Who Should I Start? Christian Kirk or Colby Parkinson

Thursday, January 8, 12:25 PM

Houston Texans wide receiver Christian Kirk won't be a very popular fantasy option for playoff leagues going into the team's Monday night Wild-Card matchup against the hosting Pittsburgh Steelers, even though the Steelers' defense was a top-10 matchup for opposing wideouts in 2025 in terms of half-PPR points per game. In the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Indianapolis Colts, Kirk caught just one of two targets for minus-three yards, even with top receiver Nico Collins getting the day off. However, the Texans did bench starting quarterback C.J. Stroud after halftime. Still, the 29-year-old Kirk had fewer snaps than both rookie Jayden Higgins and Xavier Hutchinson, and he has only 28 catches for 239 yards and one touchdown on 52 targets all year. Kirk has been on the field plenty for Houston, but he hasn't been targeted much and has basically been sharing slot duties with rookie Jaylin Noel of late.

Wednesday, January 7, 2:52 PM

Los Angeles Rams tight end Colby Parkinson was pegged as an obvious beneficiary of the Week 15 injury to teammate Davante Adams (hamstring), given his usage around the goal line. Unfortunately, after being one of the most popular waiver adds of Week 16, he opened the fantasy playoffs with a two-catch, 21-yard performance with zero touchdowns against the Seahawks. Parkinson was able to string together two strong performances to close the year, but heading into the NFL playoffs, Adams is expected to return to action after being listed as a full participant on Tuesday's estimated injury report, and Tyler Higbee (ankle) is another week removed from the ankle injury that landed him on Injured Reserve for nearly two months. Working in Parkinson's favor is that rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson (hamstring) began the week with an estimated DNP after missing the season finale with a hamstring injury. However, with so much uncertainty lingering about his usage, Parkinson is best left out of starting lineups or simply undrafted in fantasy playoff leagues.