Michael Mayer and AJ Barner Highlight Week 18 Waiver Wire Tight End Pickups
In this story:
Week 17 introduced us to more injuries and even illness. There were some better performances as two tight ends broke the 20 point mark. Naturally, Trey McBride bounced right back and led the way with 23.6 fantasy points. George Kittle and Brock Bowers did not play. Darren Waller saw few snaps of consequence but Greg Dulcich pocketed 16.1 fantasy points.
Matchups are king for Week 18. If you are still playing fantasy football then this is for you. It is a lot like Week 1 in some ways so naturally we went back a little here. The first week produced so much in the way of strange. A total of 16 tight ends amassed double digit points. San Francisco had two of them (George Kittle and Jake Tonges).
A lot has changed between then and now. Let us attempt to make some sense of all this.
Michael Mayer - Las Vegas Raiders
The big bad wolf that was the Kansas City Chiefs has zero to play for. Geno Smith has to throw to someone and last week it was Michael Mayer. Mayer caught nine passes for 89 yards against the New York Giants. Las Vegas won on October 12th and Mayer was the starting tight end due to a Brock Bowers injury (the knee). Anyway, the Raiders' tight end scored 16 points then.
The Chiefs' defense fell apart but not too badly. It has been the offense, who is down to their third string quarterback which is likely to help Mayer and the Raiders on Sunday. Kansas City has generated a total of 272 yards on offense the previous two games.
The last time these two teams met saw Kansas City pound Las Vegas into the ground 31-0. Expect a different result this time and Mayer will be able to run free considerably more.
AJ Barner - Seattle Seahawks
The San Francisco 49ers' defense has gone on an extended vacation. It makes for entertaining football and Saturday night's battle for the top seed in the NFC will be epic. Barner has had a nice fantasy tight end with Sam Darnold. Barner has averaged around nine fantasy points a game and has nabbed 10+ points in each of the previous two weeks.
#Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald on the teams injury:
— HawkMania (@hawkmania4) December 29, 2025
"Going well with Rashid Shaheed, no update on timeframe. playing that throughout the week."
No update on Tory Horton Coby Bryant and Charles Cross.
Also, Mike said that Klint wants to give AJ Barner the ball more
[📷: Seahawks… pic.twitter.com/PLRhPNdvVv
This is probably not what San Francisco fans want to see. Also, Jake Tonges season might go on the back shelf as George Kittle appears to be trending toward playing on Saturday. It is that uncertainty which makes it easier to stay with Barner. The evolution of his role in the offense only increases as the playoffs approach.
Colby Parkinson - Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams will play their starters which means Colby Parkinson gets a considerable look. Barner and Parkinson are both in the 35-40% ownership range for this weekend. Parkinson has not caught a touchdown in the previous two contests but the Rams do play the Arizona Cardinals again on Sunday.
In that first meeting, Parkinson had three catches for 32 yards and a touchdown. Arizona's defense is one of the worst in the league in terms of red zone defensive opportunities given up (64). Quarterbacks have thrown for 250+ yards in three of the last four weeks. Tight ends have done well in this setup.
Watch Colby Parkinson (#84) call this TD pic.twitter.com/Gx8jrxcLsw
— Steven Cheah (@StevenCheah) December 30, 2025
Then, there is this unintentionally funny moment. Parkinson essentially calls a touchdown. There is no assist for this. However, Parkinson may get one of his own in the red zone on Sunday.
