Who Should I Start? Jake Ferguson or Michael Mayer
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.2 | 34.8 | 0.3 |
Jake Ferguson News
Saturday, August 8, 12:06 PM
Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson was one of Dak Prescott's favorite options near the goal line last season, and that still gives him a path to TE1 value. Ferguson caught a career-high 82 passes for 600 yards and eight touchdowns on 102 targets, finishing TE7 in half-PPR. He also drew 23 red-zone targets, catching 14 of them for seven scores. The problem is that Dallas has plenty of mouths to feed. CeeDee Lamb is healthy, George Pickens is coming off a huge season, and Ferguson averaged only 7.3 yards per catch in 2025. He is not the kind of tight end who can live on a handful of deep shots if the volume falls. The good news is that his job is secure, and the connection with Prescott has looked sharp again in camp. RotoBaller has Ferguson 129th overall and TE14 in its August 8 half-PPR rankings. That price reflects the risk without burying a player who just finished inside the top eight. Ferguson is better viewed as a borderline TE1 than someone fantasy managers need to chase.
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.2 | 21.3 | 0.1 |
Michael Mayer News
Thursday, August 6, 10:16 AM
Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer (nose) returned to training camp practice on Thursday, according to Sam Warren of The Athletic. Mayer missed a few practices after busting his nose during practice on Monday. The 25-year-old will return to working as the No. 2 tight end in Vegas behind Brock Bowers. The former second-rounder in 2023 from Notre Dame has yet to really make an impact for fantasy managers in his first three seasons in the NFL, and that will likely continue as long as Bowers stays healthy. Bowers dealt with a knee injury last year, which allowed Mayer to have career highs in catches (35), targets (50), and receiving yards (328) while scoring just once in 13 games played. The Raiders figure to use more two-tight-end sets in 2026 under new head coach Klint Kubiak, but that's unlikely to be enough to make Mayer a weekly starting option, even in two-TE fantasy leagues. Mayer opens his fourth NFL season ranked as RotoBaller's No. 35 fantasy TE. If Bowers misses time with an injury again, Mayer would become a priority waiver-wire addition.
Jake Ferguson vs. Michael Mayer
Still trying to decide between Ferguson and Mayer? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Jake Ferguson is projected to score 9.8 points this week while Michael Mayer is projected to score 5.0 points.
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