Should I start Michael Mayer or Tyjae Spears in Week 7?

The market-based projections

Michael Mayer's market-based projection is 7.9 PPR points a game, built from 3 markets across 13 market sources. That is the 101st highest figure of the 205 players with a market-based projection.

Tyjae Spears's market-based projection is 5.7 PPR points a game, built from 5 markets across 12 market sources. That is the 129th highest figure of the 205 players with a market-based projection.

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on Michael Mayer, and the board ranks him 119th overall on the rest of his evidence.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Tyjae Spears, and the board ranks him 117th overall on the rest of his evidence.

This season through Week 6

Through Week 6, Michael Mayer has been on the field for 81 percent of LV snaps, drawn 16 percent of the targets and had 3 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 6 of the offence's 61 third down targets, had 1 of its 15 chances inside the five and seen 9 of its 36 two minute targets.

His 34 targets have averaged 4.5 air yards.

In Week 4 against KC he caught 8 of 10 targets for 82 yards and did not score.

In Week 5 against NE he caught 1 of 1 target for 2 yards and did not score.

In Week 6 against BUF he caught 7 of 9 targets for 95 yards and did not score.

Through Week 6, Tyjae Spears has been on the field for 42 percent of TEN snaps, taken 14 percent of the carries, drawn 10 percent of the targets and had 4 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 7 of the offence's 48 third down targets, had 0 of its 12 chances inside the five and seen 7 of its 30 two minute targets.

His 17 targets have come 2.7 yards behind the line of scrimmage on average.

In Week 4 against BAL he carried 2 times for 7 yards, caught 1 of 1 target for -1 yards and did not score.

In Week 5 against HOU he carried 2 times for 0 yards, caught 9 of 9 targets for 28 yards and did not score.

In Week 6 against IND he carried 1 time for 1 yards, caught 1 of 1 target for 7 yards and did not score.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 Michael Mayer played 13 games and scored 73.8 PPR points, 5.7 a game, finishing TE38.

He caught 35 of 50 targets for 328 yards and 1 touchdown, with 6 red zone targets.

That came to 3.8 targets a game, a 70 percent catch rate and 9.4 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 57 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

In 2025 Tyjae Spears played 13 games and scored 111.7 PPR points, 8.6 a game, finishing RB44.

He carried 72 times for 283 yards and 2 touchdowns, and caught 45 of 50 targets for 264 more yards.

That came to 5-6 carries a game at 3.9 yards a carry and 3-4 catches a game.

He was on the field for 46 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Both were available for 13 games that season.

Side by side

In 2025 Tyjae Spears scored 8.6 PPR points a game and Michael Mayer 5.7, 2.9 a game between them.

Michael Mayer finished TE38 and Tyjae Spears RB44, which are two different ladders.

Michael Mayer is a tight end and Tyjae Spears a running back, so the question is which slot you fill first rather than which of them is better.

Byes and availability

Michael Mayer is off in Week 13 and Tyjae Spears in Week 9, so either can cover the other's bye.

What would change the answer

2.2 points a game is the entire case. The market restates it every week, and a line that moves moves the order with it.

The draft market is the half that is missing: when live drafts hold these two again they can order them differently from the projection, and this page will follow the drafts rather than the market-based projection when they do.