Who Should I Start? Brandin Cooks or Luther Burden III

Saturday, November 8, 10:23 AM

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks will take on an increased workload after Rashid Shaheed was traded to the Seattle Seahawks. Cooks is expected to operate as the Saints' No. 2 receiver behind Chris Olave for the rest of the season, starting with Sunday's Week 10 contest against the Carolina Panthers. The veteran is likely second or third in the pecking order for targets, working behind Olave and perhaps tight end Juwan Johnson, too. While New Orleans' offense has struggled this season, they've also been playing from behind in most of their games, creating additional volume for the passing game, led by Tyler Shough. An uptick in targets could be enough to generate low-end WR3/flex appeal for Cooks in deeper leagues. He's a solid speculative stash in deep formats, while managers in leagues with 12 or fewer teams can keep an eye on him.

Tuesday, November 11, 1:30 PM

Chicago Bears rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III has been a playmaker in his limited opportunity this season, catching 16 of his 18 targets for 222 yards and a touchdown to go with two rushes for six yards in eight games this season. Burden is seeing his reps increase as the season progresses and posted season highs in both snaps and routes in Chicago's Week 10 win over the New York Giants. The rookie second-rounder played 57.6% of the snaps, his first game with a snap share above 50%, and ran 46.3% of the team's routes. Head coach Ben Johnson said that Burden will see more targets moving forward as he continues to get more comfortable in the offense. The rookie out of Missouri had an exciting prospect profile with elite athletic traits and is worth adding off the waiver wire in 12-team leagues to see how his role expands.