Who Should I Start? Adam Thielen or Rome Odunze

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, August 13, 6:08 PM

Mark Carman of CHGO Sports reports that Chicago Bears second-year wide receiver Rome Odunze looks like quarterback Caleb Williams' go-to guy in practice on Wednesday, especially in the red zone. Carman adds that Odunze and Williams continued to work together after practice. There was a lot of disappointment in the Bears offense last year in Williams' and Odunze's first NFL season. Odunze finished with only 54 catches on 101 targets for 734 yards and three touchdowns in 17 games (12 starts). It wasn't a bad showing, but he was inconsistent for fantasy purposes. The 23-year-old could be in line for a Year 2 breakout with Keenan Allen gone and in new head coach Ben Johnson's offense, with his goal being his first 1,000-yard season and double-digit TDs. That would be amazing for fantasy managers that draft him as a WR3/flex with upside in 2025.