Who Should I Start? Alec Pierce or Cedric Tillman

Sunday, January 5, 8:34 PM

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce did his usual thing on Sunday, catching a deep 40-yard touchdown pass on the team's opening drive and adding another 17-yard catch in the 26-23 win over the Jaguars. Despite only 37 receptions on the season, the 24-year-old finishes as the Colts' receiving leader with 824 yards and seven touchdowns. With blazing speed, he led the league in average depth of target (aDOT) which helped him rack up the yardage. The former second-round draft pick will likely fill a similar role in 2025 but, unless he can garner additional targets, it's hard to envision outpacing this season's production. Nevertheless, he should be worthy of at least a bench spot in next year's drafts, as he can be a viable (yet volatile) fill-in when the bye weeks hit.

Saturday, June 28, 11:22 AM

The Athletic's Zac Jackson writes that the Cleveland Browns are banking on wide receiver Cedric Tillman building on his big stretch in the middle of last season since they didn't draft a receiver and only added Diontae Johnson in free agency. Jackson adds that Tillman should be in for a full-time role in 2025 and could complement WR1 Jerry Jeudy in an offense that could incorporate a lot of deep passes if veteran Joe Flacco wins the quarterback job. The advantage that Tillman has is his size (6-foot-3, 215 pounds), and he scored his first three NFL touchdowns in October and November of last year. Although he missed the last six games of 2024 with a concussion, he's still viewed as an ascending player and has two years left on his rookie deal. Even with more opportunity, Tillman will likely be viewed as a WR5/6 target in deeper fantasy formats for receiver depth.