Those who picked up Baltimore Ravens TE Isaiah Likely when Mark Andrews went down expected the former to step in and put up similar numbers. That hasn’t happened, but is Likely still a relevant piece for the fantasy football playoff run? Let’s dig in and find out.
Should Isaiah Likely Be a Fantasy Waiver Wire Add in Week 13?
Likely has now played two games as the Ravens’ TE1 this season since Andrews went down with an injury. Any hope of seeing Andrews back on the field in the regular season was squashed when he was placed on IR this past week.
My colleague Kyle Soppe perfectly laid out the potential outcomes for Likely for the rest of the season. I agree with Kyle that Likely has the talent and opportunity to be a usable piece on your roster, but will that manifest itself?
Likely recorded a respectable four-catch, 40-yard performance this past week with a 20% target share. Unfortunately, this was on the heels of an 8% target share game two weeks ago that resulted in zero receptions.
Maybe Likely needed a week to get his bearings as a starter, but even a chance of a goose in the playoffs is devastating. Complicating matters is that the Ravens have a bye this week, so if you pick him up, you will have to roster two tight ends for at least a week.
MORE: Fantasy TE Streamers and Rankings Week 13
Tying up two roster spots on the worst scoring position in fantasy is not an optimal fantasy strategy. Off the bye, Baltimore faces off against the sixth-ranked defense against tight ends, the Los Angeles Rams.
If you can navigate all that, then Likely does have a plus-fantasy playoff schedule with an average ranking of the 26th-ranked defense against tight ends in Weeks 15-17.
This week, I wouldn’t pick up Likely. He certainly can’t be counted on to be a difference-maker this week and possibly won’t be the following week, either.
Even when he plays, we don’t know if we’ll get zero receptions again or four or five. Tight end is a wasteland, but we can do better than Likely this week off the waiver wire.
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