Who Should I Start? Adam Thielen or Tank Dell

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, July 23, 1:10 PM

Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said on Wednesday at training camp that wide receiver Tank Dell (knee) is "doing great." "He's crushing rehab. He's in a great headspace. We're not putting any timetables timeline on Tank." It's good news that Dell is making strides in his rehab, but the fact remains that he's highly unlikely to play at all in 2025 after dislocating his knee and tearing his ACL, MCL and LCL in Week 16 last season. The Texans placed him on the Physically Unable to Perform list on Wednesday, and he won't be taking part in any practices this summer as the team gets ready for the 2025 season. If Dell is even ready to return next year, he might be a shell of his former self. Fantasy managers should leave him off their draft boards this fall.