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.

Saturday, March 1, 12:17 PM

According to league sources, the Las Vegas Raiders have had discussions with teams who have interest in tight end Michael Mayer. The team's second-round selection in 2023, Mayer hasn't had the type of impact the Raiders were hoping for, which is why they took Brock Bowers in the first round in 2024. Not only did Bowers become a first-team All-Pro in his rookie season, but Mayer had only 27 catches for 304 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games in his first year in 2023. He missed six games last season due to personal reasons and was barely heard from as Bowers excelled. It makes more sense for Vegas to trade Mayer for assets, and since he'll be on a team-friendly deal for two more years, there should be several teams that are interested. Mayer was completely off the fantasy radar in 2024, but he could resurface as a sleeper if he's traded to a team that utilizes him much more as a pass-catcher.