Who Should I Start? Travis Kelce or Michael Mayer

Friday, September 6, 4:28 AM

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce ended the night with three catches for 34 yards on four targets in the Chiefs 27-20 win against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1. Kelce is a focal point of the Chiefs offense, but he was not a difference-maker in this contest. Kelce did not see a single target until halfway through the second quarter. The star tight end finished the game with four targets, good for second-most on the team, but was fourth in receiving yards. The tough Baltimore defense likely learned from their mistakes in the 2023 AFC Championship game, when Kelce had 11 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. The 34-year-old may be a declining talent while the rest of the Chiefs offense around him is ascending, but it will take more than one bad game to reach that conclusion. Kelce will get a chance to bounce back in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals gave up the third-most receiving yards per game to opposing tight ends in 2023. Kelce will still be ranked as a TE1 until proven otherwise.

Monday, July 8, 2:25 PM

The Athletic's Vic Tafur writes that it's the Las Vegas Raiders' plan to use more two-tight end sets this year involving rookie first-rounder Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer, who was a second-round selection in 2023. In addition, the Raiders will line up Bowers out wide and behind the quarterback at times to give the defense unique looks. It's not that the Raiders suddenly don't like Mayer now after drafting Bowers in the first round, but they just thought they couldn't pass up on Bowers' explosiveness and even turned down a team trying to trade up for him. While Mayer will still have a role in the offense in his second NFL season, he's going to take a back seat to Bowers in 2024 and will go undrafted in standard 12-team fantasy leagues this fall. Bowers, meanwhile has the potential for a Sam LaPorta-like season in his rookie campaign.