Who Should I Start? Adam Thielen or Calvin Ridley

Friday, May 2, 12:02 PM

Carolina Panthers veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen said that he talked with his family, and they wanted him to play in 2025. He plans to go through a similar process after this season, which is the final year of his contract. Depending on how the 34-year-old feels and what his family thinks after the 2025 campaign, Thielen could hang up his cleats and retire. He's returning for a third season in Carolina after playing in a career-low 10 games in 2024 due to a hamstring injury. In those 10 games, he caught 48 of his 62 targets for 615 yards and five touchdowns. He should continue to be a trusted weapon for young quarterback Bryce Young out of the slot this year, but the addition of first-round rookie wideout Tetairoa McMillan will surely make Thielen harder to trust as a WR3/flex in fantasy based on volume alone like he was in 2023, when he recorded the third 1,000-yard season of his career on 103 targets.

Saturday, June 21, 1:32 PM

TennesseeTitans.com's Jim Wyatt writes that Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley looks really bought in in his second season with the team. Wyatt says that Ridley looks more eager to work and embrace quarterback Cam Ward and the other rookies around him. In addition, he should benefit from having more skilled players around him in 2025. The 30-year-old wideout had his second straight 1,000-yard receiving season in 2024 and the third in his career, but he went from eight touchdowns in 2023 with Jacksonville to only four in Tennessee. There might be a little more competition for targets this year, but Ridley is still the unquestioned WR1, and he could benefit from Ward being under center instead of Will Levis. Ridley has a safe floor as a WR3/flex, but how successful he is in 2025 will ultimately come down to how consistent Ward can be in his rookie season.