Who Should I Start? Isaiah Likely or Mason Taylor

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.

Tuesday, April 29, 4:39 PM

The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt writes that rookie second-round tight end Mason Taylor will immediately walk into the Jets building at the top of the tight end depth chart going into his rookie season in 2025. Jeremy Ruckert projects as the No. 2, but he has yet to make an impact since the Jets drafted him in 2022. The Jets are at least hoping he can take a step forward as a blocker and contribute in the running game. The 20-year-old Taylor not only will be a starter immediately, but he could see plenty of targets from quarterback Justin Fields in his first year in the NFL, giving him TE1 fantasy upside in 2025. Outside of WR1 Garrett Wilson, the Jets don't exactly star-studded receiving depth in Josh Reynolds, Allen Lazard and Arian Smith. Taylor will have intriguing rookie upside, but he'll still be better off drafted as a TE2 sleeper than a staple for those in single-TE leagues.