continues to build chemistry with Lawrence. He's RotoBaller's No. 21 fantasy TE.