Who Should I Start? Jimmy Graham or Michael Mayer

Saturday, March 30, 12:21 PM

Free-agent tight end Jimmy Graham wrote on his Instagram account that he's "unsure of what the future holds" after "things ended rather quickly after the season." The 37-year-old returned to the New Orleans Saints last year and played in the NFL after sitting out in 2022 and found the end zone four times on his six catches on the season. Graham only racked up 39 receiving yards in 13 games (two starts). The five-time Pro Bowler was one of the best at his position in his prime with the Saints and Seattle Seahawks earlier in his career, but the 13-year veteran is nearing the end and could officially hang up his cleats this offseason if he doesn't get picked up by another team. If this is the end for Graham, he'd finish his successful NFL career with 719 career catches (1,115 targets) for 8,545 receiving yards and 89 touchdowns in 197 career regular-season games.

Sunday, January 4, 7:54 AM

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer should continue to operate in a high-volume role during Sunday's Week 18 contest against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders recently placed Brock Bowers (knee) on injured reserve, ending his season and putting Mayer into the starting role for the final two games of the year. Last weekend, he exploded as the top target in Geno Smith's offense, catching nine of 10 targets for 89 yards. In total, throughout the three games that Bowers has missed and Mayer has played this year, the latter tight end has 15 catches, 149 yards, and one touchdown. A quarterback change is expected in Week 18, though, as Kenny Pickett steps in for the injured Smith (ankle). Pickett struggled to the tune of 64 yards and one turnover in his lone start this year, but he should still be able to support a fantasy-relevant role for Mayer on Sunday. At worst, Mayer will operate as a security blanket in case Pickett struggles to throw the ball deep or needs to get the ball out quickly. As it stands, he ranks as the overall TE8 in RotoBaller's latest fantasy football rankings for Week 18.