Who Should I Start? Brock Bowers or Jaxson Dart

Monday, October 13, 3:25 PM

According to head coach Pete Carroll, Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (knee) could be held out of action for the "long haul" in hopes of ensuring he is back to full speed when cleared to play. On Monday, Carroll told reporters, "You look at the long haul of it, it might be best to guarantee that he's full speed and back." With the Raiders having Week 8 off, it appears Bowers is trending toward missing Week 7 and could be in the mix to potentially return in Week 9 when they host the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, given his current status, this return is not guaranteed. The second-year tight end has had a disappointing campaign and has been out of the lineup since Week 5. Through four games of action, the former first-round pick has caught just 19 passes for 225 yards and no touchdowns. As a rookie, Bowers was elite, catching 112 passes for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns. While he remains sidelined, Michael Mayer will continue to hold high-end TE2 value.

Tuesday, October 14, 10:39 AM

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart has helped his team to two big home wins over the Chargers and Eagles in his three games since taking over as starting QB, but he also lost a game on the road to the Saints. In Week 6, he threw for 195 yards and a touchdown in New York's Thursday Night Football upset of the Eagles and added 58 yards and a rushing score to help him be one of the highest scoring quarterbacks of the week. His rushing potential makes him a good fantasy play in almost any matchup since he brings both a high ceiling and a high floor. This week, he faces a very tough matchup, though, against the Broncos, who just shut down Jalen Hurts and Justin Fields to win their last two games. The game will also be in Denver, which will surely be a hostile environment for the rookie. Dart has shown enough to be worth a look as a second QB or bye-week fill-in off the waiver wire, even in this tough matchup. Looking further ahead, he'll have a tough rematch with the Eagles on the road in Week 8 before matchups with the 49ers and Bears that look a little more favorable. Even if he isn't an elite play in those matchups, his rushing production is enough to keep him as a viable fantasy option in most formats.