NFL Player News

Mayer caught one of two targets for 19 yards in Monday's 26-14 loss to the Lions.

Mayer was one of four players that tied for second on the team in receiving yards behind Josh Jacobs' 27, as Jimmy Garoppolo (back) threw for only 126 yards in his return from a one-game absence. Fellow tight end Austin Hooper was among those four players, but Mayer has 133 receiving yards to Hooper's 49 in Garoppolo's last three starts. The rookie tight end let out some anger over Vegas' poor offensive performance with a huge hit on special teams, accounting for Mayer's first career tackle. Mayer and the rest of Vegas' passing game will look to get back on track in Week 9 against the Giants.

Okonkwo recorded four receptions (on six targets) for 23 yards in Sunday's 28-23 win over the Falcons.

Okonkwo has at least six targets in two of his last three games, yet he has only 74 yards combined in that span. Even more disappointing is Okonkwo's lack of involvement near the end zone, as he has only two targets inside the 20 and only one inside the 10. Overall, he has failed to top 35 yards in any of his seven contests this season.

Johnson caught one of two targets for five yards during Sunday's 38-27 win versus the Colts.

Johnson played a season-low 61 percent of New Orleans' offense snaps in his first game back after missing four straight with a calf injury. The 27-year-old was not fully cleared until Friday's injury report, so it's likely that the team did not want to use him quite as much as the first three games of the season, when he played at least 70 percent of offense snaps in each contest. Johnson also saw slightly less playing time than fellow tight end Foster Moreau, who did not see a target Sunday. Johnson will look to record more than three catches for the first time this season when New Orleans takes on Chicago in Week 9.

Saubert reverted to Dallas' practice squad Monday.

Saubert didn't record any stats in Sunday's win against the Rams while playing 14 snaps on special teams. The 29-year-old just signed with the Cowboys' practice squad last week and will now wait for another chance to be elevated.

Hurst finished with zero catches on two targets in Sunday's 15-13 win over the Texans.

Hurst's goose egg came while he played a season-low 19 offensive snaps. Meanwhile, listed backup Tommy Tremble featured for a season-high 33 plays. Although Tremble managed only two catches for four yards, one of his grabs was a touchdown. That situation has Hurst's stock trending firmly downward ahead of next Sunday's game versus the Colts.

Brown played 21 of 53 snaps on offense and caught both of his targets for 33 yards in Sunday's 31-17 loss to the Dolphins.

Brown, who now has four catches for 84 yards over his last two outings, actually out-snapped Mike Gesicki (15 snaps, two catches) Sunday, but with Hunter Henry (31 snaps, three catches) also in the mix, he's involved in a timeshare at tight end that limits his weekly fantasy ceiling.

Gesicki was on the field for 15 of a possible 53 snaps on offense in Sunday's 31-17 loss to the Dolphins while catching two of his three targets for 11 yards in the contest, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

Gesicki was out-snapped Sunday by both Hunter Henry (31 snaps, three catches) and Pharaoh Brown (21 snaps, two catches), as the Patriots' timeshare at tight end continues. With 19 catches (on 25 targets) for 160 yards and a TD in eight games to date, Gesicki only merits lineup consideration in deeper fantasy formats.

Mallory had one reception for six yards on two targets in Sunday's loss to New Orleans.

Mallory played on 15 of of the offense's 71 snaps. He went out for a pass on all 15 of his snaps, which was the second-most routes among the tight ends (Drew Ogletree had 20 and Mo Alie-Cox had 13). However, that usage doesn't translate to many fantasy points, as the Colts don't use tight ends much in the passing game and divide the targets among multiple players at the position.

Smith caught his only target for 13 yards and failed to complete his lone pass attempt during Sunday's 28-23 loss to the Titans.

Smith (48 offensive snaps) was on the field more than any of the Falcons' other tight ends, including Kyle Pitts (41). However, the veteran saw just one target, his fewest since the season opener. Head coach Arthur Smith did dial up a trick play for Smith in the red zone Sunday, but it wasn't successful. From Weeks 2-6, Smith caught 25 passes (on 32 targets) for 282 yards and a touchdown, but since then, he's secured just four passes for 40 yards. Given Smith is still garnering a lot of playing time, he should be on fantasy radars, but at this point, it's difficult to trust any Falcons' skill players on a weekly basis.

Pitts caught three of five targets for 35 yards during Sunday's 28-23 loss to the Titans.

For a second, Pitts appeared to be turning a corner, totaling 11 receptions (on 17 targets) for 130 yards and a score across Weeks 5 and 6. Since then, he's accumulated just six catches (on 10 targets) for 82 yards. On Sunday, Pitts once again saw fewer offensive snaps (41) than Jonnu Smith (48), and as long as the two are splitting the tight-end workload, it'll be tough for Pitts to be a must-start option in fantasy on a weekly basis.