Mason Taylor: A Tight End on the Rise?
Upheaval is the key word for the state of the tight end power structure in fantasy football this year. Mason Taylor may prove the way to leverage it.
George Kittle has missed several weeks. David Njoku is sharing targets with upstart Harold Fannin Jr. Mark Andrews is without Lamar Jackson for a few weeks. T.J. Hockenson is no longer someone quarterbacks target consistently.
Brock Bowers? He's limping after the catch while sporting a brace bigger than the Bellagio Fountains.
While your competition is liable to spend more in free agency on established names at the position, Mason Taylor offers a path to spending less and having more funds available for wide receivers and running backs.
Can Mason Taylor emerge from the chaos as an every-week fantasy starter? For the past two weeks, Taylor has delivered TE10 value in fantasy leagues against the Dolphins and Cowboys.
The Dolphins are the fifth-most generous defense for tight end production. The Cowboys are 12th in the league in stingy defense to tight end production. Although both units have faced good tight ends in schemes that target them, let's not delve too deep into five weeks of fantasy points allowed.
We can do better. Roll the film...
Mason Taylor's Film
A couple of things to remember: Two minutes can change your fantasy life. Not all revelations are biblical in scope. Mason Taylor's two weeks of film provide clues that, to most, may not move the needle greatly, but to me, they scream reliability and significant volume ahead.
TE Mason Taylor #Jets
— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) October 8, 2025
Catch-point reliability
- Strong catch radius
- Body control
- Skill vs contact
- Tracks ahead/behind break point
- Good technique
- Creates a good target pic.twitter.com/q0QP5idRBM
The first thing that should pop off the film is Mason Taylor's ability to catch the ball. Whether Justin Fields leads him a little too far or throws the ball behind the break path, Taylor makes the catch.
Hand-eye coordination and body control are pluses with Mason Taylor's game. It makes him a viable option regardless of the coverage he faces.
You can't ignore Mason Taylor's toughness at the catch point. It doesn't matter how generous/stingy the Cowboys defense is; those linebackers were often draped on Taylor, and the rookie had no issues winning the target.
Moreover, Mason Taylor's technique with attacking the ball is excellent. We're not dealing with a Marvin Harrison Jr. or Quentin Johnston -- works in progress with moments of correct technique where they look every bit like a top prospect sandwiched by sloppiness that makes a lot of targets a bigger adventure than necessary.
The attack technique makes Mason Taylor automatic as an underneath option, and the film reveals it's with a variety of routes -- speed turns on quick outs, boundary catches, stop routes under linebackers, and intermediate over routes 20-30 yards downfield. If Mason Taylor is open, and he can get the ball to hit his mitts, it's going to be a catch.
