Who Should I Start? Michael Mayer or Colston Loveland

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.

Sunday, January 11, 10:51 PM

Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland caught eight of his 15 targets for 137 yards during Saturday's Wild Card win over the Green Bay Packers. Loveland's impressive rookie campaign continued as he set new personal-best marks in targets and yards. He now has 24 catches, 322 yards, and two touchdowns over his last three games. According to Jacob Gibbs of CBS Sports, the 21-year-old's big game made him just the second tight end in NFL history to record at least 10 targets and at least 130 yards in a playoff game at age 22 or younger. He joins just Rob Gronkowski in that select group. Loveland will look to remain hot as the Bears advance to face either the Eagles or Rams in the Divisional Round next weekend.