Fantasy Football Week 7 Start 'Em Sit 'Em: Michael Mayer vs Cade Otton
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Bye week season is rolling along. Two top tight ends currently are Michael Mayer and Cade Otton. Injuries have opened the door for these players. They command the focus of our start 'em sit 'em article today.
The Case For Michael Mayer
Fantasy Sports On SI Week 7 Ranking: TE 12
Some will be surprised that Mayer is ranked higher than Otton here. However, that is only because Mayer's rookie year had so much promise before Brock Bowers crashed the party last season and closed Mayer's window.
Injury however brings opportunity. With Bowers expected to be out again for Week 7, Mayer goes up against a stout Kansas City pass defense that does have a touch of vulnerability. It's small but Sam LaPorta exposed a few holes last week against the Chiefs.
Mayer caught five passes for 50 yards on seven targets in Week 6. Also, he found the touchdown sanctuary. Cue Notre Dame reference here. Anyway, Mayer rolls in at almost 260 pounds, can create a little separation, and can get some yards after the catch. 65 of his 97 yards come after the catch. Part of that is because his ADOT is so low at 2.9 yards.
Mayer gets helped by the fact that Geno Smith needs to make fewer mistakes. With Kansas City expected to slow down the running game, the passing game will be vital. Again, Mayer will be limited when it comes to going downfield. However, he expects to get more targets especially with Kansas City's different blitz packages.
This is a risky matchup with some upside for Mayer.
The Case for Cade Otton
Fantasy Sports On SI Week 7 Ranking: TE13
One of the great equalizers in fantasy football involve injuries. The role they ultimately play in increased and decreased workloads can drive those who try to compete in fantasy leagues crazy. Chris Godwin is out and so is Emeka Egbuka. No one knows what to expect from Mike Evans who is questionable. Evans, trending to play, is expected to be limited in terms of snap count, targets, etc.
Baker Mayfield will need a good safety valve that possesses downfield potential. That represents Cade Otton in a nutshell. For a really solid Tight End, anything around a 75% catch rate is excellent. Otton, with a bigger function in the Tampa Bay offense was at 80+% the past two weeks. He may not have a touchdown but 11 targets and nine catches the past two weeks is encouraging.
Cade Otton was excellent last year when Evans and Godwin both missed time with injury.
— M Fantasy Football (@m_ffootball) October 17, 2025
Week 8: 29.1 PPR pts
Week 9: 21.7 PPR pts
Week 10: 8.5 PPR pts
Deja vu, start him with confidence.
Note: Mike Evans is still tracking to play on Monday. https://t.co/ZR9A2daqWD
Evans coming back err likely coming back tampers some expectations but remember the Wide Receiver has been out for four weeks. Tampa Bay is still riddled with injuries with Bucky Irving looking less likely to play (did not practice Friday). Irving has been out for almost three weeks now himself.
Simply, this becomes all about searching for explosiveness from a streaming standpoint. Tampa figures to get their reinforcements back in the next week or two or so. Otton can get space against a Detroit Lions linebacker corps that can be a little porous. The last two weeks have seen Detroit give up the most passing yards all season (237 and 243 respectively).
Baker Mayfield will get his yards and he is on one heck of a run this season (16 TD, 1 INT). Even in Detroit, Mayfield expects to utilize Otton a little more. If Detroit gets up by more than a touchdown, expect the Quarterback to throw even more on Monday night.
Start 'Em Sit 'Em: Michael Mayer vs Cade Otton
Everyone thinks this is an easy decision and yet what if Mayer finds the end zone? Otton has not done so but has come close this season. That may be the only hangup. Overall, the matchup battle favors Otton. Both will be targeted more but Otton has a notch higher explosiveness potential against Detroit. Otton is our choice to start over Mayer for Week 7.
