Who Should I Start? Adam Thielen or Cooper Kupp

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.

Tuesday, June 24, 12:16 PM

The Athletic's Michael-Shawn Dugar writes that new Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp still has some juice, and the team thinks he still has enough left in the tank to be a legitimate complementary piece to WR1 Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Kupp looked the part during offseason workouts and still has enough wiggle, understanding of leverage and quickness to be a pest underneath and in the red zone. The 32-year-old veteran is no longer the same receiver that accomplished the receiving Triple Crown in 2021, but he can still win with deception and his high-level route-running. Kupp's fantasy floor and ceiling are much lower now, and he's missed five or more games in three straight seasons due to injuries, but he can still be in play as a WR4/flex in the Pacific Northwest if he stays on the field. RotoBaller has him ranked just inside the top-50 pass-catchers.