Who Should I Start? Tyler Higbee or Michael Mayer

Wednesday, January 21, 2:37 PM

Los Angeles Rams tight end Tyler Higbee was on the field for 39 offensive snaps in the team's Wild Card win over the Panthers, catching two of his three targets for 45 yards. However, with rookie Terrance Ferguson (hamstring) back from a two-week absence, Higbee took only eight snaps in Sunday's Divisional Round win over the Bears. Behind Ferguson, Colby Parkinson, and Davis Allen in terms of snap share, Higbee saw only one target in the overtime win, which he caught for 27 yards. With the Rams' tight end room back at full health, Higbee becomes an unreliable play in the Conference Championship round of fantasy playoff leagues.

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.