Who Should I Start? Michael Mayer or AJ Barner

Wednesday, June 17, 5:50 AM

A second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders' Michael Mayer showed promising flashes as a rookie, finishing the year as the team's most productive tight end. Any hopes of a true fantasy breakout were dashed, however, when the Raiders spent the 13th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft on generational prospect Brock Bowers, who has since proven worthy of the often overused label through his first two seasons in the league. In years past, there might have been very little fantasy value in a team's second tight end, but with the league trending toward more multi-tight end usage, and new head coach Klint Kubiak partly responsible for helping to lead that charge, Mayer remains an important dynasty hold. Potentially capable of providing the occasional standalone bye week or injury fill-in, Mayer's highest value remains as a handcuff to Bowers, now in a Kubiak system that saw AJ Barner finish as the TE9 or better six different times in 2025. With only one year remaining on his rookie contract, Mayer could hit free agency in 2027 at the age of 25, and with several paths in play to finding a more substantial role, RotoBaller's dynasty TE43 remains a worthy end-of-bench stash in all but the shallowest of leagues.