Who Should I Start? Ashton Dulin or Darius Cooper

Tuesday, November 25, 3:23 PM

The Indianapolis Colts announced on Tuesday that they placed wide receiver Ashton Dulin (hamstring) on Injured Reserve and signed safety George Odum to the active 53-man roster in a corresponding move. The team also signed cornerback Cameron Mitchell to their practice squad. Dulin will be forced to miss at least the next four games and will not be eligible to return until Week 17 against the division-rival Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Dec. 28. The 28-year-old wideout has mostly been a factor on special teams for the first-place Colts. Dulin has caught only five passes for 106 yards on eight targets and has not scored a touchdown on offense through 10 games. For at least the next four weeks, Anthony Gould and Laquon Treadwell will have more opportunities in the WR4 role behind Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, and Josh Downs.

Sunday, January 4, 9:17 AM

Philadelphia Eagles rookie wide receiver Darius Cooper could handle a much larger workload than usual during Sunday's Week 18 contest against the Washington Commanders. Head coach Nick Sirianni indicated that he will rest several starters on Sunday, and although he didn't specifically list which players will be resting, it's fair to speculate that wide receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown could be among the group. If so, Cooper would likely step into the No. 2 wide receiver role behind Jahan Dotson. Cooper hasn't ascended higher than third on the depth chart this season, so we don't know exactly what his role would look like if he earns the start opposite Dotson. With that being said, he has flashed potential lately. He caught two passes for 29 yards on a 30% snap share in Week 15, and he caught one pass for four yards on a career-high 31% snap share just last Sunday. There's a strong chance that the 24-year-old rookie plays more than half of the snaps if Brown and Smith are sidelined, and that could give him low-end WR3/flex appeal in very deep leagues. Once the Eagles announce which starters are resting, managers could consider adding Cooper to be a desperation WR3/flex play in fantasy leagues with at least 14 teams.