Mark Andrews Week 1 Fantasy Outlook: Bounce-Back TE1 or Committee Risk?
Mark Andrews enters Week 1 looking to rebound from a down 2025 in a Todd Monken scheme that has supported two tight ends. Weigh his reduced ceiling, Likely’s presence, and a tough Bills matchup before locking in your lineup.
Role, usage, and snap-share trajectory in Monken’s offense
Todd Monken’s history in Baltimore shows a clear willingness to feature multiple tight ends, with Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely both seeing meaningful routes and targets when healthy in 2024–25, which caps Andrews’ every-down usage compared with the peak Greg Roman years; over Monken’s five seasons as an NFL offensive coordinator, his most productive tight end season was Andrews’ 2024 line of 55 catches for 673 yards, a volume profile closer to a mid-range TE1 than an elite, Travis Kelce-level focal point according to an ESPN offseason breakdown of second-year players in Monken’s system.
That same ESPN piece emphasized that Monken’s scheme spreads the ball by design and noted that Harold Fannin, a rookie TE in Tampa, actually outproduced Andrews’ 2024 stat line in his own Year 1 under Monken, reinforcing that the OC is comfortable letting production flow to the hot hand rather than force-feeding a single star; with Likely entrenched and the Ravens leaning more 11 personnel in late 2025, Andrews projects for a strong but not overwhelming snap share in Week 1—likely in the 65–75% route range instead of his pre-Monken 80–90% spike-week usage.
Baltimore’s own schedule-release coverage has spotlighted Andrews as a key offensive piece heading into a Week 1 rematch in Buffalo, highlighting his potential "redemption" arc after a critical playoff turnover against the Bills two years ago, signaling that the team still sees him as a primary weapon in high-leverage passing situations even if his snap share is slightly lower than peak levels.
Recent statistical production and fantasy output
Andrews’ 2025 season was a clear step back by his own elite standards, finishing as the TE16 overall and just TE23 in per-game scoring at 6.5 PPR points per game according to a 4for4 positional review, a profile driven by lower target volume and fewer explosive plays rather than any glaring decline in talent; that ranks him well behind the new wave of fantasy tight ends such as Trey McBride, Colston Loveland, Brock Bowers, Tucker Kraft, Tyler Warren, and Harold Fannin, all of whom are currently projected ahead of him in early-2026 rankings.
In that same 4for4 breakdown, Andrews’ 2024 Monken-year production (55 receptions for 673 yards) was cited as the peak tight end output of Monken’s five NFL seasons as an OC, which underscores how much his 2025 drop to TE16 overall reflected a combination of target competition and scheme evolution rather than just injury; to put this in context, Andrews’ 2025 fantasy line would project closer to a backend TE1/strong TE2 in most 12-team formats, a far cry from the top-three lock he had been from 2019–2022.
Importantly for Week 1 decisions, that 4for4 analysis also noted that Baltimore’s offense remained efficient throwing to the tight end position overall, but the volume and scoring swings from week to week made Andrews more volatile than in past years—he oscillated between TE1 weeks when he found the end zone and low-floor games when Lamar Jackson focused more on Zay Flowers and the perimeter receivers.
Health, injury status, and workload expectations
Andrews enters the new season healthy after avoiding major in-season injuries in 2025, but his recent track record still includes the ankle issues that cost him significant time late in the 2023 campaign and led to questions about whether Baltimore might more aggressively rotate him with Likely to preserve him for the stretch run; that context, combined with the team’s demonstrated comfort in using two tight ends under Monken per ESPN’s review of the Ravens’ usage, suggests the Ravens could be intentional about managing his total snaps while still featuring him in the red zone and on key third downs.
With no new injury setbacks reported in the last week by the major national outlets and Baltimore’s own media highlighting Andrews as a central figure in their early-season storyline against Buffalo, fantasy managers should treat him as fully available for Week 1, but calibrated for a slightly more specialized role—think high-leverage target earner rather than 90% snap, every-drive route runner; that expectation aligns with how Baltimore has talked about blending Andrews’ veteran presence with Likely’s ascending skill set rather than phasing either player out completely.
Week 1 matchup vs. Bills: coverage, game script, and scoring outlook
Baltimore’s schedule-release coverage specifically called out the Week 1 trip to Buffalo as a "chance at redemption" for Andrews, referencing the divisional playoff game two seasons ago in which he lost a critical fumble that helped swing the game, a moment also highlighted by Go Long as the kind of impact play that justified Buffalo’s aggressive defensive investments, suggesting that the Bills are acutely aware of Andrews’ game-changing potential and likely to prioritize him in the game plan.
Buffalo’s defense under Sean McDermott has consistently been strong versus tight ends, using hybrid defenders like safety/slot types in the mold of their recent additions and emphasizing physical coverage over the middle; Go Long’s discussion of the Bills’ defensive identity and personnel usage underscores that they value players who can disrupt bigger targets like Andrews at the catch point, which could lead to a lower catch rate but still leave room for red-zone opportunities if Baltimore can manufacture mismatches via motion and bunch formations.
Given the narrative focus on Andrews in this particular matchup and the likelihood of a competitive game script with Lamar Jackson forced to make plays through the air against a well-coached defense, the most realistic Week 1 outcome is moderate volume (5–7 targets) with a heavy dependence on touchdown equity; that places Andrews squarely in the low-end TE1 conversation for the week, with a wider range of outcomes than fantasy managers were used to in his peak seasons.
Rest-of-season fantasy verdict: start/sit call, trade value, and dynasty arc
From a season-long redraft perspective, Andrews profiles as a mid-tier TE1 with a lowered weekly ceiling compared with his 2019–2022 peak, reflecting the realities outlined by 4for4 and ESPN: Monken’s offense has never funneled elite, 90+ catch volume to tight ends, and the presence of Isaiah Likely plus emerging wideouts means Andrews’ 2025 TE16 finish at 6.5 PPR points per game is a more realistic baseline than his historic top-three finishes; as such, he’s better viewed as a matchup-dependent starter than a set-and-forget superstar.
For Week 1 specifically, he should be started in all but the shallowest leagues (10-team formats where you also roster an emerging top-six option like Trey McBride, Brock Bowers, or Harold Fannin); confidence level is around 6.5/10 given the difficult Buffalo matchup and Monken’s spreading tendencies, but Andrews’ red-zone and third-down roles still give him a higher touchdown and target-quality profile than most streaming options.
In trade discussions, Andrews should be treated as a value pivot rather than a cornerstone—his name recognition will still command a premium in many leagues, but the 4for4 rankings placing younger, more explosive tight ends ahead of him signal that this is the right time to move him if a league mate values him as a top-three option; target a mid-range WR2 or RB2 in return, or package Andrews plus a depth piece to reach a true difference-maker at another position.
In dynasty, ESPN’s emphasis on Monken getting strong play from multiple tight ends and the emergence of younger options league-wide suggest Andrews’ window as a truly elite asset is closing, but his red-zone skill set, rapport with Lamar Jackson, and continued featured status in Baltimore’s narrative planning (as reflected in team media around the Bills rematch) mean he remains a viable TE1 for the next 1–2 seasons; the optimal dynasty move is to hold if you’re contending and explore selling to retooling teams that still price him as a top-five tight end if you’re rebuilding.