Who Should I Start? Tyler Conklin or Michael Mayer

Friday, March 21, 10:24 PM

Former New York Jets tight end Tyler Conklin reached an agreement on an undisclosed one-year deal on Friday with the Los Angeles Chargers, according to his agent, Mike McCartney. Conklin heads to the AFC West after spending the last three years with the Jets, where he had 170 catches on 246 targets for 1,622 yards and seven touchdowns in 50 games (43 starts). While the 29-year-old did have a career-high four touchdowns in 16 games (15 starts) last year, he had just 51 catches and 449 yards (his lowest total since 2020) on 72 targets. The former fifth-round selection (157th overall) by the Minnesota Vikings in 2018 out of Central Michigan has the opportunity to be the Chargers' top pass-catching tight end in 2025, but he'll also be sharing playing time with Will Dissly. Dissly had a very similar 50-481-2 line to Conklin a year ago in L.A. Expect Conklin to be a touchdown-dependent TE2 in fantasy in his new home.

Wednesday, November 26, 7:42 PM

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer (ankle) was a non-participant in the team's first practice of the week on Wednesday due to an ankle issue, according to Ryan McFadden of ESPN. Mayer only played 13 offensive snaps in Sunday's loss to the Cleveland Browns before injuring his ankle and never returning. The 24-year-old's status is now up in the air for this weekend's divisional rematch against the Los Angeles Chargers. Mayer has not been a realistic TE2 fantasy football streamer this year as long as Brock Bowers has been healthy. In nine total games, the former second-rounder in 2023 out of Notre Dame has 22 catches for 182 yards and only one touchdown on 32 targets. If Mayer is unavailable to play against L.A. on Sunday, it should open up more playing time for rookies Dont'e Thornton Jr. and Jack Bech in three-wide sets.