Who Should I Start? Greg Dulcich or Michael Mayer

Wednesday, January 3, 10:24 PM

Denver Broncos tight end Greg Dulcich (foot) was not officially activated from Injured Reserve by his 21-day deadline on Wednesday and will not play in the Week 18 regular season finale against the division-rival Las Vegas Raiders. A hamstring injury kept Dulcich out for the vast majority of his second NFL season, although a foot injury was ultimately what prevented him from making a late-season return. The 23-year-old caught three of his four targets for 25 yards in the two games he appeared in this year. Adam Trautman served as Denver's top pass-catching tight end all year with Dulcich sidelined, but he wasn't a realistic weekly starting option. Dulcich has some intrigue as a pass-catcher, but he's going to need to stay on the field to stay in Denver's long-term plans heading into the 2024 season.

Sunday, May 19, 1:23 PM

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer, who is heading into his second year in the NFL, is excited to work with rookie tight end Brock Bowers, who the Raiders selected in the first round this year. Bowers fell to the Raiders at No. 13 overall. "He's fast. He's got great hands. He can block. He can do it all. I feel like we can both do it all," Mayer said. Mayer wasn't all that involved in the Raiders' offense in his rookie campaign, catching just 27 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games played. Given Bowers' pedigree, Mayer figures to be the No. 2 TE in 2024, even in 12 personnel, which the Raiders ran just 14.2% of the time last year. Unless Bowers misses time due to an injury in his first year in the league, Mayer is going to have a hard time standing out for fantasy managers.