Who Should I Start? Adam Thielen or Deebo Samuel Sr.

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.

Wednesday, June 25, 12:18 PM

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is pretty excited to work with new wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. in 2025, and the two have already developed some nice chemistry this offseason. "I'm excited to throw him a little screen and hopefully on the stat sheet it says a touchdown for 80 yards and I didn't have to do any of the work," Daniels said while laughing. Samuel once again battled through injuries in a 2024 campaign that saw him catch just 51 passes for 670 yards and three touchdowns on 81 targets while the Niners offense fell apart without running back Christian McCaffrey. The 29-year-old will be an interesting fit in Kliff Kingsbury's offense, but it's quite possible Samuel's physical style of play has taken a toll on him and caused him to lose a step. Samuel is going to need to be productive after the catch to retain value in fantasy. RotoBaller has him ranked as the WR43 going into the 2025 season.