Who Should I Start? Brandin Cooks or Christian Watson

Tuesday, July 2, 4:03 PM

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Brandin Cooks didn't make the impact many had hoped for in his first season with the organization. He caught just 54 passes for 657 yards, but his eight touchdowns kept him on the fantasy football radar. The six-time 1,000-yard receiver has now failed to reach 700 yards in two consecutive seasons, but he's reportedly looking like his old self offseason. "The Cowboys were 11-0 in the regular season when Cooks had at least 20 receiving yards and 0-5 when he had fewer than 20," wrote Saad Yousuf of the Athletic. "One of the most underrated players in Dallas, the 31-year-old Cooks still showed his signature speed while blowing past cornerbacks during OTAs." The former Saint, Patriot, Ram, and Texan is being selected outside the top 50 wide receivers in 2024 fantasy drafts, so he could be a steal at cost in the explosive Dallas offense. However, it's tough to ignore the statistical regression in recent seasons.

Tuesday, July 16, 4:33 PM

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (hamstring) finally feels he's in a good place injury-wise following his offseason visit to a local specialist. As Matt Schneidman of The Athletic writes, "keeping Watson on the field is paramount for this group to reach its potential since he might be their biggest game breaker." The Packers have one of the deepest wide receiver rooms in the NFL, but that doesn't negate the fact that having the former first-rounder healthy would be huge for Jordan Love and the Packers' progression. "Maybe Year 3 is the one we finally see in consistent stretches the brilliance we've seen from Watson in spurts over the last two seasons," Schneidman added. Watson caught 28 passes for 422 yards and five touchdowns in 2023 as his faulty hamstring limited him to just nine games. His inability to stay healthy so far has dropped him to the WR4 range for fantasy football, but he could see his value rise by playing close to 17 games in 2024.