Who Should I Start? Jordan Akins or Brock Bowers

Saturday, January 4, 9:50 PM

Cleveland Browns tight end Jordan Akins caught six of his eight targets for 60 yards and a touchdown in a 35-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18. Akins caught Bailey Zappe's lone touchdown pass in the contest on a 16-yard reception in the fourth quarter. The veteran tight end turned in a strong showing starting in place of the injured David Njoku (knee) over Cleveland's final two games of the season, catching 12 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown. Akins is an unrestricted free-agent heading into the offseason as he will hope to parlay his strong performance at the end of the season into a new contract somewhere in 2025.

Sunday, November 30, 9:12 PM

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers was one of the lone bright spots from his team's 31-14 Week 13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, hauling in four catches for 63 yards and two touchdowns on four targets. The 22-year-old has now recorded 49 receptions for 573 yards and five scores on 68 targets across nine games this season. In the team's first game with Greg Olson calling plays instead of Chip Kelly, Raiders quarterback Geno Smith attempted just 23 passes, his fewest in a game since Week 7. The diminished pass volume is a big reason why Bowers saw just four targets, which is his second-fewest in any game this season. However, Las Vegas ran for just 31 yards against Los Angeles, so they may be forced to turn to the air more frequently in the coming weeks. As long as Bowers stays healthy, he profiles as a must-start tight end heading into his Week 14 matchup against the Denver Broncos.