Start Pat Freiermuth or Michael Mayer? Week 7

Updated Oct 20, 9:46 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Early kickoff: 9:30 AM ET in Paris, set your lineup before then.

Start Pat Freiermuth over Michael Mayer

Start

Pat Freiermuth

TE · PIT · at NO

Market projects: 7.5; recent weeks avg
NO D vs TE: 17.9; 6th most to TEs (2026)
Upside: High; 85 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 69%; Through Week 6
Target share: 13%; 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 Pat Freiermuth?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Pat Freiermuth projects 82 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (8.2 a game over 10 games), Michael Mayer 74 (7.4 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Pat Freiermuth over Michael Mayer.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Pat Freiermuth over Michael Mayer in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Pat Freiermuth at 7.5 points and Michael Mayer at 7.0, a gap of 0.5. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Pat Freiermuth this week yet, so his 7.5 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4, 5 and 6 (6.4, 7.7 and 8.3); 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 Pat Freiermuth yet. His market-based projections were 6.4, 7.7 and 8.3 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 Pat Freiermuth is 0.3 touchdowns (13 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 Pat Freiermuth 0.5 points ahead of Michael Mayer on these projections.

Week 7 matchups

Pat Freiermuth and PIT visit NO on Sunday at 9:30 AM ET.

NO allowed 17.9 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 6 games, the 6th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 76 yards and 0-1 touchdowns a game against NO.

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, Pat Freiermuth has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Pat Freiermuth is not on the injury report.

Michael Mayer is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Pat Freiermuth played 69 percent of PIT snaps, drew 13 percent of the targets, earned 14 percent of the air yards and had 13 percent of the red zone chances.

Pat Freiermuth, Week 3 against CIN: 37 of 62 snaps, 1 carry for 1 yards, 4 targets and 2 catches for 30 yards.

Pat Freiermuth, Week 4 against CLE: 54 of 72 snaps, 5 targets and 3 catches for 17 yards, 1 touchdown.

Pat Freiermuth, Week 5 against IND: 41 of 60 snaps, 1 carry for 1 yards, 7 targets and 5 catches for 44 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Pat Freiermuth, Week 6 against TB: 57 of 79 snaps, 3 targets and 2 catches for 11 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, Pat Freiermuth played 17 games for PIT and scored 113.6 PPR points, 6.7 a game, finishing TE25.

He caught 41 of 54 targets for 486 yards and 4 touchdowns, with 9 red zone targets and 231 air yards.

He was on the field for 49 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 Pat Freiermuth?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Pat Freiermuth projects 82 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (8.2 a game over 10 games), Michael Mayer 74 (7.4 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Pat Freiermuth over Michael Mayer.
Should I drop Pat Freiermuth for Michael Mayer?
No. Keep Pat Freiermuth: he projects 82 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (8.2 a game over 10 games), Michael Mayer 74 (7.4 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Pat Freiermuth over Michael Mayer.