Who Should I Start? Adam Thielen or Zay Flowers

Friday, September 12, 5:25 PM

Starting Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen on Sunday would be a bet that he can recapture the magic in his first game back in Minnesota since being reacquired in a trade with Carolina, albeit one that comes with heavy risk. The Minnesota offense was brutal for three quarters in Week 1, though the Vikings did mount a dramatic comeback and go to the veteran for a key two-point conversion in the fourth quarter. However, Thielen played 57% of offensive snaps and drew only one target, which he dropped. Thielen figures to improve on the number of targets in Week 2, especially with Jordan Addison (suspension) still out, but he'll likely be in a secondary role and still attached to a first-time starter at quarterback. He should be saved for deeper formats only.

Friday, September 12, 10:53 PM

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers put up the second-highest fantasy points of his career in the Week 1 loss to the Buffalo Bills. In half-PPR formats, that rates second to only his game against the Denver Broncos in Week 9 last season. Now, he'll try to carry that momentum into the first divisional matchup with the Cleveland Browns, who seem to have a lot of confidence. The speedy wideout didn't score in either of their meetings last season, in part due to their second matchup came in Week 18 when the Ravens rested a lot of starters. In Week 8 last year, Flowers finished as the WR17 against the Browns with seven receptions for 115 yards on 12 targets. He's hovering right around WR2 value again this week, but can always pop off into WR1 territory.