Who Should I Start? Adam Thielen or Christian Kirk

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.

Friday, August 15, 1:06 PM

Cole Thompson of Texans Wire writes that Houston Texans wide receiver Christian Kirk stood out during the team's two-minute offense in joint practice with th Carolina Panthers on Thursday and "has been the most consistent receiver in camp not named Nico Collins." Kirk is locking up the WR2 spot behind Collins, and "no one expected Kirk to be just an average receiver when the Texans traded for him this offseason." The 28-year-old's fantasy stock was down following an injury-plagued final season in Jacksonville in 2024 in which he played in only eight games and caught 27 passes for 379 yards and one touchdowns. It also didn't help that Houston drafted rookies Jayden Higgins (second round) and Jaylin Noel (third round) back in April. Kirk's fantasy demise might be premature, though, which could make him an excellent value pick later in fantasy drafts for WR depth.