Who Should I Start? Isaiah Likely or Noah Gray

Wednesday, September 3, 3:13 PM

Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely (foot) was not seen practicing on Wednesday with the rest of the team, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Likely was on the field early and was talking with head coach John Harbaugh, but then he went inside early. The 25-year-old tight end has not practiced since having surgery to fix a small fracture in his left foot that he suffered near the start of training camp at the end of July, and he's not expected to be available for Week 1 this Sunday night against the Buffalo Bills. However, the Ravens are still expecting Likely to be available early in the season, which is why he avoided Injured Reserve to start the year. Likely will likely be ruled out for Week 1 on Friday, which means fellow TE Mark Andrews should be a must-start TE1 in fantasy lineups to kick things off as one of quarterback Lamar Jackson's most trusted targets.

Friday, August 8, 10:40 AM

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Noah Gray has looked very strong in training camp and is receiving strong buzz from reports. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated noted that the tight end looks like a "high-end" starter. Throughout his four-year career in Kansas City, Gray has typically taken the backseat to future Hall of Famer Travis Kelce. However, after catching just 28 passes in both 2022 and 2023, Gray was able to enjoy a mini-breakout season in 2024. Last fall, Gray caught a career-best 40 passes for 437 yards and five touchdowns. He enjoyed productive stretch from Weeks 10 through 15 when he averaged a solid 10.2 PPR points per game. Fantasy managers should keep an eye on his progression early in the season as he could continue to carve out a role behind Kelce. However, for now, Kelce remains the clear TE1 in Kansas City. Gray is best viewed as a high-upside TE3 in deeper formats.