Why Mark Andrews fantasy football managers shouldn't panic about Isaiah Likely exploding ... yet

charles curtis

Fri, 6 Sept 2024, 7:30 am·1-min read

Sep 5, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews (89) runs with the ball against Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) during the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images ORG XMIT: IMAGN-880871 ORIG FILE ID: 20240905_jdb__048.JPG

Deep breaths, everyone.

But we get it. You spent a high draft pick on Mark Andrews in fantasy football and watched as he caught just two passes for 14 yards on Thursday, while the much-touted Isaiah Likely exploded for nine catches, 111 yards and a score with 12 (!!!) targets, and the length of one toe canceled out another TD.

Yikes.

Now, Likely will and should be at the top of fantasy football waiver wire pickups next week. But let's talk about how Andrews missed some time in training camp after a car accident in August. Maybe he's not up to full speed, and perhaps in a game in which Baltimore had to look more downfield, Likely was the beneficiary.

All Mark Andrews fantasy managers can relate 😭 pic.twitter.com/9VNRYjfiUl
— ESPN Fantasy Sports (@ESPNFantasy) September 6, 2024

I will say this: Likely has so much talent that it wouldn't be surprising to see him get more work in this offense overall. Zay Flowers has developed enough that he's going to see plenty of targets, and we knew that. But Andrews has a chance to still be a top-seven tight end as long as he stays healthy.

That might not have been the case in Week 1.