Who Should I Start? Calvin Ridley or Tetairoa McMillan

Tuesday, September 2, 12:33 PM

Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Nick Holz said the team will have to move wide receiver Calvin Ridley around on offense to help get him open, and that the other wideouts will have to win their one-on-one matchups this year. Despite dealing with subpar quarterback play in 2024 in his first year with the Titans, Ridley managed to post his second straight 1,000-yard season and third of his career on 64 receptions while scoring only four times in 17 games (14 starts). It was a slight step back from 2023, when he was with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The 30-year-old veteran is the Titans' unquestioned WR1 yet again, but he doesn't have much help behind him and will be working with a rookie signal-caller in Cameron Ward. Fantasy managers can hang their hat on plenty of volume, but efficiency could once again be an issue.

Tuesday, September 2, 12:08 PM

Carolina Panthers rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan enters his first NFL season as his team's clear number one option in the passing game. In the past week, Carolina has traded away veteran wideout Adam Thielen to the Minnesota Vikings and lost Jalen Coker (quad) to a quad injury, which should only increase McMillan's targets. The number eight overall pick has a favorable matchup on paper in his NFL regular-season debut against the Jacksonville Jaguars. In 2024, Jacksonville's defense ranked dead last in total receiving yards allowed (4,605) and 28th in total receiving touchdowns allowed (29). Additionally, Panthers quarterback Bryce Young finished 2024 by playing the best football of his career, throwing for 1,583 yards and 11 touchdowns over his final seven games. If Young can carry that momentum to 2025, McMillan could get his season off to a strong start. He should be viewed as a low-end fantasy WR2 in Week 1.