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 18, 9:24 AM

Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland has been playing some of the best football of his young career lately, and he'll look to carry that momentum into Sunday's Divisional Round contest against the Los Angeles Rams. Loveland caught eight of his 15 targets for 137 yards in last Saturday's Wild Card win, and he now has 24 catches, 322 yards, and two touchdowns over his last three games combined. He has stepped up as Caleb Williams' favorite target, establishing himself as the alpha receiver in this offense over DJ Moore, Luther Burden III, and Rome Odunze (foot). With Odunze questionable and the other two receivers filling modest roles, Loveland is in line for another big game. The matchup should work in his favor, too, as the Rams rank near the middle of the league in terms of production against tight ends. During the regular season, Los Angeles allowed the 18th-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends. Loveland's upside is tremendous, and as a result, he ranks as the overall RB1 in RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings for the Divisional round.