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Should I start Hunter Henry, Mason Taylor, Michael Mayer or Week 7? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2025 NFL season.
Tight end is always a tricky position to get a clear read on from week to week, especially once you move beyond the obvious locked-in starters at the top of the rankings. Some fringe players have shown potential in some weeks but struggled to be consistent. Due to bye week, injuries, or ineffectiveness, it's always important to have plenty of depth at tight end, and some interesting options deserve consideration this week.
In this article, we will see if fringe options Hunter Henry, Mason Taylor, and Michael Mayer should be started in fantasy in Week 7. All three tight ends have upside, but have also been inconsistent from week to week this season.
So, should fantasy managers start Henry, Taylor, and Mayer in Week 7? Let's dive in and find out.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
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Should I Start Hunter Henry for Fantasy Football?
The Patriots' passing game has shown huge improvement this year as Drake Maye has taken a huge step forward with Josh McDaniels as offensive coordinator under new coach Mike Vrabel. While a variety of receivers have mixed in from matchup to matchup, Henry has been the primary tight end all season.
He has 20 catches on his 31 targets in six games, totaling 277 yards and three touchdowns. His best game of the season came in one of the Patriots' two losses, when Henry hauled in two touchdowns as part of an eight-catch, 90-yard performance against the Steelers.
The next week, he added another impressive score on this long catch and run against the Panthers.
10 to 85 for the score‼️@DrakeMaye2 | @Hunter_Henry84
📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/6Z8tE7lgo7
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 28, 2025
In the last two weeks, though, Henry has been held in check with two catches for 46 yards against the Bills and just three catches for 27 yards against the Saints. Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte stepped up in those two games, respectively, to carry the pass-catching load, leaving less work for Henry.
Maye has done a good job spreading the ball to whichever targets are most effective, which could mean good things for Henry this week in Tennessee. The Titans have allowed at least five catches to opposing tight ends in five of their six games this season for an average of 41.7 yards per game. They allowed a tight end touchdown to Michael Mayer last week, and Henry could take advantage of the same space in this matchup.
He is the TE10 in RotoBaller's Week 7 rankings, making him a fringe starting option. He has been a little boom-or-bust from week to week, depending on the game plan, but he's worth a look this week if you don't have one of the elite options this week.
Should I Start Mason Taylor for Fantasy Football?
Just behind Henry, Taylor is a solid option at No. 15 in RotoBaller's rankings. He has a high ceiling for the Jets, who could be missing key pass-catchers in Week 7 against the Panthers.
The Jets drafted Taylor in the second round out of LSU, and the rookie has been the starter all season. He started slowly with just one catch in each of the first two games. After only three targets in those two games, he had three straight weeks with at least four catches, totaling 18 catches on 25 targets.
In the most recent of those three games, he set career highs in catches, targets, and receiving yards, finishing with nine catches on 12 targets for 67 yards. He also added a two-point conversion catch.
Mason Taylor finds the end zone for a 2-point conversion
📺: #DALvsNYJ on FOX pic.twitter.com/Z8uuAfyrEk
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 5, 2025
After that big game, he struggled with just one catch against the Broncos, but the whole offense struggled badly against Denver's strong defense, as the team dropped to 0-6.
This week, Taylor could get a high volume of targets against the Panthers because Garrett Wilson (knee) is expected to be sidelined, and Josh Reynolds (hip) has also been limited in practice. The rest of the Jets' receivers are extremely inexperienced and don't have a lot of upside, so there's definitely a chance that Taylor steps up to carry the workload against Carolina.
The Panthers have been an extremely favorable matchup for tight ends, allowing the second-most fantasy points to tight ends this season. Opposing tight ends have averaged 6.2 catches for 74 yards per game, and they've scored a touchdown in each of the last three weeks.
If Taylor can continue that streak in Week 7, he'll definitely be worth a look as a starting option in deeper leagues.
Should I Start Michael Mayer for Fantasy Football?
Another fringe option with lots of upside to consider in Week 7 is Raiders tight end Michael Mayer.
Mayer is coming off his best game of the season last week, when he caught five of his seven targets for 50 yards and a touchdown against the Titans.
The Return of Michael Mayer. @FedEx | #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/bHXV3Tg59C
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 15, 2025
Mayer was returning from a two-week absence due to a concussion, but he stepped right into a large role for the Raiders, since they were without Brocke Bowers (knee). He ended up leading the team in targets and finishing tied for the team lead in catches.
He could be busy again on Sunday as the Raiders host the Chiefs, since Bowers has not been able to return to practice this week and seems unlikely to return in Week 7.
The Chiefs aren't the best matchup in the league for tight ends, but Mayer still ranks as the No. 14 tight end in RotoBaller's rankings since he has such a good potential for high volume this week in this AFC West matchup.
Who Should I Start Tool
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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 7 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Hunter Henry, Mason Taylor, Michael Mayer. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 7. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 7 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 7 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Hunter Henry, Mason Taylor, Michael Mayer. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 7.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool, but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our Who Should I Start? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 7 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 7 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 7 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 7 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Hunter Henry, Mason Taylor, Michael Mayer compared to others:
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