Who Should I Start? Calvin Austin III or Ihmir Smith-Marsette

Saturday, August 10, 12:54 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III managed two receptions for 49 yards on three targets in a preseason loss to the Houston Texans. All of Austin's opportunities came with Kyle Allen at quarterback. The pair nearly connected for a touchdown in the second quarter, but the ball was poorly thrown and Austin failed to haul it in. The 25-year-old wideout was much sharper in the second half, creating plenty of separation for deep completions of 24 and 25 yards. Although veteran Van Jefferson has reportedly had an excellent training camp, Austin could carve out a role for himself in a receiver room that is highly suspect outside of George Pickens. Austin will hope to stand out again in next Saturday's contest against the Buffalo Bills.

Saturday, August 24, 9:36 PM

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (ankle) left the team's preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills early on Saturday after landing awkwardly completing a catch in the second quarter. The 24-year-old hauled in 2-of-3 targets for 11 yards while contributing 27 yards on two punt returns and a field-flipping 46 yards on his lone kick return. Smith-Marsette was productive before he picked up the injury and is expected to be the team's returner this upcoming season. Barring the severity of his ankle issue, that could still be the case. It's a bit early to tell how impactful the NFL's new kickoff rules will be come the start of the regular season. However, fantasy managers may want to keep the Iowa product on their radar as a sneaky option, depending on how your league values return yards. His Yahoo! ADP is far down enough that he'd be best suited as a prospective waiver-wire add.