Who Should I Start? Adam Thielen or DK Metcalf

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.

Sunday, March 9, 8:07 PM

Per the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the Pittsburgh Steelers are trading for wide receiver DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks. The Steelers are forfeiting their 2025 second-round pick in return and are signing Metcalf to a brand new, five-year, $150 million contract. Pittsburgh may not know who their next quarterback will be, but they're doing their best to surround him with standout talent. The 27-year-old will presumably slot in as the team's No. 1 wideout and, at worst, the 1A or 1B across from standing No. 1 pass-catcher George Pickens. It's an intriguing turn of events for Pittsburgh, though a necessary move for a team that's ranked in the league's bottom half in points per game since 2021. Metcalf started 2024 hot but fell off after a knee injury coincided with former teammate Jaxon Smith-Njigba's breakout. Still, at 27, the Ole Miss product should help bolster Pittsburgh's WR corps.