Should I drop Cade Otton for Michael Mayer?

Not on these numbers alone. Cade Otton projects 77 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (7.7 a game over 10 games) and Michael Mayer 74 (7.4 a game over 10 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 7 the call starts Cade Otton over Michael Mayer.

Start Cade Otton or Michael Mayer? Week 7

Updated Oct 20, 2:41 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Cade Otton over Michael Mayer

Start

Cade Otton

TE · TB · at CAR

Market projects: 7.5; recent weeks avg
CAR D vs TE: 16.0; 9th most to TEs (2026)
Upside: Moderate; 46 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 95%; Through Week 6
Target share: 16%; Through Week 6

Sit

Michael Mayer

TE · LV · vs LAR

Market projects: 7.0; recent weeks avg
LAR D vs TE: 8.3; 2nd fewest to TEs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 84 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 81%; Through Week 6
Target share: 16%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Michael Mayer for Cade Otton?

Not on these numbers alone. Michael Mayer projects 74 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (7.4 a game over 10 games) and Cade Otton 77 (7.7 a game over 10 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 7 the call starts Cade Otton over Michael Mayer.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Cade Otton over Michael Mayer in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Cade Otton at 7.5 points and Michael Mayer at 7.0, a gap of 0.6. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Cade Otton this week yet, so his 7.5 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4, 5 and 6 (7.7, 7.7 and 7.2); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Michael Mayer this week yet, so his 7.0 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4, 5 and 6 (6.2, 7.8 and 6.9); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 7 player market is posted for Cade Otton yet. His market-based projections were 7.7, 7.7 and 7.2 points in Weeks 4, 5 and 6, an average of 7.5, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

The market-based projection for Cade Otton is 0.3 touchdowns (8 market sources).

No Week 7 player market is posted for Michael Mayer yet. His market-based projections were 6.2, 7.8 and 6.9 points in Weeks 4, 5 and 6, an average of 7.0, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

The market-based projection for Michael Mayer is 0.3 touchdowns (3 market sources).

That puts Cade Otton 0.6 points ahead of Michael Mayer on these projections.

Week 7 matchups

Cade Otton and TB visit CAR on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CAR allowed 16.0 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 5 games, the 9th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 56 yards and 0.8 touchdowns a game against CAR.

Michael Mayer and LV host LAR on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

LAR allowed 8.3 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 6 games, the 2nd fewest in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 30 yards and 0.2 touchdowns a game against LAR.

By points allowed to the position, Cade Otton has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Cade Otton is not on the injury report.

Michael Mayer is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Cade Otton played 95 percent of TB snaps, drew 16 percent of the targets, earned 12 percent of the air yards and had 4 percent of the red zone chances.

Cade Otton, Week 3 against MIN: 65 of 69 snaps, 6 targets and 3 catches for 56 yards.

Cade Otton, Week 4 against GB: 60 of 64 snaps, 6 targets and 4 catches for 37 yards.

Cade Otton, Week 5 against DAL: 66 of 72 snaps, 4 targets and 3 catches for 25 yards.

Cade Otton, Week 6 against PIT: 74 of 74 snaps, 2 targets and 1 catch for 4 yards.

Through Week 6, Michael Mayer played 81 percent of LV snaps, drew 16 percent of the targets, earned 8 percent of the air yards and had 3 percent of the red zone chances.

Michael Mayer, Week 3 against NO: 61 of 70 snaps, 3 targets and 3 catches for 32 yards, 1 touchdown.

Michael Mayer, Week 4 against KC: 74 of 84 snaps, 10 targets and 8 catches for 82 yards.

Michael Mayer, Week 5 against NE: 39 of 60 snaps, 1 target and 1 catch for 2 yards.

Michael Mayer, Week 6 against BUF: 52 of 66 snaps, 9 targets and 7 catches for 95 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Cade Otton played 16 games for TB and scored 122.2 PPR points, 7.6 a game, finishing TE22.

He caught 59 of 81 targets for 572 yards and 1 touchdown, with 5 red zone targets and 261 air yards.

He was on the field for 93 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Michael Mayer played 13 games for LV 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 and 132 air yards.

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

Their other Week 7 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 7, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Michael Mayer for Cade Otton?
Not on these numbers alone. Michael Mayer projects 74 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (7.4 a game over 10 games) and Cade Otton 77 (7.7 a game over 10 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 7 the call starts Cade Otton over Michael Mayer.
Should I drop Cade Otton for Michael Mayer?
Not on these numbers alone. Cade Otton projects 77 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (7.7 a game over 10 games) and Michael Mayer 74 (7.4 a game over 10 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 7 the call starts Cade Otton over Michael Mayer.