Who Should I Start? Michael Mayer or Terrance Ferguson

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.

Saturday, January 24, 7:10 PM

Los Angeles Rams rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson recorded a touchdown in each of his final two regular-season games. After missing two weeks with a hamstring injury, he returned for last week's Divisional Round win over the Bears and was targeted five times. Unfortunately, he was able to collect only one of those looks, finishing his first career playoff game with a single catch for 19 yards. With Los Angeles using a heavy deployment of jumbo packages down the stretch, Ferguson should see the field plenty against a Seahawks defense that has excelled against fantasy running backs and wide receivers while finishing in the middle of the pack against tight ends. Colby Parkinson is likely the safest bet out of the Rams' crowded tight end room, given his steady usage near the goal line, but Ferguson may be the most talented of the bunch, and he is RotoBaller's TE5 for Conference Championship Weekend.