Who Should I Start? Tyler Higbee or Michael Mayer

Thursday, January 8, 5:19 PM

Los Angeles Rams tight end Tyler Higbee (ankle) was a full participant in practice on Friday and has been removed from the final injury report. Higbee will be active for Wild-Card weekend on Saturday against the Carolina Panthers after he was limited in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday. The 33-year-old missed six games due to an ankle issue that landed him on Injured Reserve, but he was able to return in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Arizona Cardinals. Higbee played 64% of the offensive snaps in his return while catching five of his six targets for 91 yards and a touchdown. It was a nice first game back, and he could see more time on the field this weekend if rookie Terrance Ferguson (hamstring) cannot play. The impending return of receiver Davante Adams (hamstring) is bad news for Higbee, though. Consider him a touchdown-dependent TE1 on Wild-Card weekend against Carolina.

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.