Isaiah

Likely

The team continued to deploy three tight ends as Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar both were involved throughout, but it was Andrews that saw the second most targets on the team and found the end zone in the third quarter. Likely was not targeted on the evening while Kolar caught just one pass for six yards. The consistent volume is likely not coming back for the veteran tight end but he should continue to return usable fantasy scores with a robust red zone role.

Likely ran 20 routes to Mark Andrews’ 21 but out-targeted Andrews five to three. The third-year tight end was responsible for the Ravens’ longest play of the day when he hauled in a 42-yard reception in the first quarter. Likely also lost a key fumble late in the first half, which immediately set the Steelers up for a 32-yard field goal with just seconds to go before halftime. Likely’s 75 receiving yards are his most since Week 1 when he surprised for 9-111-1 vs. the Chiefs. He’s had an inconsistent fantasy season, and is a true boom-or-bust tight end in Week 12 against the Chargers.

Likely missed all three practices last week before being ruled out on Friday. He was presumably limited for today’s practice, but it’s a big step in the right direction. Likely had fallen into the TE2 depths before missing Week 10 and will be a weak fantasy option if active for Week 11. His presence would, however, limit Mark Andrews’ routes. Andrews was on the field for nearly every Baltimore passing play last week for the first time this season.

Likely did not practice once this week before being ruled out. The good news is that he gets the mini-bye following Baltimore’s Thursday Night Football matchup with Cincinnati. Mark Andrews will approach a full-time role tomorrow after spending most of this season in a rotation with Likely and Charlie Kolar. A decrease in 12-personnel sets should also get Diontae Johnson on the field more.

He likely won’t play on Thursday after missing back-to-back practices. Mark Andrews and Charlie Kolar will pick up the slack for the Baltimore TE corps against the Bengals. Likely is droppable in standard leagues.

It was an estimated practice, but this does explain Likely falling back into the fantasy football void against the Broncos last week. You certainly don’t need to roster Likely if a bye week crunch has befallen you. We probably won’t get much word on the extent of Likely’s injury until Tuesday or Wednesday.

It was a low-volume affair for the Ravens’ passing attack as they dismantled the Broncos. Likely’s total of 47 yards in Week 8 was easily a high-water mark since he erupted for 111 yards in Week 1. He also topped three receptions for the first time since his breakout. Likely’s role has diminished with every passing week and bottomed out versus Denver. He is deep in the TE2 ranks for Week 10 versus Cincinnati.

Likely has been targeted four times in each of the last two games, but has largely remained a hard-to-trust, touchdown-or-bust option since Week 1’s 9/111/1 line.

Likely’s second and third touchdowns of the season were his first since his monster opener. He actually got out-targeted 5-3 by Mark Andrews, but Likely and Charlie Kolar out-scored Andrews 3-0. It’s just been that kind of year in the Ravens’ skill corps. Catching a six-yard touchdown from Lamar Jackson on a broken play in the fourth quarter, Likely showed better chemistry with Jackson than Andrews has all year. Likely has just 69 yards in four games since Week 1, but his big-play ability keeps him hanging around the top 20.

We’ve reached a point where we’ll have to see it to believe it. Andrews isn’t just lacking targets, of which he’s seen two in the last two weeks; he’s lacking routes. After running just six routes in the Ravens’ Week 3 win over the Cowboys, Andrews ran 10 routes in the team’s Week 4 win over the Bills and has been on the field for just 18 passing snaps over that span, per PFF. Frustrated fantasy managers can justifiably sit Andrews in Week 5 against the Bengals, as his lack of production is due to far more than a target shortage. Neither Andrews nor Isaiah Likely have much fantasy upside at this time, but we’d expect (hope) Andrews to bounce back to his old form at some point.