Who Should I Start? Pat Freiermuth or Michael Mayer

Saturday, November 1, 1:32 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth missed practice on Wednesday with a quad injury but has since been removed from the injury report and should be a full-go against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9. The fifth-year pro had a massive showing back in Week 7, but followed it up with a quiet three-catch, 13-yard performance in last week's loss to the Green Bay Packers. He gets another great matchup on Sunday, as the Colts have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points per game and fourth-most receptions to opposing tight ends. This contest is projected to be high-scoring, so Freiermuth may see enough opportunities to bounce back for fantasy purposes. Still, with Jonnu Smith and Darnell Washington also in the mix for snaps, Freiermuth remains difficult to trust as anything more than a low-end TE2.

Monday, October 20, 11:29 AM

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer hauled in 1-of-2 targets for ten yards in Sunday's 31-0 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders were handily out-matched against their division rivals, and have now scored a total of 26 points across the last three contests. Mayer was out there for nearly all of the team's snaps (94%), though they netted just 95 total yards of offense. Las Vegas will head into its bye week at 2-5, sitting at the bottom of the AFC West. However, they figure to get both wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (knee, toe) and tight end Brock Bowers (knee) back in the fold in Week 9, boosting the team's outlook. If that comes to fruition, Mayer should see his role shrink accordingly. If it doesn't, he'll be an intriguing streaming option against a susceptible Jaguars' pass defense.