Who Should I Start? Calvin Ridley or Jaylen Waddle

Friday, October 17, 2:54 PM

When the Tennessee Titans welcome former coach Mike Vrabel and his New England Patriots back to Nashville on Sunday, they will be without top wide receiver Calvin Ridley (hamstring). Ridley has dealt with knee and elbow injuries over the past two weeks, but it is the hamstring injury sustained in the team's Week 6 loss to the Raiders that held him out of practice this week, and he has now been ruled out. In a week with headlines already swirling around Vrabel's return, the Titans fired head coach Brian Callahan after less than a season and a half at the helm and could have used a steadying presence on offense. While rookie Elic Ayomanor should see an increase in target share with Ridley sidelined, it's hard to trust any Titans pass catchers. However, for fantasy managers in a pinch, Chigoziem Okonkwo, coming off a six-catch game, could be a sneaky start against a Patriots defense that has struggled to defend tight ends.

Friday, October 17, 9:06 PM

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle has stepped up in the last two games for Miami without Tyreek Hill (knee), and he is a strong starter in standard leagues this week, even in a tough matchup against the Browns. In his two games since Hill's season-ending injury, Waddle had six catches for 110 yards and a touchdown against the Panthers and followed by six catches for 95 yards against the Chargers last week. Waddle gets plenty of work deep down the field and in the red zone, with a 24.6% target share, a 51.9% share of air yards, and a 35.6% first-read share over the last two weeks. All the extra work without Tyreek Hill is enough to make him the WR18 in RotoBaller's Week 7 rankings, even though the Browns' secondary has been solid against receivers this year.