Michael Mayer

Mayer is the Raiders' clear TE1 while Brock Bowers recovers from knee surgery, commanding a target share in the mid-20s and pacing all Raiders pass-catchers in targets. He's being treated across the industry as a startable, top-10-to-14 fantasy tight end for as long as Bowers is out, backed by strong yards-per-route and target-per-route numbers and a scheme under Clint Kubiak that favors the position.

The last two weeks have been remarkably one-note: nearly every show from FantasyPros to Fantasy Football Today to The Late-Round Fantasy Football Podcast has framed Mayer as the top streaming/waiver add the moment Bowers' knee procedure was announced, with several ranking him above Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, or Kyle Pitts on a weekly basis. The only real disagreement is degree — Harris Fantasy Football Podcast and RotoWire's Theo Gremminger call him more of a low-end streamer/stash than a true difference-maker, while The Audible and Fantasy Focus Football float that his $15M extension and route/target share could let him hold value even after Bowers returns. That question — fringe streamer vs. genuine timeshare piece post-Bowers — is the one unresolved thread as of the latest coverage.

The line: Start and roster Mayer now as a top-12 TE streamer; the real test is whether his role survives Bowers' return. · updated Sep 19