Who Should I Start? Michael Mayer or Tyler Warren

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.

Tuesday, February 3, 3:08 PM

Indianapolis Colts tight end Tyler Warren didn't disappoint after the Colts took him 14th overall in last year's NFL Draft out of Penn State. The 23-year-old immediately became Indy's No. 1 pass-catching tight end, and he finished his first year in the NFL as the Colts' No. 2 receiver, behind only Alec Pierce. Warren was the TE6 in half-PPR scoring with 76 receptions on 112 targets for 817 yards and four touchdowns in 17 games played. His 112 targets were third among all TEs, behind only Trey McBride and Kyle Pitts Sr. Warren wasn't quite as productive down the stretch for fantasy managers after starting quarterback Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. Still, his overall numbers were impressive, and with Jones expected to return to the Colts, Warren will have true breakout potential as a top-five fantasy TE going into Year 2 in 2026.